OFFICIAL EXPLANATION


The short version:

1) rise OF bankruptcies is not correct. A rise IN bankruptcy rates is correct.
Eliminate options C and D

2) a raise is what an American gets if her salary is increased, and that instance is pretty much the only one in which "raise" is a noun.
We should say a rise IN bankruptcies.
Eliminate option A

3) Option E is illogical (as are C and D). Despite, although, and while suggest contrast and a result that is surprising.
This result is not surprising; the economy is signalling that bankruptcies will increase, and Congress has very little to no control over market forces such as the ones in this context..

The opening words in A and B are more sensible. Those two options emphasize bad (or ironic) timing.
The fact that Congress got around to addressing bankruptcy is ironic because of the legislature's timing.
The legislator will act right before a storm is about to hit.
The theme is bad or ironic timing, not surprising contrast (Congress's reform cannot forestall the rise in bankruptcies because the signs are already clear that such a rise will happen).
Eliminate option E

The best answer is B.

SPLITS

• Split #1: raise vs. rise

GMAC tests this split on occasion.
The word "raise" is almost never a noun. In the U.S., a person whose salary increases gets "a raise," but I have never seen GMAC use that kind of "raise."

An increase in the frequency of [inanimate] events or a rate increase is a rise.
We speak of a rise in disease; a rise in hate crimes in the U.S. since Trump took office; a rise in interest rates, unemployment, and bankruptcies; and a rise in crime.

Option A uses the wrong word: raise.
Eliminate A

• Split #2: dedicated noun "rise" vs. ___ING noun "rising"

In English, sometimes we must make nouns out of verbs because no "original" or "dedicated" noun exists.
We change verbs into nouns (gerunds) by adding ___ING.

If options contain both a dedicated noun such as rise and a gerund (a verbING) such as rising, try to use the dedicated noun rather than the gerund.
On the GMAT and in SWE, a dedicated noun is preferred.
(Besides, compared to option B, option C sounds really awkward.)

Eliminate option C

• Split #3: Meaning and logic

Although, despite [the fact that], and while are contrast words that suggest the result is surprising. See HERE
(Compare them, for example, with whereas, which presents contrast as mere difference rather than as a surprise. HERE)

Just when and even as mean at the same time.

The contrast words do not fit logically.
Whether Congress passes bankruptcy reform legislation or not, bankruptcies will increase; "economic omens" tell us so.
In other words, it is not surprising that bankruptcies will increase.
It is ironic that Congress has decided to tinker with bankruptcy just as economic signs indicate that the number of bankruptcies is about to explode.

Eliminate D and E.

The best answer is B.

Suppose that you did not see that options C, D, and E aren't very logical.
We have two more ways to get to the correct answer.

• Split #4: IN vs. OF

A rise IN bankruptcies is correct. A rise OF bankruptcies is not.
Prepositions are hard.
A fairly reliable distinction is that when inanimate events (without human agency) increase, especially when those events are rates, we say "a rise in."
I listed a few examples above.
On the other hand, when people (with agency) push for power or create events, we say "THE rise of."
We might talk about the rise of a whole civilization; the rise of the institution of Christianity; the rise of despotic tyrants; and the rise of a human-driven doctrine such as fascism.
But if we are talking about rates and the frequency of events, we use "a rise IN."

Option D uses rise "of."
Eliminate D.

• Split #5: choose the clean verb phrase over a questionable gerund phrase

In option E, "despite" is a preposition that should be followed by a noun phrase.
Compare E to B.
Option B is shorter and crisper than option E. Choose the clearer option.
(The noun phrase that follows "despite" in option E is not grammatical but you will never be tested on this rule.
Option E should say, "Despite the bankruptcy reform's appearing to head for a certain passage in the Congress, . . . "
Yep. You do not need to know that the possessive should be used in such cases.
You do need to know how to identify a crisp and clear phrase from a flabby and muddy one.
Option B is the former. Option E is the latter.
Read.
(And if you are avoiding The Economist, the NY Times, Atlantic Monthly, New Yorker, and the like, then read Harvard Magazine for free, here.. Click on "Archives." Download a couple of years' worth of the magazine. It has short and long passages on many interesting subjects and its editors are incredibly good.)

Eliminate option E.

The best answer is B.

NOTES

I really do urge you to read.
If you can't find the willpower to read business journals or newspapers, read Harvard Magazine.
Or read a novel.
Human beings love stories.

COMMENTS

(Whew.)

dave13 (long time! ) , eakabuah , Enkhhulan , and mykrasovski , good to see you all.

shameekv1989 , once again, welcome to SC Butler.

These responses range from very good to outstanding.
You've impressed me. (This OE was hard to structure; you all did very well.)
I like the fact that everyone has different styles.

Much more importantly, I like the fact that you all are here, posting.
(And yes, I'm issuing a Big Fat Hint to people who would like to post but have not done so yet: by all means, post!)

Very nicely done. Kudos to all.

The meaning of the sentence suggests there is a timing element involved in the sentence. i.e. When the bankruptcy reforms appear to head for a passage the economic omens start to point to a sharp raise in bankrupcies so that they can hold the reform to be passed in the Congress.

