Ever since a group of boys discovered the cave of Lascaux in the 1960s

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION



THE PROMPT

Issues

• Comparison
Lascaux’s art can logically be compared with the works of other artists; his art cannot be compared with other artists.

• Parallelism and verbs - does the word that refer to a plural or singular subject (defined by the that-clause)?

The sentence mentions three aspects of Lascaux’s art that must be put in the correct parallel form.
→ The use of its quantity, its size, and its style (or some variation that implies that construction, albeit incorrectly) creates a plural subject referred to in the that-clause, a subject whose verb should be the plural remind.
→ By contrast, the use of a style makes this phrase itself the subject referred to in the that-clause and requires the singular verb reminds.

This question is best approached using POE: find the four worst answers. Do not go looking for the best answer.
The correct answer is grammatical but challenging.

THE OPTIONS

• I do not see any errors
• Lascaux's art is compared with "works" by other artists
• Three attributes of L's art are notable. (L's art "has overwhelmed visitors.")
The three memorable aspects of L's art are
1) its quantity,
2) its size, and
3) a style that reminds many viewers of works by Modernist artists such as Pablo Picasso
KEEP


• subject/verb disagreement
→ a that-clause can define a singular or plural noun
Correct: Please buy two oranges that are freshly picked.
Correct: Please buy an orange, lemon, and lime that are freshly picked.
Correct: Please buy an orange that is freshly picked.

→ The use of its before quantity implies that its applies to all three items in the list.
This usage of its creates a plural subject that does not agree with the singular verb reminds.
ELIMINATE B

• comparison error
Lascaux’s art can logically be compared with the works of other artists; it cannot be compared with other artists.
ELIMINATE C

• comparison error (identical to that in option C)
→ Lascaux’s art can logically be compared with the works of other artists; it cannot be compared with other artists.

• subject/verb disagreement
The use of its quantity, its size, and its style creates a plural subject that does not agree with the singular verb reminds.
ELIMINATE D


• Parallelism error
→ In a list, we use an adjective such as its before only the first item in the list or before all three.
On the GMAT, you are much more likely to see this kind of word (its) used only once before the first list item than before all three items, but repeated usage is not unheard of.
Regardless, we cannot use its before the first and third items but not the second. Not parallel.

• Such . . . like is ungrammatical
→ Such . . . like is not a thing. It makes no sense.
To introduce examples, we can use Such . . . As (with or without words in between). Not Such . . . Like.
Correct: They enjoyed traveling to such faraway places as Provence, St. John, and Nepal.

→ Use such as rather than like to introduce examples.
As I have said before, this guideline still stands, but I would not be surprised if GMAC were to stray from the guideline in the near future.
(For a short discussion of such as vs. like, take a look at Split #3 in my post, here.)
ELIMINATE E

The best answer is A.

COMMENTS

harshtandel838 , welcome to SC Butler.

This question is hard.
I am impressed by the courage of everyone who posted an answer.

The analysis is quite good; with one exception, people just took a wrong turn in their analysis.

Kudos to all.
Stay safe.