According to a new study claiming that only children from wealthy hous

Question

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2) 
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According to a new study claiming that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.

A) According to a new study claiming that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.

B) According to a new study that claims that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.

C) The claim that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require, according to a new study.

D) That only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, according to a new study, a claim that, ultimately, is a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that are required by athletes.

E) According to a new study, the claim that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.

generis · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2)

THE PROMPT  
 
• Meaning?
The sentence is not suggesting that a new study is claiming something. 
Rather, the sentence is suggesting something about that claim itself, namely, that the claim is a misunderstanding of something.

THE OPTIONS  
 
• A case of the missing subject/nonsensical
→ No subject exists for the verb  is . The sentence is incoherent.
ELIMINATE A

• same problem as that in option A: a subject is missing and we are left with an incoherent sentence
ELIMINATE B

• grammatical, but stylistically clunky
→ English is an "end-weighted" language, as I have discussed. Whatever comes last gets the emphasis.
But the study is not the emphasis of this sentence; the dicey claim is the centerpiece.

→ Why do we wait so long to find out about . . . the backdrop? (The study.)

→ "According to a new study" placed in front would be a good way to "set the stage" for this sentence.
 
KEEP, but look for a better answer

• Grammatical, but convoluted
→ too many "that" words (writers and editors avoid too many of them, a phenomenon that you'll see if you read  The Economist, New Yorker,  or  Atlantic Monthly )
→ the construction of this sentence is extremely—almost distractingly—passive
KEEP, but look for a better answer

• If you are reading enough, you should be able to see within 10 seconds that option E is better than options C and D.
→ Option E beats option D
Option E is more concise, less convoluted, and easier to follow than option D is.
→ Option E beats option C
It's true that option C is grammatical.
It is also true that a singular "grammatical" orientation or a hyperfocus on rules will not help you with these kinds of splits.
Option E end weights the important information (that the elitist claim is flawed) and by placing "according to a new study" at the beginning of the sentence eases us into the subject.

ELIMINATE options C and D, KEEP

The best answer is E.

zhanbo  , I hope that analysis helps to answer your question.
You also asked:  Is there an official GMAT question that tests the placement of "according to a new study"?

Answer: I recall a handful of questions that deploy the phrase, but I cannot recall an official question that tests placement of the phrase.
I will not rule out the possibility.
My memory is good, not perfect.

In all sincerity (because I am a bit agape): is what you asked your standard for whether a question should be posted?

If people have questions that could be part of SC Butler, by all means, send them to me.
You can be a guest poster. You get kudos. I'll write the OE if you don't have one.
I outline the process  i n this post, here .

COMMENTS

I am encouraged by your hard work.
The analysis here is fairly sophisticated and occasionally brave. Nicely done.
Kudos go to those who explained the process of elimination for each option.

ramlala · Answer

According to a new study claiming that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.

E) According to a new study,  the claim   that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes   is  , ultimately,  a misunderstanding of the aptitudes  that athletes really require .

Highlighted part is a modifier that modifies subject   claim   perfectly.

S-V  is ok.

IMO E

sumitkrocks · Answer

A) According to a new study  claiming that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes  is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.

According to a new study, claim is wrong ---in this sentence placement of subject is wrong-According to to a new study should be followed by what it modifies i.e claim

B)  According to a new study that claims that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.

According to a new study, claim is wrong ---in this sentence placement of subject is wrong-According to to a new study should be followed by what it modifies i.e claim

Same as A

C)  The claim that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require, according to a new study.

According to a new study, claim is wrong ---in this sentence placement of subject is wrong-According to to a new study should be followed by what it modifies i.e claim

D)  That only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, according to a new study, a claim that, ultimately, is a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that are required by athletes.

Lost the intent to be passed through the sentence

E)  According to a new study, the claim that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.

Fixes the issue well; hence, the right choice

beeblebrox · Answer

I feel the answer to this question is the option (E). Took me 1:17 seconds to close this.

