Historians and philosophers in the late nineteenth century argued that

Question

Historians and philosophers in the late nineteenth century argued that Plato’s work was perhaps the ultimate work of political philosophy,  that it was the one paradigm of political discourse that there was no possibility to supersede.

(A) that it was the one paradigm of political discourse that there was no possibility to supersede

(B) the one paradigm of political discourse that could not be superseded

(C) for it was the one paradigm of political discourse, and that it was impossible to supersede

(D) a paradigm of political discourse that there was no possibility to supersede

(E) as being the one paradigm that could not be superseded in political discourse

bhatiavai · Answer

IMO : E
'one paradigm of political discourse' doesn't make sense
Only E conveys the meaning Clearly

one paradigm that could not be superseded  in political discourse  
though I'm not too sure of this...

kanigmat011 · Answer

IMO its E
no other choice brings comparison into picture except this

daagh · Answer

For those who feel that E would make the best, let me clarify that, as a basic concept, GMAT never likes to employ ‘being’ as a modifier. In this case, it clearly modifies Plato’s work. So it can be easily dislodged. 
We need an appositive to describe Plato’s work and B is the neat and forthright appositive in the given contest.

shriramvelamuri · Answer

The two sentence seperated by comma need a proper conjunction

Hence A and E are gone.

D is awkward as it is difficult to understand who actually is superseding.

C. The historians argued that XYZ and that (IT) was impossible to supersede. 
(the IT has no reference)

B is correct. Althought I picked the option D as the first pick. Parallelism is very cunning.

MvArrow · Answer

I was unsure between B and D, but eventually picked D.
Can someone please explain me why B is the correct one?

atulindia · Answer

I think use of that is unnecessary, there act as dummy subject and coveys correct meaning. also use of that there is redundant in standard english i thik, Some moderator further can help.

Bunuel · Answer

MANHATTAN REVIEW OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

This question has to do with efficiency of language. What follows the comma is going to give you some peripheral information about the work. You don’t need to precede it by any unnecessary words or phrases such as ‘for’ or ‘as’. D changes the meaning by its use of ‘a paradigm’ rather then ‘the paradigm’. ‘A paradigm’ implies that there were others. The other options are wordier than B. Choice B is the correct answer.

Arpitkumar · Answer

What is wrong with answer option C here ?

sananoor · Answer

C is wrong because of many reasons, its not parallel and its not concise
(C) for it was the one paradigm of political discourse,  and that  it was impossible to supersede

here  For  means "because" and the use of this is unnecessary as we are simply defining "the ultimate work of political philosophy" 
the underline part *and that* there is one *that* after  and  and thus we need another *that* after  *for*  to make it parallel

Ishtiaqur · Answer

Isn't option B modifying political philosophy instead of his work. It seems like it changes the meaning of the sentence completely. Could someone kindly explain?

Posted from my mobile device

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that Plato’s work was perhaps the ultimate work of political philosophy and that it was the one paradigm of political discourse that could not be superseded.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Grammatical Construction + Idioms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• "possibility + of" and "possibility + that" are the correct, idiomatic constructions
• If a list contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction.

A:  This answer choice incorrectly uses a comma to join two elements in a list -- the phrases "that Plato’s work...political philosophy" and "that it was...to supersede"; please remember, if a list contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction. Further, Option A incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "possibility + to"; please remember, "possibility + of" is the correct, idiomatic construction here. Additionally, Option A uses the needlessly wordy phrase "there was no possibility to supersede", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

B:   Correct.  This answer choice correctly modifies "ultimate work of political philosophy" with "the one paradigm...be superseded", conveying the intended meaning - that Plato’s work was perhaps the ultimate work of political philosophy and as a separate action it was the only paradigm of political discourse that could not be superseded. Further, Option B avoids the grammatical construction errors seen in Options A and C, as it does not present any elements in a list. Additionally, Option B avoids the idiomatic errors seen in Options A and D, as it does not employ the word "possibility". Besides, Option B is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

C:  This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrases "for it was the one paradigm of political discourse" and "that it was impossible to supersede"; these phrases incorrectly imply that Plato’s work was perhaps the ultimate work of political philosophy because it was the only paradigm of political discourse, and as a separate action it could not be superseded; the intended meaning is that Plato’s work was perhaps the ultimate work of political philosophy and as a separate action it was the one paradigm of political discourse that could not be superseded. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the "comma + conjunction ("and" in this sentence)" construction to join two elements in a list -- the phrases "that Plato’s work...political discourse" and "that it was impossible to supersede"; please remember, if a list contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction. Additionally, Option C uses the needlessly wordy phrase "that it was impossible to supersede", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D:  This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "a paradigm of political discourse"; the omission of the phrase "the one" incorrectly implies that Plato's work was one among many paradigms of political discourse that could not be superseded; the intended meaning is that Plato's work was the only paradigm of political discourse that could not be superseded. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "possibility + to"; please remember, "possibility + of" is the correct, idiomatic construction here.

E:  This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "as being the one paradigm...discourse"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that Plato’s work was perhaps the ultimate work of political philosophy and that it was the one paradigm of political discourse that could not be superseded.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

vedha0 · Answer

can someone please answer this?  bb   Bunuel   GMATNinja

Mrigya05 · Answer

Please confirm the correct answer to this question.

Bunuel · Answer

The OA for this question is B. You can check it under the spoiler in the first post.

GMATNinja · Answer

This doesn't appear to be an official question, but the following general reminder might help: there's nothing special about choice (A), and the correct choice certainly doesn't have to match choice (A) in terms of meaning.

If (B) "changes" the meaning to something that actually makes more sense, then you likely have a vote against choice (A).

Historians and philosophers in the late nineteenth century argued that

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Historians and philosophers in the late nineteenth century argued that

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