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Anuragjn
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is Updated on: 08 Apr 2020, 23:58
Originally posted by Anuragjn on 08 Apr 2020, 23:35.
Last edited by Anuragjn on 08 Apr 2020, 23:58, edited 4 times in total.
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GMATNinja
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Hey GMATNinja. Can you share your solution to this problem?
Sure! Let's break these down one by one:

Quote:
(A) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions

The modifier "a study" seems to be describing Washington D.C. That's no good. (A) is out.

Quote:
(B) Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
Typically, if a sentence has two full clauses and the 2nd clause starts with a pronoun, that pronoun will generally refer back to the subject of the first clause. So in this case, the antecedent for "it" seems to refer to "evidence." "Evidence is emerging... and evidence is underwritten?" Nah, that doesn't make any sense -- the study was underwritten, not the evidence.

And even if you're not convinced that "it" HAS to refer back to the subject of the first clause ("evidence"), the alternatives aren't great: "a non-profit research center" is the nearest singular noun, and that doesn't make sense, either, since the center isn't underwritten by the educational institutions -- "a new study" is, and the phrase "a new study" is buried in the middle of the clause. So it's really hard to make sense of that pronoun.

That's enough for us to get rid of (B).

Quote:
(C) programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Centre for Media and Public Affairs, non-profit research center based in Washington D.C.
Programs underwritten and conducted? Again, it makes more sense to write that the study was conducted. We can ditch (C).

Quote:
(D) programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C.
This looks pretty good. The study was underwritten by educational institutions and conducted by this center, which also happens to be a nonprofit. The modifiers are logical. Let's hold on to (D).

Quote:
(E) programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center based in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
Same problem as (B). The antecedent for "it" seems to refer to "evidence" or maaaaaybe "a non-profit research center", but neither of those make sense. Give (E) his ball and send him home.

This leaves us with (D), which is the correct answer.

I hope that helps!
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Hi GMATNinja, isn't 'D' a Run-on ?
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 08 Apr 2020, 23:41
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(A) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions -- Incorrect. Modifier error. "a study" seems to be modifying DC.

(B) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions. -- Incorrect. Pronoun referent. "it" seems vague and at best can refer to "evidence" which doesn't make any sense.

(C) programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Centre for Media and Public Affairs, non-profit research center based in Washington D.C. -- Incorrect. Meaning error. Television programmes were not underwritten. The study was underwritten.

(D) programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C. -- Correct.

(E) programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center based in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions. -- Incorrect. Same error as B.
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 09 Apr 2020, 00:49
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.

(A) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions
(B) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
(C) programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Centre for Media and Public Affairs, non-profit research center based in Washington D.C.
(D) programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C.
(E) programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center based in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.

After a quick scan over the options, one thing becomes pretty clear: there are too many differences between the options to identify a quick "either/or" split. When this happens, it's best to look for bigger issues like meaning and clarity.

Let's look at each option and see if we can find any potential problems. To make problems easier to spot, let's also add in the non-underlined portion:

(A) Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.

This is INCORRECT because, if we take out the parenthetical phrase "a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C.," it doesn't work as a complete thought. Even if you were to put a comma after "Affairs," it creates a modifier-antecedent issue. This sentence is saying that "a study that is underwritten..." is the Center for Media and Public Affairs, which isn't true - the study of television programs is the study that's underwritten! If you leave the phrase in, there's still a problem - the phrase "a study" is trying to modify "Washington D.C.," which is a city, not a study.


(B) Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.

This option is INCORRECT because there's a vague pronoun! If you take out the parenthetical phrase, it's even clearer that the pronoun "it" is referring to the Center for Media and Public Affairs, which is wrong. The pronoun needs to refer back to the study. Since the pronoun is so far away from what it's referring to, it's not clear enough for readers to know what "it" is really talking about.\

(C) Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Centre for Media and Public Affairs, non-profit research center based in Washington D.C.

While this doesn't have the modifier problems we saw in options A & B, there is a meaning problem. We know that the STUDY was underwritten and conducted, but the way this sentence is structured makes it look like the TELEVISION PROGRAMS were underwritten and conducted?? That's not the meaning we're going for, so let's consider this one INCORRECT.

(D) Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C.

This seems like our best bet so far! The two modifier phrases are both located directly next to their antecedents (...a new study of 500 television programs, a study underwritten... / ...the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center...). (Spoiler alert: this is CORRECT)

(E) Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center based in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.

