Just like the Internet today, often being called an “information super

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:

Just like the Internet today, often being called an “information superhighway,” the telegraph was described in its day as an “instantaneous highway of thought.”

A) Just like the Internet today, often being

B) Just as the Internet is today often

C) As with the Internet being today often

D) As is often the case today with the Internet,

E) Similar to the Internet today, often

With such a short underlined portion, there are really only 2 places we can focus on here:

1. Just like / Just as / As with / As / Similar to (Idioms & Comparisons)
2. today, often being / is today often / being today often / often the case today / today, often (Diction & Parallelism)

Let’s start with #1 on our list, which is mainly deciding between using “like” or “as” for this particular comparison. We understand that like vs. as can get confusing, but here is an easy way to think about it when comparing two things:

Like = used to compare two nouns; the word after “like” should be a noun
As = used to compare two actions or verbs; the work after “as” can be either a noun or verb

So what are we really comparing here? The Internet and the telegraph? NO! We’re comparing what the Internet is called to what the telegraph used to be called. That means we’re comparing two actions - not two nouns! Let’s see how our options break down:

A) Just like the Internet today, often being

B) Just as the Internet is today often

C) As with the Internet being today often

D) As is often the case today with the Internet,

E) Similar to the Internet today, often 
(Note: ”like” and “similar to” are the same thing, and follow the same rules)

We can eliminate options A & E because they use some version of “like” to compare two actions, which isn’t correct. Now that we have it narrowed down, let’s tackle #2 on our list. We mainly need to make sure the meaning is clear and logical, while also ensuring the two things being compared are parallel. (To make problems easier to spot, we’ve added in the non-underlined parts.)

B) Just as the Internet is today often called an “information superhighway,” the telegraph was described in its day as an “instantaneous highway of thought.”
This is our CORRECT choice! The two items being compared are parallel, and the way they’re worded is rather parallel too. It’s also clear and logical for readers.

C) As with the Internet being today often called an “information superhighway,” the telegraph was described in its day as an “instantaneous highway of thought.”
This is INCORRECT because “as with” is not an idiomatically correct way to talk about comparisons. Also, the phrase “being today often” is incredibly awkward and confusing!

D) As is often the case today with the Internet, called an “information superhighway,” the telegraph was described in its day as an “instantaneous highway of thought.”
This is INCORRECT because the comparison is no longer parallel! By making the phrase “called an ‘information highway’” a non-essential phrase, we’re now comparing the Internet (a noun) with “the telegraph was described in its day as an ‘instantaneous highway of thought’” (an action).

There you have it - option B is our winner!


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