Doctors sometimes insist that their patients’

The new idiom out here is "ascribe to".
Reference : https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/ascribe

Based on the error in idiom usage, eliminate choices B and C (ascribe as)

Notice that option E has reversed the sequence.
Doctors attribute ailments to psychological disorder and not the other way around.
Hence, eliminate E based on change in meaning.

Option A uses "in ascribing....blah blah, the patients". The patients never ascribed anything.
Eliminate on the grounds of incorrect modifier usage.

Answer: D

Solution

In analyzing the decision points between the five answer choices, you should first notice the difference between “in ascribing” in (A), (C), and (E) and "if these ailments are ascribed" in (B) and (D).

Additionally, you should see that (B) and (C) contain the words “as a cause” while the other choices do not.

Probably the easiest of those decision points to assess is the addition of “as a cause”.

The word "ascribe" already means "to credit or assign, as to a cause or source" so (B) and (C) are redundant.

For (A) and (E) the use of the modifying phrase “in ascribing” illogically modifies the patients, suggesting that the patients are the ones doing the ascribing.

Clearly, it is the doctor who is doing the ascribing and the “if” clause, which does not then modify the patients, makes the meaning logical.

Correct answer is (D).
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POE -- D is best here
A , C and E are out --modification error ...Ascribing must point to doctor ..
Between B and D --D is best

Straight in: D.
'Ascribe to' is the idiom

Sent from my CP8676_I02 using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

Could you please explain how ascribing modifies Patients not doctor? Usually, ing modifies the subject of preceding clause. As you stated ascribe means " to cause ", does ascribe fits with doctor? How can a doctor cause something?

Please advise

For (A) and (E) the use of the modifying phrase “in ascribing” illogically modifies the patients, suggesting that the patients are the ones doing the ascribing.

If the modifier 'in ascribing' refers to the preceding clause, shouldn't option A be correct?

abhimahna , AjiteshArun

I am having trouble here arriving at D as the answer choice. B and C can be easily eliminated

This question is a copy of this official question. It might be better if we just go with the original question as it will help us add to the discussion around it.

In the official question, options A and E (and C) use the phrase in attributing. When we put that phrase at the beginning of a clause, we must make sure that the noun that starts the clause (the subject of that clause) is the one that is actually doing the attributing.

In attributing X to Y, ________ <---- whatever goes here has to be the thing that is doing the attributing.

The problem is that the sentence already has the perpetrators in that position in the portion that is not underlined. So we end up with

In attributing X to Y, the perpetrators

Since the perpetrators are not the ones who are doing the attributing (the defense attorneys are the ones who are actually doing the attributing), we can safely remove both A & E. Additionally, the use of in attributing X as Y in E is incorrect.
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Hi amol143

I see that you have great explanation by AjiteshArun. I will add m my 2 cents here. I will dissect the sentence at hand d with some detail.

The sentence consists of 2 clauses connected by conjunction:

1- Doctors sometimes insist...........................Clause 1
2- but.......conjunction
3- in ascribing these ailments to a psychological disorder, the patients are ..........Clause 2

'in ascribing these ailments to a psychological':

- is adverbial modifier that comes after
-the conjunction 'but'
-so it belongs to the second clause and answer 'HOW'the subject of the clause performs the 'VERB'

Because the GMAT asks for logical meaning and clarity, so we need to ask Does it make sense that 'patients' themselves 'ascribing these ailments'? It does not make sense.

So Eliminate choices A, C and E

Whether this sentence is wrong as per logic given above:
By weaving the thread, the cloth was prepared

I think that on adding a prepositional phrase 'By weaving the thread' at the beginning of the sentence, we are no longer looking that who is weaving the cloth. Instead, prepositional phrase acts here as adverbial phrase, answering the question, 'How the cloth was prepared?'

Hi abhishekmayank,

That sentence would almost certainly be considered incorrect on the GMAT. Take a look at option B in this official question.
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Hi AjiteshArun,

Precisely, that is the point I am trying to convey as the correct answer of your referred OG question is pointing to. The correct answer is :

" By skimming along the top of the atmosphere, a proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours, according to its proponents." ,

Here, the "a proposed new style of aircraft" is not the doer of the "skimming along the top of the atmosphere". Instead, skimming is the characteristics of the verb 'fly'

Hi abhishekmayank,

In the correct answer, the "doer" of the by skimming... is in fact the proposed new style of aircraft.
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Does this work in both independent clauses and dependent clauses?

A. in ascribing these ailments to a psychological disorder
This was a tough call elemiated that if felt better than in otherwise this feels like a perfect answer

B. if these ailments are ascribed as the cause for a psychological disorder
This has redundant use of cause and acsribed

C. in ascribing a psychological disorder as the cause for these ailments
Similar reasoning as C

D. if these ailments are ascribed to a psychological disorder
This has the right meaning therefore let us hang on to it

E. in ascribing a psychological disorder to these ailments
This has ambigious meaning for assingning psychological disorfer

Hence IMO D

IMO[D], no other sentence conveys meaning better

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