This is INCORRECT because it has the same vague pronoun problem as option B! The pronoun "it" is located next to "Washington D.C.," which is incorrect.


There you have it - option D is the best choice! It's the only one that doesn't have issues with meaning, modifier-antecedent agreement, or vague pronouns! This was an incredibly tough question to tackle, but if you focus on looking for big grammar issues, you'll crack the code!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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My choice was "C"
After reading the explanation it is clear why option "C" is incorrect. But not convinced with answer choice D. "a study underwritten by...." which is a separate part of the sentence without the "BE Verb". the sentence is written in passive voice so the sentence shall be "a study which was underwritten by...."

Please correct me in my misconception.
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 09 Apr 2020, 07:03
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tannumunu
My choice was "C"
After reading the explanation it is clear why option "C" is incorrect. But not convinced with answer choice D. "a study underwritten by...." which is a separate part of the sentence without the "BE Verb". the sentence is written in passive voice so the sentence shall be "a study which was underwritten by...."

Please correct me in my misconception.
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Hi tannumunu,

Underwritten is a modifier. Adding a verb and a which will also result in a modifier, just of a different type. For example:

1. A test taken by thousands of students every year
2. A test that is taken by thousands of students every year

Both (1) and (2) are acceptable, and the only real difference between the two is that the second one is slightly longer than the first. You'll also notice that I used a that, and not a which. The reason for that is that some people (not me :)) believe that using a which like that (without a comma before it) is incorrect.
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 05 May 2020, 19:01
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Hi everyone,

I have two questions regarding this questions.
I understand D seems to be the better answer but I am confused by the reason why some of the answers were eliminated.

A) General consensus in this forum is "a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institution" modifies Washington DC, but I thought comma noun+noun modifier at the end of the sentence can modify any noun in the preceding clause?

C) General consensus in this forum is "underwritten and conducted" modifies programs, but I though verb+ed can modify any proceeding noun or noun phrases. Why can't it modify a "a new study of 500 television program" ?
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 15 May 2020, 04:13
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GMATNinja
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Hey GMATNinja. Can you share your solution to this problem?
Sure! Let's break these down one by one:

Quote:
(A) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions

The modifier "a study" seems to be describing Washington D.C. That's no good. (A) is out.

Quote:
(B) Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
Typically, if a sentence has two full clauses and the 2nd clause starts with a pronoun, that pronoun will generally refer back to the subject of the first clause. So in this case, the antecedent for "it" seems to refer to "evidence." "Evidence is emerging... and evidence is underwritten?" Nah, that doesn't make any sense -- the study was underwritten, not the evidence.

And even if you're not convinced that "it" HAS to refer back to the subject of the first clause ("evidence"), the alternatives aren't great: "a non-profit research center" is the nearest singular noun, and that doesn't make sense, either, since the center isn't underwritten by the educational institutions -- "a new study" is, and the phrase "a new study" is buried in the middle of the clause. So it's really hard to make sense of that pronoun.

That's enough for us to get rid of (B).

Quote:
(C) programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Centre for Media and Public Affairs, non-profit research center based in Washington D.C.
Programs underwritten and conducted? Again, it makes more sense to write that the study was conducted. We can ditch (C).

Quote:
(D) programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C.
This looks pretty good. The study was underwritten by educational institutions and conducted by this center, which also happens to be a nonprofit. The modifiers are logical. Let's hold on to (D).

Quote:
(E) programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center based in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
Same problem as (B). The antecedent for "it" seems to refer to "evidence" or maaaaaybe "a non-profit research center", but neither of those make sense. Give (E) his ball and send him home.

This leaves us with (D), which is the correct answer.

I hope that helps!
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Hi, cant we jump over the descriptive phrase right before "a study" to solve the modifier error?
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 08 Jul 2020, 01:46
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I have gone through all the explanations. But still not able to understand why A is wrong?? One explanation said that the reason choice A is wrong is that the prepositional phrase "by" is modifying "programs". According to me preposition phrase "by" is modifying "Television programs" and not just "programs".

Did I miss something? I agree D is correct. But A is as equally correct as D. GMATNinja can you please post your explanation
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 10 Jul 2020, 11:13
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deep31993
I have gone through all the explanations. But still not able to understand why A is wrong?? One explanation said that the reason choice A is wrong is that the prepositional phrase "by" is modifying "programs". According to me preposition phrase "by" is modifying "Television programs" and not just "programs".

