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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 13 Sep 2021, 21:12
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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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Thank you for the explanation. I left (C) and (D), but I did not choose (D) because of "a study underwritten...". Why article "a" is correct? Shouldn't it be "the" article as we already talked about the "study" before? I mean we are introducing the "study" second time and that is why article "the" should be used, instead of "a". Can you please comment on that matter? Thanks.
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 13 Sep 2021, 21:16
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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

Official Explanation

Logical predication; Rhetorical construction

The sentence gives three pieces of information: that a new study suggests the nature of violence on television is changing; that it was funded by educational institutions; and that it was conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center.

Our task is to order this information logically and grammatically. The most obvious defect in the given sentence is that the long phrase a study . . . institutions describing how the study was funded is placed too far from the first mention of the study (a new study), with too much distracting information in between.

A. This choice is incorrect for the reasons stated above.

B. In this choice, it is ambiguous: it could, for example, refer to the evidence or the new study.

C. In this choice, the modifying phrases underwritten by . . . and conducted by . . . appear to modify programs.

D. Correct. This choice clearly organizes the information in the sentence, with no ambiguity.

E. The pronoun it is ambiguous: it could refer to the new study or the evidence.

The correct answer is D.

Thanks for the official explanation. Now I clearly see the issue between C & D

[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.
"Program" is modified by "underwritten"...
[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.
"a study" is modified appropriately by "underwritten"...
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Shouldnt it be "the study" not "a study", as we introduce "Study" second time in the sentence?
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 14 Sep 2021, 01:38
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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,
Thank you for this (great) explanation.
I have a small doubt in option C though.
Its about Verb-ed modifier. Can't a verb-ed modifier modify the entire phrase (eg: Can't 'underwritten and conducted' modify 'study of 500 tv programs'). I have seen this kind of construction to be correct in ',which' case in some questions. I am getting confused. Please shed some lights. Thank you.
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Quote:
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).
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Hi GMATNinja
While looking at option (C), I considered the part in bold in "the a new study of 500 television programs" as a prepositional modifier starting with of and, therefore, though that the the verbs "underwritten by" and "conducted by" correctly relate to "the study".
Would request you to suggest, where I am going wrong here ?
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 16 Sep 2021, 11:45
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SA1196
Hi GMATNinja
While looking at option (C), I considered the part in bold in "the a new study of 500 television programs" as a prepositional modifier starting with of and, therefore, though that the the verbs "underwritten by" and "conducted by" correctly relate to "the study".
Would request you to suggest, where I am going wrong here ?
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Hi SA1196,

In X of Y, {modifier}, there's no rule that says that {modifier} must refer to X or to Y. That makes option C ambiguous (not impossible). Option D removes that ambiguity by removing of Y entirely. That's why we prefer option D to option C.
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 25 Sep 2021, 07:57
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Mck2023
Hi GMATNinja,
Thank you for this (great) explanation.
I have a small doubt in option C though.
Its about Verb-ed modifier. Can't a verb-ed modifier modify the entire phrase (eg: Can't 'underwritten and conducted' modify 'study of 500 tv programs'). I have seen this kind of construction to be correct in ',which' case in some questions. I am getting confused. Please shed some lights. Thank you.
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I agree with the recent response by AjiteshArun. Sure, you can argue that "underwritten... and conducted" modify "study of 500 television programs" (and not just "programs") in choice (C). The problem is that we aren't actually sure what's being modified in (C).

In (D), the repetition of "a study" makes it 100% clear that "underwritten... and conducted" modify "a study". That makes (D) a clearer and better choice.
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I thought that D) was a run on sentence.

Can anyone please explain why "a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affair" is not an independent clause ?

Thank you so much :)




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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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 25 Nov 2021, 17:10
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Naptiste
I thought that D) was a run on sentence.

Can anyone please explain why "a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affair" is not an independent clause ?

Thank you so much :)
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Hello, Naptiste. The portion of (D) you have quoted above is nothing more than a lengthy phrase. Why? Because what appear to be verbs are nothing more than adjectival modifiers for the noun study.

Quote:
a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs
Show more
You could spot them as modifiers more easily if they preceded the noun, perhaps, and if they were not stuck together and long-winded. Consider a truncated version of the same:

1) Underwritten by [institutions], a study...