This question stumped me because I was unable to extract the meaning of the sentences offered.
IMU, Meaning of Option (A) & (B): The claim of the new study is refuted.
IMU, Meaning of Option (C), (D) & (E): The new study refutes a particular claim.

IMO, Option (A) & (B) are both incorrect because of the following problem:
  According to a new study   claiming that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes   is  
The structure should be: According to a new study,   a claim   that only ...dud...dud...dud...   is  , ultimately, a misundertsanding.. dud...dud...

In both the options, for the dependent clause the SV pair should be  Subject:Claim  and  Verb:Is
  & not  Subject:Study & Verb:Is

In option (C): the piece of the sentence   "according to a new study."   is erroneously placed at the end of the sentence. It should have been placed right at the beginning.
Option (D) is ridiculously fragmented and all over the place like a befuddling jigsaw puzzle.

Option (E) looks fine.

AkashM · Answer

Eliminate A and B because 'according to a new study' cannot be the subject.
Eliminate C because the modifier 'according to a new study' should be placed next to the claim. 
Eliminate D because an active structure 'aptitudes that athletes really require' is better than the passive structure 'aptitudes that are required by athletes'

E remains and is the correct answer.

winterschool · Answer

According to a new study claiming that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.

A)  According to a new study  claiming that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes  is , ultimately,  a misunderstanding  of the aptitudes that athletes really require.  Incorrect

According to a new study is a misunderstanding............. - sounds awkward

B)  According to a new study  that claims that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes  is , ultimately,  a misunderstanding  of the aptitudes that athletes really require.  Incorrect

same as A

C) The claim that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require,  according to a new study .  Incorrect

according to a new study - misplaced

D) That only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is,  according to a new study , a claim that, ultimately, is a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that are required by athletes.  Incorrect

according to a new study - misplaced and this choice sounds awkward

E)  According to a new study, the claim that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.   Correct

huyeenbuii · Answer

My answer for this one is (E).

A)  According to a new study claiming that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes  is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.
=> This sentence totally misses the Subject. The first part is a modifier without any Subject.

B) According to a new study that claims that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.
=> Same as (A)

C) The claim that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require, according to a new study.
=> The modifier ''according to a new study" is placed too far from the N that it modifies

D) That only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, according to a new study, a claim that, ultimately, is a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that are required by athletes.
=> This sentence has changed the meaning of the author. The author want to emphasize on the meaning that this claim is a mis understanding. However, this explanation has been put in a modifier. Also, the passive voice does not make sense

E) According to a new study, the claim that only children from wealthy households can become successful athletes is, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the aptitudes that athletes really require.
=> No flaw

zhanbo · Answer

The only difference between (C) and (E) is the placement of ""according to a new study".

OA is (E), believing that "according to a new study" should not be placed at the end of the sentence.

Yet, if we google "according to a new study", we will see plenty of sentences (from sciencedaily, huffpost, cnn, businessinsider, nytimes, among others) in which "according to a new study" is placed at the end of the sentence.

That is why I felt (C) and (E) should be both right or both wrong. They cannot be both right, so they must be both wrong.... Is there an official GMAT question that tests the placement of "according to a new study"?

generis · Answer

The official explanation is  here .

zhanbo · Answer

I have nothing against "according to a new study" at the beginning of the sentence, but I am totally fine if an author places it at the very end of the sentence.
It is common practice in so many reputable papers. 
There are at least two possible reasons for such placement: (1) "according to a new study" is considered minor info. (2) for variety in sentence construction.

Is it so wrong that an otherwise decent sentence has to be deemed inferior because the author moves "according to a new study" to the end?

We can argue that "according to a new study" is not an important piece of information. Indeed, this sentence does not provide us with additional details about the new study including, among others, who conducted the study and where its finding is published. "According to a new study" only serves as a side note.

I hope that official questions do not require test takers to hazard a guess as to the author's intention.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

According to.... is generally used in the beginning of SC on the GMAT. Probably fair to say it is "preferred" in that location.

According to a new study claiming that only children from wealthy hous

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

According to a new study claiming that only children from wealthy hous

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