12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 10: In evaluating the

In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount.

(A) In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount. - Correct

(B) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in evaluating the challenges that they face. - Pronoun antecedent error

(C) A question that is paramount in evaluating the challenges that female politicians face is if their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts. - Wordy and awkward phrasing

(D) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in an evaluation of the challenges that they face. - Pronoun antecedent error

(E) In an evaluation of the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount. - "In an evaluation of challenges" - Conveys a different meaning

In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount.

(A) In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount.

“In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians” should be followed but the subject that is doing the evaluation. Hence, this choice is INCORRECT!!

(B) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in evaluating the challenges that they face.

The pronoun “they” does not have logically correct antecedent (i.e, female politicians). Hence, this choice is INCORRECT!!

(C) A question that is paramount in evaluating the challenges that female politicians face is if their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts.

“If” is generally used to demonstrate a hypothetical situation. In this context it is not correctly used. Hence. This choice is INCORRECT!

(D) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in an evaluation of the challenges that they face.

Here, the pronoun “they” does not have logically correct antecedent (i.e, female politicians). This choice is INCORRECT!

(E) In an evaluation of the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount.

Here, the phrase “In an evaluation of the challenges faced by female politicians” is correctly followed by the subject “the question”. Moreover, this sentence is in active voice construction. There are no errors present in this choice and hence it is likely the answer.

Answer: Option E

(A) In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount. - Correct

(B) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in evaluating the challenges that they face. - Incorrect -Pronoun Error - their is referring to female politician’s which is wrong

(C) A question that is paramount in evaluating the challenges that female politicians face is if their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts - Incorrect - Main Verb is not aptly used

(D) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in an evaluation of the challenges that they face. - - Incorrect -Pronoun Error - their is referring to female politician’s which is wrong

(E) In an evaluation of the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount. - Incorrect - "In an evaluation of the challenges faced by female politicians" is wrongly worded

The question seems to be about pronoun agreement and the correct and smooth syntax of the sentence.
Generally, not a bad option - but because in the first part of the sentence the subject is 'challenges', not women, then the pronoun 'their' looks like it refers to those challenges, which is wrong.
Due to this unclarity, A is incorrect.
In this option it's unclear, who 'they' refers to, because we only use 'female politicians' in the possessive form - hence, B is incorrect.
This is a very strong contender, because everything seems in agreement - and furthermore, the pronoun 'their' quite obviously refers to female politicians, who are also the subject of the first part of the sentence.
So far, C looks like the correct answer, but let's look at the remaining options as well.
I strongly dislike the usage of 'an evaluation', because it refers not to the general concept of assessment, to the ongoing thinking process, but to a one-time examination carried out by somebody (Who? When?).
From this perspective, 'evaluating' is much more preferable. Therefore, D is incorrect.
Same thing here - we have 'an evaluation', so E is incorrect.

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To sum up, the right answer is C.

(A) In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount.----Subject "question" is wrong here since first part is modifier,out

(B) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in evaluating the challenges that they face.--OUT

(C) A question that is paramount in evaluating the challenges that female politicians face is if their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts. Usage of if is wrong,OUT

(D) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in an evaluation of the challenges that they face.OUT

(E) In an evaluation of the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount. Correct

oa:e

(A) In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount. - Incorrect - sentence seems to indicate that question is doing the evaluation of challenges faced by female politicians

(B) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in evaluating the challenges that they face. - Incorrect - no clear referent for they

(C) A question that is paramount in evaluating the challenges that female politicians face is if their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts.
- Incorrect- Incorrect usage of if
(D) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in an evaluation of the challenges that they face. - Incorrect - no clear referent for they

(E) In an evaluation of the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount. - Correct

Experts' Global Official Explanation

Pronouns + Modifiers + Idioms + Redundancy/Awkwardness

• In the “phrase + comma + noun” and “noun + comma + phrase” constructions, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• “if” is used to refer to phrases that lead to a “then” clause and “whether" is used to show alternatives; "whether" generally wins over "if" on GMAT.

A. Trap. This answer choice suffers from a hanging modifier error, as the phrase “In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians” has no appropriate referent.

B. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural pronoun “they” to refer to the singular noun “the female politician’s”. Besides, in the “The question of whether…” construction, Option B uses passive voice and is thus needlessly indirect.

C. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses “if” rather than “whether” to refer to a phrase that does not lead to a “then” clause; please remember, “if” is used to refer to phrases that lead to a “then” clause and “whether" is used to show alternatives.

D. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural pronoun “they” to refer to the singular noun “the female politician’s”.

E. Correct. This answer choice correctly uses “in an evaluation of…” to modify “the question of whether…”. Further Option E correctly uses the plural pronoun “they” to refer to the plural noun “female politicians”. Additionally, Option E is free of awkwardness and redundancy.

E is the best answer choice.

OA)A
In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount.

(A) In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount.

(B) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in evaluating the challenges that they face.
-->here pronoun "their" cannot refer to the noun "politician" as it is singular and if "their" is referred to plural "qualifications" then the meaning is not logical

(C) A question that is paramount in evaluating the challenges that female politicians face is if their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts.
--> to state the question "whether.." should use instead of if

(D) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in an evaluation of the challenges that they face.
-->here pronoun "their" cannot refer to the noun "politician" as it is singular and if "their" is referred to plural "qualifications" then the meaning is not logical

(E) In an evaluation of the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount.
--> "in an evaluation.." is a more indirect way of writing " in evaluating.."

In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount.

'In evaluating' is better to refer to the act compared to 'In an evaluation of'

(A) In evaluating the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount.

'In evaluating' is better to refer to the act compared to 'In an evaluation of'..correct usage..; also, 'their' correctly used as pronoun to refer to 'female politicians'

(B) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in evaluating the challenges that they face.
wrong pronoun reference..plural pronoun for singular subject

(C) A question that is paramount in evaluating the challenges that female politicians face is if their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts.
'whether' would be better as compared to if usage

(D) The question of whether the female politician’s qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount in an evaluation of the challenges that they face.

wrong pronoun reference..plural pronoun for singular subject

(E) In an evaluation of the challenges faced by female politicians, the question of whether their qualifications are as respected as those of their male counterparts is paramount.
'In evaluating' is better to refer to the act compared to 'In an evaluation of'

So, (A) will be the correct choice