Did I miss something? I agree D is correct. But A is as equally correct as D. GMATNinja can you please post your explanation
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Hi deep31993,
Read this line
"Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs"
It seems Center for media and public affairs are showing television programs,but that's not the intended meaning.
a new study of 500 television programs was conducted by the center for media and public affairs.

Hope it helps :)
Let me know if you need further clarifications.
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 16 Aug 2020, 05:56
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GMATNinja
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Hey GMATNinja. Can you share your solution to this problem?
Sure! Let's break these down one by one:

Quote:
(A) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions

The modifier "a study" seems to be describing Washington D.C. That's no good. (A) is out.

Quote:
(B) Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
Typically, if a sentence has two full clauses and the 2nd clause starts with a pronoun, that pronoun will generally refer back to the subject of the first clause. So in this case, the antecedent for "it" seems to refer to "evidence." "Evidence is emerging... and evidence is underwritten?" Nah, that doesn't make any sense -- the study was underwritten, not the evidence.

And even if you're not convinced that "it" HAS to refer back to the subject of the first clause ("evidence"), the alternatives aren't great: "a non-profit research center" is the nearest singular noun, and that doesn't make sense, either, since the center isn't underwritten by the educational institutions -- "a new study" is, and the phrase "a new study" is buried in the middle of the clause. So it's really hard to make sense of that pronoun.

That's enough for us to get rid of (B).

Quote:
(C) programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Centre for Media and Public Affairs, non-profit research center based in Washington D.C.
Programs underwritten and conducted? Again, it makes more sense to write that the study was conducted. We can ditch (C).

Quote:
(D) programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C.
This looks pretty good. The study was underwritten by educational institutions and conducted by this center, which also happens to be a nonprofit. The modifiers are logical. Let's hold on to (D).

Quote:
(E) programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center based in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
Same problem as (B). The antecedent for "it" seems to refer to "evidence" or maaaaaybe "a non-profit research center", but neither of those make sense. Give (E) his ball and send him home.

This leaves us with (D), which is the correct answer.

I hope that helps!
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What if it doesn't really jump of to me that in (A), "a study" is modifying Washington ? For e it seems to refer back to "a study" only.
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I disregarded option D due to change in meaning, It felt like its saying the study was conducted by central media and public affairs while the original sentence says the programs were conducted by media and public affairs while the study was underwritten by educational institutes and I feel only option B conveys the meaning to most accuracy also since pronoun ambiguity is not a rule on GMAT. Help me out!
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 10 Sep 2020, 07:20
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GMATNinja
AyeeshaJ
Hey GMATNinja. Can you share your solution to this problem?
Sure! Let's break these down one by one:

Quote:
(A) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions

The modifier "a study" seems to be describing Washington D.C. That's no good. (A) is out.

Quote:
(B) Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
Typically, if a sentence has two full clauses and the 2nd clause starts with a pronoun, that pronoun will generally refer back to the subject of the first clause. So in this case, the antecedent for "it" seems to refer to "evidence." "Evidence is emerging... and evidence is underwritten?" Nah, that doesn't make any sense -- the study was underwritten, not the evidence.

And even if you're not convinced that "it" HAS to refer back to the subject of the first clause ("evidence"), the alternatives aren't great: "a non-profit research center" is the nearest singular noun, and that doesn't make sense, either, since the center isn't underwritten by the educational institutions -- "a new study" is, and the phrase "a new study" is buried in the middle of the clause. So it's really hard to make sense of that pronoun.

That's enough for us to get rid of (B).

Quote:
(C) programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Centre for Media and Public Affairs, non-profit research center based in Washington D.C.
Programs underwritten and conducted? Again, it makes more sense to write that the study was conducted. We can ditch (C).

Quote:
(D) programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C.
This looks pretty good. The study was underwritten by educational institutions and conducted by this center, which also happens to be a nonprofit. The modifiers are logical. Let's hold on to (D).

Quote:
(E) programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center based in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
Same problem as (B). The antecedent for "it" seems to refer to "evidence" or maaaaaybe "a non-profit research center", but neither of those make sense. Give (E) his ball and send him home.

This leaves us with (D), which is the correct answer.

