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Based on accounts of his contemporaries, academicians have reconstructed a rough timeline of the life and career of William Shakespeare, who left behind virtually no firsthand accounts of his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon or career in London.

(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries
This is correct. Its logically correct.
(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts
This is Incorrect. The ING form is not needed in the modifier.

(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis
This is Incorrect and sounds awkward.

(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries
This is Incorrect as again ING is not needed.

(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used
This is Incorrect and is not grammatically sound.
Answer A
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Based on accounts of his contemporaries, academicians have reconstructed a rough timeline of the life and career of William Shakespeare, who left behind virtually no firsthand accounts of his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon or career in London.

(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries
change in meaning --- reconstruction of timeline has been done through the use of accounts of contemporaries

(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts
here also, there is change in meaning --- reconstruction of timeline not done done by basing the timeline on accounts of contemporaries; 'it' has got no appropriate antecedent

(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis
again, there is evident change in meaning ; 'used for a basis' is unnecessarily wordy

(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries
correct depiction of meaning --- reconstruction of timeline has been done through by 'using' the accounts of contemporaries

(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used
incorrect grammatical structure through the use of 'by'; use of pronoun 'they' though is correct


(D) is the CORRECT answer
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answer is A

C is unnecessarily wordy. E is grammatically wrong. B changes the tense by using "basing".

among A and D, A conveys the intended meaning of academicians constructing a timeline based on accounts of shakespeare's contemporaries. "Using" would imply the accounts were used completely - and this is not what we are looking for.
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Bunuel
Based on accounts of his contemporaries, academicians have reconstructed a rough timeline of the life and career of William Shakespeare, who left behind virtually no firsthand accounts of his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon or career in London.

(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries
(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts
(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis
(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries
(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used


 


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(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries (The modifier is incorrectly referring to the academicians, the sentence is saying that academicians are based on accounts of Shakespeare contemporaries)
(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts (it doesn't have a referent)
(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis (This makes the sentence looks like the accounts of contemporaries used for basis and reconstruction of timeline by academicians happens in parallel.)
(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries (Correct. Verb-ing modifier using correctly refers to academicians, and it is presenting a cause-effect relationship)
(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used (The prepositional phrase should not be separated by a comma to make sense here.)
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A) Incorrect. This means that academicians are based on...
B) Incorrect. It's redundant, since "Basing it (a timeline) on..."="Constructing it (a timeline) on..."
C) Incorrect. It's redundant."With..." = "Using it", so we don't need "used for a basis".
D) Correct. The modifier and subject agree with each other.
E) Incorrect. It's redundant since "By something"="Using something"
The answer is D
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Based on accounts of his contemporaries, academicians have reconstructed a rough timeline of the life and career of William Shakespeare, who left behind virtually no firsthand accounts of his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon or career in London.

(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries
sounds correct. keep reading.

(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts
unclear what "it" refers to

(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis
used for a basis is lengthy and awkward

(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries
"his" is unclear, but is a minor details so keep reading.

(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used
by the account... is not the correct way to say.

IMO D is correct.
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Bunuel
Based on accounts of his contemporaries, academicians have reconstructed a rough timeline of the life and career of William Shakespeare, who left behind virtually no firsthand accounts of his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon or career in London.

Quote:
(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries
Opening modifier is a v-ed. Logical a noun should be followed but that noun should make sense with the modifier. Here, were the academicians based on accounts? It is not logical.

Quote:
(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts
"it" can refer to timeline or career. Logically both should be referred, hence the usage of "it" is incorrect.

Quote:
(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis
D is better.

Quote:
(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries
V-ing modifier provides clear logic that academicians used the accounts.

Quote:
(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used
D is better.
IMO OA should be D
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A) Clear and concise. Best option
B) pronoun "it" is not necessary
C) Wordy and awkward
D) It is grammatically correct but option A sounds more concise
E) Repetitive

Option A
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Bunuel
Based on accounts of his contemporaries, academicians have reconstructed a rough timeline of the life and career of William Shakespeare, who left behind virtually no firsthand accounts of his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon or career in London.

(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries
(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts
(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis
(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries
(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used

 


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The primary issue that I could gauge right from the outset were- The word academicians is incorrectly modified by the clause "Based on accounts of his contemporaries...."

Let's look at the answer choices and eliminated.
(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries
Misplaced modifier. Eliminate.

(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts
Incorrect usage of Present Perfect tense. Eliminate.

(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis
We need the sentence to be in active voice. Eliminate.

(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries
Concise and logical. Keep.

(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used
Unidiomatic. Eliminate.
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Based on accounts of his contemporaries, academicians have reconstructed a rough timeline of the life and career of William Shakespeare, who left behind virtually no firsthand accounts of his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon or career in London.

