While complete writing systems appeared in Egypt around 3,200 BCE

Question

Pack 22, Question 3 of 5:

While complete writing systems appeared in Egypt around 3,200 BCE,  cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest  to the fact that there was simultaneous development of written language in different areas of the world.

(A) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest 
(B) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and etched writing on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia attests
(C) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etching found throughout Mesopotamia attests
(D) the finding of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and the etched writing on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia attests
(E) the finding of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest

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Deepakjhamb · Answer

While complete writing systems appeared in Egypt around 3,200 BCE, cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest to the fact that there was simultaneous development of written language in different areas of the world.

(A) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest
(B) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and etched writing on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia attests
(C) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etching found throughout Mesopotamia attests
(D) the finding of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and the etched writing on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia attests
(E) the finding of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest

answer is d )the finding of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and the etched writing on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia attests

subject -verb agreement finding with attests , correct parallel items of writing systems cueniform and etched writing 
and modifier found refering to clay tablets

problem with a ) is that modifier found throughout refers to etched writing while it should refer to clay tablets
 problem with b ) we have subject verb issue with compound subject being plural and verb being singular

problem with c)misplaced modifier found after etching and also cueniform a writing system must be parallel to etched writing not clay tablets , it also has subject verb disagreement

problem with e) subject verb issue with singular subject finding and plural verb , also cueniform is not parallel to clay tablets

winterschool · Answer

While complete writing systems appeared in Egypt around 3,200 BCE, cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest to the fact that there was simultaneous development of written language in different areas of the world.

(A)  cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest   Correct

(B) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and etched writing on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia  attests   Incorrect

SV error - cuneiform ...and etched writing... plural, attests singular

(C) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etching found throughout Mesopotamia  attests   Incorrect

SV error - cuneiform ...and etched writing... plural, attests singular

(D)  the finding  of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and  the etched writing  on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia  attests   Incorrect

parallelism error - .......the finding .......and the etched writing.....
SV error - attests singular, whereas 'and' add two clause and makes plural

(E)  the finding  of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and  clay tablets  with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest  Incorrect

parallelism error - .......the finding .......and clay tablets.....

jhavyom · Answer

While complete writing systems appeared in Egypt around 3,200 BCE,  cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest  to the fact that there was simultaneous development of written language in different areas of the world.

(A)  cuneiform  found at Assur in Northern Iraq and  clay tablets  with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia  attest 
Subject: cuneiform and clay tablets Verb: attests

(B)  cuneiform  found at Assur in Northern Iraq and  etched writing  on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia  attests 
Subject: cuneiform and etched writing Verb: attests
S-V do not agree. Eliminate

(C)  cuneiform  found at Assur in Northern Iraq and  clay tablets  with etching found throughout Mesopotamia  attests 
Subject: cuneiform and clay tablets Verb: attests
S-V do not agree. Eliminate

(D) the  finding  of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and the  etched writing  on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia  attests 
Subject: finding and etched writing Verb: attests
S-V do not agree. Eliminate

(E) the  finding  of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and  clay tablets  with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia  attest 
Subject: finding and clay tablets Verb: attest

(A) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest
Meaning:  The cuneiform and clay tablets serve as evidence .
Correct

(E) the finding of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest 
Meaning:  The finding  and  clay tablets  serve as evidence.
Well, the finding does not serve as evidence, while it is the cuneiform, which serves as evidence.
Incorrect.

Choice A is the answer.

akadiyan · Answer

While complete writing systems appeared in Egypt around 3,200 BCE,  cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest  to the fact that there was simultaneous development of written language in different areas of the world.

Analysis :
 1. attest vs attests  - attests in singular and attest in plural.
Here we have cuneiform and clay tablets with etched writing - so we need plural form attest

With this we can eliminate Options B,C and D. We have A and E.