I hope that helps!
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GMATNinja

Regarding option A, how can a study only describe Washington? Since it is within commas, so that makes it non-essential.
Now if we remove that part, it works like an absolute modifier - this is very flexible and can modify anything anywhere in the previous clause. The previous clause mentions study, so why not it unambiguously modifies study only?
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 16 Oct 2020, 09:49
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Quote:
Regarding option A, how can a study only describe Washington? Since it is within commas, so that makes it non-essential.
Now if we remove that part, it works like an absolute modifier - this is very flexible and can modify anything anywhere in the previous clause. The previous clause mentions study, so why not it unambiguously modifies study only?
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We want our noun modifiers to be reasonably close to the nouns they describe, and we want the meaning to be clear and logical. Consider a simple example:

    Tim's car, an Oldsmobile that hasn't had an oil change in a decade and that smells vaguely of gefilte fish, should probably be impounded and relegated to the scrapheap.

Here, "an Oldsmobile" is a modifier giving us information about "Tim's car." This works fine -- the modifier is reasonably close to what it describes and the logic is perfectly reasonable.

But watch what happens when I move the modifier around:

    Tim's car should probably be impounded and relegated to the scrapheap, an Oldsmobile that has had an oil change in a decade and that smells vaguely of gefilte fish.

Now, "Oldsmobile" certainly seems as though it's describing the "scrapheap," and this is illogical. If I read the sentence a few times can I eventually figure out what "Oldsmobile" is referring to? Sure. But it's a problematic construction because it's confusing. At the very least, you can probably see why the first sentence would be preferred.

Now take another look at (A):

Quote:
Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions
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It certainly seems, at first glance, that "a study" is describing either Washington D.C. or the nonprofit research center, neither of which makes sense. You'd have to read the sentence several times to find the "new study" that comes much earlier in the sentence. Contrast this with (D):

Quote:
Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C.
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Now "a study" is reasonably close to "a new study," and it's much easier to understand the meaning, so (D) is a better answer.

It's also worth keeping in mind that whenever you temporarily strip out a nonessential modifier, the idea is that when you do this, the main clause should still work grammatically without the modifier. In other words, this is a useful way to make sure that you have, say, proper subject-verb agreement in an unusually long sentence. It doesn't mean that you can stick the nonessential modifier wherever you want or that it doesn't matter how far away the nonessential modifier is from what it's describing. Otherwise, the two sentences involving Tim's Oldsmobile would be identical, and there'd be no problem with the second example. That's clearly not the case.

I hope that helps!
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 31 Oct 2020, 12:07
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Hey GMATNinja. Can you share your solution to this problem?
Sure! Let's break these down one by one:

Quote:
(A) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions
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The modifier "a study" seems to be describing Washington D.C. That's no good. (A) is out.

Hi GMATNinja, I am struggling here to identify when to safely ignore filler prepositional phrases - this sentence seems rife with classic GMAT examples of excessive "from"s, "of"s, "in"s, etcetera, which obscure meaning and confuse the proper placement of the second "study." I assumed that I could safely ignore the parenthetical about Washington DC, and use the second "study" to simply modify the first study. Though the second "study" is disgustingly far away from the first "study," it does not seem grammatically incorrect. Where am I going wrong here? Thanks!
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 13 Nov 2020, 06:42
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GMATNinja and GMATNinjaTwo why answer C is taking programs instead of study of 500 television programs?

Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new STUDY OF 500 TELEVISION PROGRAMS underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Centre for Media and Public Affairs, non-profit research center based in Washington D.C.

Thank you!
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 17 Nov 2020, 08:26
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shen0150
Hi everyone,

I have two questions regarding this questions.
I understand D seems to be the better answer but I am confused by the reason why some of the answers were eliminated.

A) General consensus in this forum is "a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institution" modifies Washington DC, but I thought comma noun+noun modifier at the end of the sentence can modify any noun in the preceding clause?

C) General consensus in this forum is "underwritten and conducted" modifies programs, but I though verb+ed can modify any proceeding noun or noun phrases. Why can't it modify a "a new study of 500 television program" ?
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shen0150
Quoting Manhattan SC guide. "A NOUN and its MODIFIER should TOUCH each other."

For (A) Following the rule above "a study that is underwritten..." CANNOT modify "Washington D.C." This positioning of noun modifier makes this sentence wrong.