(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries
(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts
(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis
(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries
(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used

Explanation:

(A) Means that historians were based on the accounts of contemporaries. OUT.
(B) Wordier version of (A). OUT.
(C) Changes the intended meaning, meaning that the accounts of his contemporaries were simultaneously based. OUT.
(D) Correctly conveys the intended meaning. CORRECT.
(E) Wordy. OUT.

ANSWER D
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Bunuel
Based on accounts of his contemporaries, academicians have reconstructed a rough timeline of the life and career of William Shakespeare, who left behind virtually no firsthand accounts of his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon or career in London.

(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries
(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts
(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis
(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries
(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used


 


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for the Around the World in 80 Questions

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(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries - incorrect meaning issue sentence seems to convey that academicians are based on the accounts of his contemporaries.
(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts - Incorrect - no clear referent for it
(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis - Incorrect - modifier "with accounts of his contemporaries " doesn't seems to connect with academicians as it seems to indicate that usage of contemporaries account can be a separate phenomenon not necessarily related to academicians
(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries - correct
(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used - Incorrect - meaning issue as sentence seems to convey that contemporaries used academicians.
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Based on accounts of his contemporaries, academicians have reconstructed a rough timeline of the life and career of William Shakespeare, who left behind virtually no firsthand accounts of his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon or career in London.

(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries- academicians we’re not the ones who were based
(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts-it’s odd to say basing rough timelines on contemporaries accounts , academicians have reconstructed a timeline
(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis— wrong use of preposition
(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries- correct. His is referring to Shakespeare
(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used— too wordy and wrong usage of modifier

Ans D

Posted from my mobile device
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Quote:
Based on accounts of his contemporaries, academicians have reconstructed a rough timeline of the life and career of William Shakespeare, who left behind virtually no firsthand accounts of his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon or career in London.
(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries
-Suspected to be correct.
Rationale: This option refers to the accounts of Shakespeare's contemporaries. The word "based" is past tense which is a continuation with the section immediately following this option is in past tense "academicians have reconstructed".


(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts
-Suspected to be incorrect.
Rationale: The word "basing" is an active tense; however, the section immediately following this option is in past tense "academicians have reconstructed".


(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis
-Suspected to be incorrect.
Rationale: This option begins with a prepositional phrase ("with") and could be omitted.


(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries
-Suspected to be incorrect.
Rationale: The word "using" is an active tense; however, the section immediately following this option is in past tense "academicians have reconstructed".


(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used
-Suspected to be incorrect.
Rationale: The words "they used" could be removed.
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A) used as passive voice. D seems better than A
B) pronoun "it" is not necessary
C) unnecessarily wordy and awkward
D) It is grammatically correct and conveys the right meaning
E) Repetitive and complex

Option D
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A. Correct. Based on something,we are using the account to draw reference

B. It has unclear reference

C. Wordy and no clear meaning

D. Changes the intended meaning

E. They is unclear,

Posted from my mobile device
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Based on accounts of his contemporaries, academicians have reconstructed a rough timeline of the life and career of William Shakespeare, who left behind virtually no firsthand accounts of his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon or career in London.

(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries ~ Incorrect, the timeline is not based on the accounts it is used.

(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts ~ Incorrect pronoun "it"

(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis ~ Incorrect it is used as a basis

(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries ~ Correct

(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used ~ Incorrect pronoun error "they"


IMO Choice D.
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(A) Based on accounts of his contemporaries
This option is close in meaning to the correct option. However, it uses the past participle "Based," which makes the sentence passive and somewhat less direct than the active voice in the original sentence.

(B) Basing it on his contemporaries’ accounts
This option introduces the pronoun "it," which is not present in the original sentence and is unnecessary. Additionally, the gerund "Basing" is awkward in this context and not as straightforward as "Using" in option (D).

(C) With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis
This option is wordy and less concise. The phrase "With accounts of his contemporaries used for a basis" could be simplified to "Using accounts of his contemporaries" (as in option D) to achieve a more straightforward and clearer construction.

(D) Using accounts of his contemporaries
"Using accounts of his contemporaries" accomplishes this effectively. It maintains the intended meaning of using the accounts of Shakespeare's contemporaries as the basis for the reconstruction of his life and career. The gerund form "Using" appropriately indicates the method employed by academicians for their reconstruction. Hence, right choice

(E) By the account of his contemporaries they used
This option has a redundant construction with "By the account of his contemporaries they used." The phrase "they used" adds unnecessary complexity and repetition. The original sentence doesn't have such duplication, making this option less preferable.

Option D
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