2) Conducted by [a center], a study...

If we wanted to turn the phrase into a clause while preserving the passive construct, we would look to a helping verb:

3) A study was underwritten by... and conducted by...

So, in the absence of a verb, we cannot call the original line anything other than a phrase. Sometimes it can help to stick to the basics when the sentences get lengthy. We do not care, for instance, about anything other than institutions, in terms of who underwrote the study. The rest is just extra information about those institutions. (The phrase would make just as much sense if the institutions were non-educational in nature.)

I hope that helps with your query. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew
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It does help a lot !


Thank you very much for your help.

Have a lovely day.



AndrewN
Naptiste
I thought that D) was a run on sentence.

Can anyone please explain why "a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affair" is not an independent clause ?

Thank you so much :)
Hello, Naptiste. The portion of (D) you have quoted above is nothing more than a lengthy phrase. Why? Because what appear to be verbs are nothing more than adjectival modifiers for the noun study.

Quote:
a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs
You could spot them as modifiers more easily if they preceded the noun, perhaps, and if they were not stuck together and long-winded. Consider a truncated version of the same:

1) Underwritten by [institutions], a study...

2) Conducted by [a center], a study...

If we wanted to turn the phrase into a clause while preserving the passive construct, we would look to a helping verb:

3) A study was underwritten by... and conducted by...

So, in the absence of a verb, we cannot call the original line anything other than a phrase. Sometimes it can help to stick to the basics when the sentences get lengthy. We do not care, for instance, about anything other than institutions, in terms of who underwrote the study. The rest is just extra information about those institutions. (The phrase would make just as much sense if the institutions were non-educational in nature.)

I hope that helps with your query. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 18 Feb 2022, 00:41
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GMATNinja AndrewN

What's the difference between end modifier in C & D
1) non-profit research center based in Washington D.C - Noun + Noun Modifier (Verb-ed modifier based in W, DC)
2) a non-profit research center in Washington D.C. - Noun phrase

Does usage of "a" necessary?

Thanks in advance!
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is Updated on: 18 Feb 2022, 07:59
Originally posted by AndrewN on 18 Feb 2022, 04:53.
Last edited by AndrewN on 18 Feb 2022, 07:59, edited 1 time in total.
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Sneha2021
GMATNinja AndrewN

What's the difference between end modifier in C & D
1) non-profit research center based in Washington D.C - Noun + Noun Modifier (Verb-ed modifier based in W, DC)
2) a non-profit research center in Washington D.C. - Noun phrase

Does usage of "a" necessary?

Thanks in advance!
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Hello, Sneha2021. Yes, an article of some sort (a, the) should appear after the comma. I suspected a transcription error as soon as I looked back over (C), so I checked the source material (through Google Books):

Attachment:
Screen Shot 2022-02-18 at 06.25.52.png
Screen Shot 2022-02-18 at 06.25.52.png [ 94.06 KiB | Viewed 1747 times ]
You can clearly see the missing article after the comma. Case closed. People should not be able to eliminate the answer choice based on such a "problem." (Bunuel, would you please correct the issue?)

Concerning your second question, I would argue that the context of the sentence allows us to infer that the appositive phrase refers to an entity based in a city, making the explicit mention unnecessary and arguably redundant. It is similar to writing the following:

1) The Wall Street Journal, based in New York City, enjoys one of the largest circulation volumes of any newspaper in the world.

2) The Wall Street Journal, in New York City, enjoys one of the largest circulation volumes of any newspaper in the world.

It is not that the first sentence is not functional, but based is not strictly necessary; on the GMAT™, it is good practice to ask yourself whether extra words add something in the way of clarity to the vital meaning of the sentence. If not, and a more concise option exists, then the shorter version (barring any other key decision points) will win out.

Perhaps that helps resolve your concerns. Thank you for thinking to ask.

- Andrew
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 18 Feb 2022, 04:58
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Sneha2021
GMATNinja AndrewN

What's the difference between end modifier in C & D
1) non-profit research center based in Washington D.C - Noun + Noun Modifier (Verb-ed modifier based in W, DC)
2) a non-profit research center in Washington D.C. - Noun phrase

Does usage of "a" necessary?

