feruz77 wrote:
Disturbed by unfair treatment such as low pay and long hours, the idea of the work visa was improvements of the immigration law by the ACLU.
(A) the idea of the work visa was improvements of the immigration law by the ACLU.
(B) the work visa was an idea for improvements of the immigration law suggested by the ACLU.
(C) the ACLU suggested the work visa as an improvement to the immigration law.
(D) the ACLU suggested that immigration laws be improved by the work visa.
(E) the work visa was suggested to be an improvement of immigration law by the ACLU.
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:
(Misplaced Modifier) A participial phrase in the beginning of the sentence should alert you of the existence of a misplaced modified in the sentence. Indeed there is one in this sentence, because an “idea” could not have been disturbed by unfair treatment.
What the author intends to say is that the ACLU was disturbed by unfair treatment of low pay and unfair working conditions, and suggested an improvement to immigration laws in the form of the work visa. So, thee main clause of the sentence must start with the word “the ACLU.”
Among the choices, only (C) and (D) start with this word. Between the two, (C) consists of a phrase and reflects the intention of the author precisely, while (D) is a full clause in the passive voice.
(Remember that, if there is no other error and if the intention of the author is brought out clearly, a phrase is preferable to a clause, and a sentence in the active voice is preferable to one in the passive voice.)
So, between (C) and (D), the former is the better choice, and is the answer.