At an orientation meeting, the travelers were told that a visa, a land

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that the travelers were told that each one of them would need a visa, a landing card, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Grammatical Construction + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.
• The “comma + and” (oxford comma) construction is used to join the last element of a list of more than two other elements; commas are used to join the other elements.

A: This answer choice uses the passive voice construction "would be needed by each of them", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the word "being", leading to awkwardness and redundancy; remember, “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "evidence of being inoculated against typhoid fever and a visa and landing card"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that the travelers would each need evidence that they had been inoculated against three things - typhoid fever, a visa, and a landing card; the intended meaning is that the travelers would each need three things - a visa, a landing card, and evidence that they had been inoculated against typhoid fever. Further, Option C incorrectly uses conjunction ("and" in this case) to join three elements in a list; remember, the “comma + and” (oxford comma) construction is used to join the last element of a list of more than two other elements; commas are used to join the other elements. Additionally, Option C incorrectly uses the word "being", leading to awkwardness and redundancy; remember, “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.

D: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "a visa, a landing card, and evidence of inoculation", conveying the intended meaning - that the travelers would each need three things - one visa, one landing card, and evidence that they had been inoculated against typhoid fever. Further, Option D correctly uses the “comma + and” (oxford comma) construction to join the last of three elements in a list and correctly uses a comma to link the other two. Additionally, Option D is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

E: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "visas, landing cards, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever"; the use of the plural nouns "visas" and "landing cards" incorrectly implies that each traveler would need multiple visas and landing cards; the intended meaning is that each traveler would need one visa and one landing card.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

To understand the use of "Being" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



To understand the concept of "Oxford Comma" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team