As there is no contrast in the sentence, Even As, Although and Despite can be eliminated - B, D and E are out
While in C suggests the two actions (reforms headed for a passage and economic omens pointing to a sharp rise in bankrupcies) happen together which doesn't make sense - C Out

A puts it concisely the timing element of the sentence. Use of raise seems to be correct as well. Raise in bankrupcies (i.e. raise has a direct object as is required by the verb)

Answer - A
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A) Just when bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp raise in

"sharp raise" i think is incorrect

B) Even as bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise in

B looks good to me

C) While the bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rising of

"Sharp Rising of " is incorrect

D) Although the bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise of

"'Rise of " is used in wrong context

E) Despite the bankruptcy reform appearing to head for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise in

awkward and changes the meaning

IMO B

B is the best answer in my view.

Split #1: a sharp raise in vs a sharp rise in vs a sharp rising of vs a sharp rise of
In idiomatic terms, raise in, rise in, rising of, and rise of are all correct. The difference lies in the meaning. It is clear that raise/rise/rising are used in the context of the sentence as nouns. We need to determine whether the rise in/rising of/raise in bankruptcies is deliberate. From the context of the sentence, it is not deliberate as the non-underlined portion provides signals that suggest the negative effects of these bankruptcies. Based on this, a rise in is correct. We can say that John received a raise in his salary recently. Because a salary increase is intentional. Salaries do not increase on their own. We cannot, however, say that there was a raise in inflation rate. This is because inflation rate increases are under normal circumstances not intentional. The use of the gerund rising of as a noun is inferior to the use of rise as a noun. So, once there is an option that uses rise in correctly in the sentence, all things being equal, rising of is not optimum. If the preposition of were omitted and rising was used as a modifier, then it would be a different ball game altogether.
It is quite difficult for me to explain why rise of is not appropriate in the context. I just felt that rise in expresses the meaning better than rise of. I think that rise of gives more attention to the rise rather than to personal bankruptcies, while in rise in personal bankruptcies, personal bankruptcies seem to get the spotlight. Options A, C, and D can be eliminated based on the above.

Between B and E, the use of appearing in E is awkward. The use of the verb appears is better than the gerund appearing. We can, therefore, elminate E and be left with B as the best answer.

A very interesting and thought-provoking question. I will wait for the OE.

Just when bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp raise in personal bankruptcies over the next few years, signaling much pain for the many hard-pressed households, little, if any, gain for lenders, and major problems for the overall economy.

A) Just when bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp raise in

B) Even as bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise in

C) While the bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rising of

D) Although the bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise of

E) Despite the bankruptcy reform appearing to head for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise in

Rising of or rise of takes a wrong preposition. So C, D are out.
Appearing incorrectly modifies the noun reform. Reform is the subject of the verb appear.so E is out.
I confused between A and B.
I cannot tell which conjunction is used correctly. However, after I chose A, I realized that there is one more difference between A and B, raise and rise. Raise requires object VS rise does not. Since preposition in follows the verb, B is right.

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Quick scan of the option choices shows that the parts after "Congress," look similar, yet there are some differences.

A) Just when bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp raise in
- Incorrect. Let's look at nouns raise vs rise. Raise means increase in salary / wage, while rise means increase in something. On this ground, (A) is out. The beginning of the sentence makes sense to me "Just when a reform appears in Congress, the omens do stuff".

B) Even as bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise in
- Correct. As in (A), the beginning of the sentence totally makes sense to me: "even as a reform appears in Congress, the omens do stuff". Noun "rise" substituted "raise". Lastly, one can say "sharp rise in something".

C) While the bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rising of
- Incorrect. The beginning of the sentence is probably fine, although one may argue that "while" is inferior to "just when" and "even as" in this particular sentence. The big problem is at the end of the sentence - "sharp rising of" is weird, it is better to use action noun "rise" instead of the gerund "rising". So, (C) is out.

D) Although the bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise of
- Incorrect. Again, the beginning of the sentence is ok, but in the context of the sentence we should use "rise in", not "rise of".

E) Despite the bankruptcy reform appearing to head for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise in
- Incorrect. The beginning is wordy and has a strange from. (E) is inferior to (B) and even (D), which we already eliminated.

The answer is (B). This is a tough question, definitely on the 700-level side of the difficulty spectrum. I missed "a" in the word "raise" in option (A)...

The official explanation is here.

I think this is a great problem since it refreshes my memory for "rise" and conjunctions...

"raise" as noun is usually used for salary.
"raise" as verb is usually followed by a noun. e.g. I raised the car with one hand.

"rise" as noun can be used as "rise in" for increases in percentage, number, etc. and "rise of" for power, civilization, etc.
"rise" as verb isn't followed by any nouns. e.g. Tom rises early in the morning.
In addition, "rise" as verb can be followed by other prepositions, such as "rise by". e.g. The percentage of girls rises by 10%.



Conjunctions:

Although, even though, though, despite, however, but... all demonstrates a clear contrast. In addition, "despite" is only followed by noun, and "although" mostly by clauses, but sometimes noun as well.
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