Thanks in advance!
Hello, Sneha2021. Yes, an article of some sort (a, the) should appear after the comma. I suspected a transcription error as soon as I looked back over (C), so I checked the source material (through Google Books):

Attachment:
Screen Shot 2022-02-18 at 06.25.52.png
You can clearly see the missing article after the comma. Case closed. People should not be able to eliminate the answer choice based on such a "problem." (Bunuel, would you please correct the issue?)

Concerning your second question, I would argue that the context of the sentence allows us to infer that the appositive phrase refers to an entity based in a city, making the explicit mention unnecessary and arguably redundant. It is similar to the writing the following:

1) The Wall Street Journal, based in New York City, enjoys one of the largest circulation volumes of any newspaper in the world.

2) The Wall Street Journal, in New York City, enjoys one of the largest circulation volumes of any newspaper in the world.

It is not that the first sentence is not functional, but based is not strictly necessary; on the GMAT™, it is good practice to ask yourself whether extra words add something in the way of clarity to the vital meaning of the sentence. If not, and a more concise option exists, then the shorter version (barring any other key decision points) will win out.

Perhaps that helps resolve your concerns. Thank you for thinking to ask.

- Andrew
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_______________________
Fixed the typo. Thank you!
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An important information can't be placed between two commas. I ruled out option D on this concept. Some experts please guide me here.

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Hey AbhishekDhanraJ72

Happy to help!

You're right that important/essential information must not be inserted between commas.

But Choice D does not insert essential information between commas. Choice D contains what we, at e-GMAT, call a "Noun+Noun Modifier". In grammatical jargon, this is also known as a "Resumptive Phrase". You're encouraged to look this up, since this is a frequently tested concept in GMAT SC.

Let's take a closer look at choice D:

    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..

The "Noun+Noun Modifier" is: a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs

In this Modifier, the noun is: a study
And the two modifiers modifying this noun are: underwritten...institutions and conducted...Public Affairs


Now, notice that the words that modify 'a study' extend from 'underwritten' to 'Public Affairs'. Had this been a non-essential modifier, then this phrase would have been inserted between commas, as so:

    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..

Not only would this be grammatically incorrect, it would also make little sense.


The beauty of the "Noun + Noun Modifier" Phrase, is that the Noun Modifier in this phrase always provides essential information about the Noun right before it.


And finally, the reason choice D uses a Noun+Noun Modifier and not a Modifier directly is that the modifier would become ambiguous and could even modify "programs", as seen in choice C.

I hope this helps improve your understanding.



Happy Learning!

Abhishek
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KarishmaB GMATNinja
(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.

Why C is incorrect? Is there any other reason to reject C apart from "programs can't be underwritten".
Why programs can't be underwritten?

Thank you for you time :)
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KarishmaB GMATNinja
(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.

Why C is incorrect? Is there any other reason to reject C apart from "programs can't be underwritten".
Why programs can't be underwritten?

Thank you for you time :)
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Programs could be underwritten but what makes logical sense? An educational institute will underwrite a study of 500 programs (to see how they are impacting the students) or will it underwrite 500 TV programs? Educational institutes do not usually underwrite TV programs since they are in a totally diff business. They could underwrite studies to evaluate the impact of TV programs on their kids.

Also, a TV program is directed and aired.I don't know if it makes much sense to say a TV program conducted by so and so because there is no active guidance taking place during airing. On the other hand, a study is conducted by an institute so that makes sense.
Hence (D) is correct, not (C).
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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,

Isn't "a study" a noun + noun modifier ? I marked option A correct since I thought "a study" is a noun + noun modifier and hence can correctly modify the far away noun that it intends to modify ?
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Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is 30 Sep 2023, 06:15
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AyeeshaJ
Hey GMATNinja. Can you share your solution to this problem?

Sure! Let's break these down one by one:

Quote:
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,

Isn't "a study" a noun + noun modifier ? I marked option A correct since I thought "a study" is a noun + noun modifier and hence can correctly modify the far away noun that it intends to modify ?
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In order for that to work, "a study" would have to jump over SEVERAL nouns: 1) 500 television programs, 2) the Center for Media and Public Affairs, 3) a nonprofit research center, and 4) Washington D.C. So at best, the sentence in choice (A) is unclear and hard to follow.

The meaning of "a study" is much clearer in choice (D), making it a much better option.

I hope that helps!
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