As for (C), it does not have modifier issue. But it does have a meaning issue.
try to read and compare these sentences -
(C) "a new study of 500 television programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions"
(D) "a new study of 500 television programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions"

Doesnt it look like "underwritten by a..." is directly touching "programs" and trying to modify "programs" ?
whereas in the second one, explicitly mentioning " a study underwritten by.." to modify the study itself makes the meaning more concise
There is no critical flaw in (C), its just that (D) is way more clear to convey meaning than (C).
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 17 Nov 2020, 23:44
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DanTe02
I disregarded option D due to change in meaning, It felt like its saying the study was conducted by central media and public affairs
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Hi DanTe02, that's correct. Option D is indeed conveying this meaning.

Quote:
while the original sentence says the programs were conducted by media and public affairs
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This is not necessarily what the original sentence is conveying.

D says:

....a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs....

An analogy might help:

....a study of poverty by UNO...

Clearly, the study was conducted by UNO.

Since the sentence is talking about Center for Media and Public Affairs, the center is more likely to perform study, than conduct 500 television programs!
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 18 Nov 2020, 00:14
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eled34
Though the second "study" is disgustingly far away from the first "study," it does not seem grammatically incorrect. Where am I going wrong here? Thanks!
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Hi eled34, would encourage you to do a quick Google search on (what's called) resumptive modifier. That should hopefully clear things up for you.
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 04 Dec 2020, 07:27
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Bunuel
Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions
SC37561.01
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(A) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions - Incorrect
The television programs are not by the center for media and public affairs but the study was conducted by the center

(B) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions - Incorrect
Same as option A

(C) programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Centre for Media and Public Affairs, non-profit research center based in Washington D.C. - Incorrect
The study was underwritten and not the television programs

(D) programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C. - Correct
This option uses corrects the errors called out in other options. The underlined part correctly modifies the center for media and public affairs using the noun + noun modifier structure

(E) programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center based in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions - Incorrect
The use of it is violates the rules of parallelism and unnecessarily repeats 'study'

Ans. D
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 09 Dec 2020, 13:12
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Bunuel
Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.


(A) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions

(B) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.

(C) programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Centre for Media and Public Affairs, non-profit research center based in Washington D.C.

(D) programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C.

(E) programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center based in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.

SC37561.01
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I applied the Splitting answer choices and understanding the meaning approach to eliminate answer choices.

A and B have pretty much same construction. "A study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions" is wrongly modifying a nonprofit research center. A is out. B has same problem and in addition "it" doesn't have a clear antecedent too. B is out.

C gives a meaning that programs are underwritten but can't be. The study should be underwritten. C is out.

(D) No Problems are seen in D. Correct. It says the study is underwritten by a number of educational institutions and a non-profit research center in Washington D.C. perfectly modifying the non-profit research center of Washington D.C.

(E) Based in Washington D.C is unnecessary and "it" doesn't have a clear antecedent. OUT.

The answer is \(D\)
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 11 Mar 2021, 20:50
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eled34
GMATNinja
AyeeshaJ
Hey GMATNinja. Can you share your solution to this problem?
Sure! Let's break these down one by one:

Quote:
(A) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions

The modifier "a study" seems to be describing Washington D.C. That's no good. (A) is out.

Hi GMATNinja, I am struggling here to identify when to safely ignore filler prepositional phrases - this sentence seems rife with classic GMAT examples of excessive "from"s, "of"s, "in"s, etcetera, which obscure meaning and confuse the proper placement of the second "study." I assumed that I could safely ignore the parenthetical about Washington DC, and use the second "study" to simply modify the first study. Though the second "study" is disgustingly far away from the first "study," it does not seem grammatically incorrect. Where am I going wrong here? Thanks!
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Great question, eled34. And sorry for the delay!

But I think you've sort of answered your own question with this part: "Though the second "study" is disgustingly far away from the first "study," it does not seem grammatically incorrect." Remember, GMAT SC is not about looking at each sentence in a bubble and determining whether it is right or wrong. Instead, it's about picking the BEST choice out of the five available options.

So, we can go with (D), in which the extra comma-separated information about the study comes right after the "new study" is mentioned... or we can go with (A), in which the extra information about the study is separated from the "new study" it describes by a whole bunch of other stuff. In (A), the reader has to do more work to figure out what "a study that is..." modifies. In (D), the meaning is crystal clear.

Is that enough to say that (A) is grammatically WRONG? Maybe not, but that's not the point. (D) is a much better option, regardless of whether (A) is grammatically right or wrong.

I hope that helps!
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