Pack 19 Q3: The organization pivoted away from its decision...

The organization pivoted away from its decision for hosting an in-person convention for members, stating that it still had sought to recognize individuals for their achievements, perhaps through a virtual convention.

A. decision for hosting an in-person convention for members, stating that it still had sought
had sought - wrong verb tense
Incorrect

B. decision to host an in-person convention for members, stating that it still sought
Correct Choice
stating acting as a verb- Correctly referring to The organization.


C. decision that was to host an in-person convention for members, and it stated that it still would seek
Would seek- Incorrect Verb tense
Incorrect

D. deciding on hosting an in-person convention for members, and stating that it sought still
Incorrect
deciding - Incorrect


E. deciding to host an in-person convention for members, and it stated that it sought still
Incorrect
deciding - Incorrect
it - redundant

The organization pivoted away from its decision for hosting an in-person convention for members, stating that it still had sought to recognize individuals for their achievements, perhaps through a virtual convention.

Split 1: Decision vs deciding
Deciding is an -ing verb, and it cannot be used instead of a noun or the infinitive. So eliminate D and E.

D. deciding on hosting an in-person convention for members, and stating that it sought still
E. deciding to host an in-person convention for members, and it stated that it sought still

Split 2: Concision and meaning

A. decision for hosting an in-person convention for members, stating that it still had sought
Decision for is incorrect. The sentence changes completely. Had sought is also incorrect. We don't need to use the past perfect tense.

B. decision to host an in-person convention for members, stating that it still sought
Concise and clear. This is the answer. Doesn't make the same mistakes as the others.

C. decision that was to host an in-person convention for members, and it stated that it still would seek
This is wordy and distorts the overall meaning.

imo B


A. decision for hosting an in-person convention for members, stating that it still had sought
-- Since it is a deliberate action idiomatically 'to host' is correct. Also use of had without 2 related event is incorrect

B. decision to host an in-person convention for members, stating that it still sought
-- correct .. Coma stating is a correct modifier providing information how the organisation pivoted away from its decision
C. decision that was to host an in-person convention for members, and it stated that it still would seek
--This sentence is unnecessarily Wordy . Also shifting from, stating verb ING to and it stated .. Create a change in meaning .. since, Stating provides how aspect of the action mentioned in the previous clause

D. deciding on hosting an in-person convention for members, and stating that it sought still
-- Deciding is incorrect here. We need decision - noun form

E. deciding to host an in-person convention for members, and it stated that it sought still

-- Deciding is incorrect here. We need decision - noun form

The organization pivoted away from its decision for hosting an in-person convention for members, stating that it still had sought to recognize individuals for their achievements, perhaps through a virtual convention.

"decision to" is the correct idiom. So, A, C and D are out.

A. decision for hosting an in-person convention for members, stating that it still had sought
B. decision to host an in-person convention for members, stating that it still sought -- CORRECT, usage of infinitive and participle modifier for subordinating phrase
C. decision that was to host an in-person convention for members, and it stated that it still would seek -- "that was to host" is wordy and wrong
D. deciding on hosting an in-person convention for members, and stating that it sought still -- wrong idiom
E. deciding to host an in-person convention for members, and it stated that it sought still -- usage of "and" which can be used as a "verb+ing" for succintness. Gerund "deciding" is not preferred over abstract noun "decision"

The answer is B

Official Explanation

The organization pivoted away from its decision for hosting an in-person convention for members, stating that it still had sought to recognize individuals for their achievements, perhaps through a virtual convention.

A. decision for hosting an in-person convention for members, stating that it still had sought
B. decision to host an in-person convention for members, stating that it still sought
C. decision that was to host an in-person convention for members, and it stated that it still would seek
D. deciding on hosting an in-person convention for members, and stating that it sought still
E. deciding to host an in-person convention for members, and it stated that it sought still

After a quick glance over the options, there are 2 main areas where we can focus our attention:
1. decision / deciding (Meaning)
2. for hosting / to host / that was to host / on hosting / to host (Idioms)
3. How each selection ends (Verb Tense, Modifiers, Wordiness)

Let’s start with #1 on our list, which is an either/or split. Should we say that the organization pivoted away from its decision or its deciding? They mean two different things:

The organization pivoted away from its decision = they changed their mind from their original decision to host a convention to not hosting a convention
The organization pivoted away from its deciding = they no longer want to decide if there will be a convention or not; this suggests they want someone else to decide

Since the remainder of the sentence suggests the organization is looking for alternatives to a convention, it makes the most sense to go with “decision” because that creates a clear contrast (we definitely won’t have a convention BUT we still want to find an alternative way to recognize individuals who do well). We can eliminate options D & E because they change the intended meaning too much to work.

Now that we have it narrowed down to 3 options, let’s tackle the other list items and look for any other problems:

A. decision for hosting an in-person convention for members, stating that it still had sought
This is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, using “for hosting” here doesn’t work because we don’t need a prepositional phrase or modifier here. We’re discussing an action/result of the decision, not modifying or explaining its purpose. Second, using the past perfect verb “had sought” doesn’t make logical sense with the adverb “still,” which indicates this is an event that started in the past, but will continue in the future.

B. decision to host an in-person convention for members, stating that it still sought
This is CORRECT! The phrase “decision to host” is clear and logical. Also, the verb “still sought” indicates that the organization is going to look for individuals to recognize in the future, which also makes logical sense.

C. decision that was to host an in-person convention for members, and it stated that it still would seek
This one is INCORRECT. The phrase “decision that was to host” is overly wordy – just saying “decision to host” means the same thing with fewer unnecessary words. Also, creating a situation where you have two “it” pronouns together like this can be confusing and overly wordy. Do both “it” pronouns refer back to the same thing? Why do we need two to begin with? Option B makes this much clearer by only using one pronoun.

There you have it – option B is the winner! The meaning is clear and logical, and it’s not overly wordy in any spots.

Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.

Well done, winterschool! You cracked the code on both the idiom and meaning problems! Kudos to you!

Well done abhishekdadarwal2009! Great job catching both the idiom and meaning problems! Kudos to you!

Great job, Varunsawhney8! Kudos to you!

Great job focusing on splits to narrow down your options, nothing345! Kudos to you!

Well done HoneyLemon! You cracked the code on this one! Kudos to you!

Another great explanation, NiftyNiffler! You took a different approach than we did, and we think that's great! There is often more than one way to tackle a question, and we appreciate seeing how you all tackle them! Kudos to you!

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