Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is

The following three splits essentially revolve around the same idea:
Split 1: 'programs by the Center' vs others
'programs by the center' implies that the center wrote/produced/created these programs. It changes the original meaning of the sentence.
Option A and B are out.

Split 2: 'programs underwritten by' vs 'program, a study underwritten by'
Again, similar to A- the educational institutions have not written the programs but rather have written the study as is stated in D.
Option C is out.

Split 3: 'a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions' vs 'a study conducted by..'/'it is underwritten'
D is parallel- 'underwritten by' and 'conducted by'- and more concise compared to E.

When you read the answer choices, you will realise that only A& D come close to being a valid contender. But A makes a mistake by saying that programs by the center of media and arts. Rather study was by the center of media and arts.

D wins.

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.

Imo D.

Absolute noun (noun + noun modifier; implied noun, i.e. ..., a study....) construction is highly preferred by the GMAT test makers, so eliminate B and C (though this is not the best approach for wrong answer elimination). So, let's focus on A, D and E.

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 - Evidence of some shifts .... programs by center for M and PA,,,,,: noun modifier is far away from, which should be as close as possible to noun or immediately after comma.
B. programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions - As per above mentioned preference
C. programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center based in Washington, D.C. - - As per above mentioned preference
D. programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C. - looks fine, hold it.
E. programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center based in Washington, D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions - pronoun reference error

Hey GMATNinja. Can you share your solution to this problem?

If the independent clause stating with a study in option D is separated by a ';' , wouldn't it make the sentence clearer?

(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
-Wrong
"by center for ..." incorrectly refers to programs.
The phrase should refer to "study"
"a study " incorrectly refers to Washington D.C.

(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.
-Wrong
Similar incorrect reference of "by ..."
"It" incorrectly refers to "evidence"

(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.
- Wrong
Similar to A and B - "by ..." refers to 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
"underwritten and conducted" correctly refers to study
"a non-profit ..." correctly describes "center for ..."

(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.
- Wrong
"conducted" correctly refers to study
"it" incorrectly refers to "evidence"

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.

GMATNinjaTwo, MikeScarn, GMATNinja, hazelnut, generis
Hi , can it in option E refer to a noun in an absolute phrase?

(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.

Hello SonGoku!

Thanks for asking such a good question! The main problem with option E is that we don't know for sure WHICH of the two modifier phrases the pronoun "it" is referring back to. If we look closely, we can actually find 3 options:

(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.

The pronoun "it" can refer back to the closest preceding noun or noun phrase - this is why it's so vague. In simpler sentences, you can get away with using "it" to refer back to a noun phrase if there's only one to pick from. Unfortunately, this sentence is so long and complex that "it" could refer back to any one of these 3 items.

Option D doesn't have a pronoun to deal with, and the two modifier phrases are located directly after the thing they're modifying, so that's our better answer.

I hope this helps! Feel free to tag me at EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have any more questions!

Thanks EMPOWERgmatVerbal for your quick reply

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., study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.

In the above original sentence we see the placement of study and its modifier are far away.


Option 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.

Option 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.

Comparing A & D we see the placement of the modifier for study is clearly placed.
OA <- D

Solution :

Question : 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.


a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions IS Modifying Washinton, DC ( a location) -> Illogical
INCORRECT



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

and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions --> Pronoun "it" jumps out for which antecedent ?? No clear antecedent ->Illogical
INCORRECT


C. programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center based in Washington, D.C.

Meaning : It says programs
1.by a number of educational institutions.
2.conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs

Difference in meaning -> Illogical again
INCORRECT


D. programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C.
1, Looks good
2. Error Free
CORRECT


E. programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center based in Washington, D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions
1. Wordy
2. "and it is ....." seems redudndant

INCORRECT

Hi All,

Here's our way of analysing the problem:

UNDERSTANDING THE INTENDED MEANING

Break the sentence to derive the intended meaning.

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

ERRORS:
1. Noun modifiers should be placed as close as possible to the noun they modify.
2. In this case, the noun phrase “a nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C.,” modifies the CMPA and is correctly placed just after it.
3. However, the prepositional phrase “by the Center for Media and Public Affairs” is placed next to television programs and illogically modifies it. The phrase is actually modifying “the new study”
4. The noun+noun modifier “a study that…” is modifying the study and again should be placed as close as possible to “the new study” even though it is a noun+noun modifier that can be placed slightly away from the noun it modifies.

POSSIBLE CORRECT VERSION:
1. Since the study is conducted by CMPA and is underwritten by educational institutions, it makes better sense to put the two verbs together in the form of modifiers:
2. “….from a new study of 500 television programs, a study underwritten by …..and conducted by….CMPA.
3. And then place the modifier “a nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C” next to CMPA

Thereafter, go through the process of answer choice elimination. Only D comes up with all modifiers making logical sense with the entities they are modifying.

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"...

Correct answer is (D), but isn't it faulty parallelism. Is "underwritten" also a modifier?

Hello, lakshya14. I am not sure I understand what you mean by faulty parallelism. Choice (D) seems pretty straightforward along those lines:

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.

That is, underwritten--the past tense of underwrite--and conducted--the past tense of conduct are perfectly parallel, each one is followed by by, and they are even joined by the conjunction and, as in A and B. What is the problem?

Please specify what issue you see in the answer choice, and I would be happy to address it.

- Andrew