2.cuneiform found at Assur / the finding of cuneiform at Assur

While complete writing systems appeared in Egypt around 3,200 BCE, - this statement compares the origin of writing systems, so what comes after comma should be the other writing systems that the passage is trying to compare.

So the undelined portion should start with cuneiform. Based on this analysis, we can eliminate D and E.

Based on our analysis, the options B,C,D and E are eliminated. A is the logical choice. Lets see our answer choices.

(A) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest -  Correct 
This option corrects the SV Error and maintains the correct structure when comparing more than 1 item.

(B) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and etched writing on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia attests -  Incorrect

SV Error - Incorrect usage of attests. Also in the second part of the sentence 'etched writing on clay tablets' changes meaning, its not the etched writing that was found on clay tablets , this mean existence of clay tablets is already known and only etched writing is discovered later, may be true or may be not,but thats not the intended meaning.

(C) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etching found throughout Mesopotamia attests -  Incorrect 
SV Error - Incorrect usage of attests. Also its not etching , its etched writing that was found.

(D) the finding of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and the etched writing on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia attests -  Incorrect

Based on our point 2 in our analysis, the underline portion should start with cuneiform to compare the origin of writing, this sentence compares complete writing systems with findings of cuneiform and clay tablets

(E) the finding of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest -  Incorrect

This option corrects the SV Error , but incorrect placing of finding as the first underlined word is incorrect.

Ans   A

callmeDP · Answer

While complete writing systems appeared in Egypt around 3,200 BCE,  cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest  to the fact that there was simultaneous development of written language in different areas of the world.

(A)  cuneiform  found at Assur in Northern Iraq and  clay tablets  with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia  attest   - parallelism check. Two things X and Y, need plural Verb attest - correct

(B)  cuneiform  found at Assur in Northern Iraq and  etched writing on clay tablets  found throughout Mesopotamia attests - Flawed parallelism

(C)  cuneiform  found at Assur in Northern Iraq and  clay tablets  with etching found throughout Mesopotamia attests - Two things X and Y, need plural Verb attest - incorrect

(D)  the finding  of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and the etched writing on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia attests - The finding singular, need singular verb - incorrect

(E)  the finding  of cuneiform at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest - The finding singular, need singular verb - incorrect

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Official Explanation

While complete writing systems appeared in Egypt around 3,200 BCE,  cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest  to the fact that there was simultaneous development of written language in different areas of the world.

(A)  cuneiform found  at Assur in Northern Iraq and  clay tablets with etched writing  found throughout Mesopotamia  attest   
 (B)  cuneiform found  at Assur in Northern Iraq and  etched writing on clay tablets  found throughout Mesopotamia  attests  
 (C)  cuneiform found  at Assur in Northern Iraq and  clay tablets with etching  found throughout Mesopotamia  attests  
 (D)  the finding of cuneiform  at Assur in Northern Iraq and  the etched writing on clay tablets  found throughout Mesopotamia  attests  
 (E)  the finding of cuneiform  at Assur in Northern Iraq and  clay tablets with etched writing  found throughout Mesopotamia  attest

After a quick glance over the options, there are a few key differences we can focus on:
 1. Starting with “cuneiform found” vs. “the finding of cuneiform” ( Meaning & Clarity )
2. “...clay tablets with etched writing” / “etched writing on clay tablets” ( Parallelism & Clarity )
3. attest vs. attests ( Subject-Verb Agreement )

This sentence deals with clear and concise wording. The GMAT typically prefers the least wordy option. Another consideration is correct verb tense usage. Differences are highlighted in the text.
 
 (A)  cuneiform  found at Assur in Northern Iraq and  clay tablets with etched writing  found throughout Mesopotamia  attest   
This is  CORRECT . This sentence uses the correct verb form, and it is the most clear and concise option.

(B)  cuneiform  found at Assur in Northern Iraq and  etched writing on clay tablets  found throughout Mesopotamia  attests  
This sentence is  INCORRECT . “Attests” is the incorrect verb form since the subject (cuneiform and clay tablets) is plural. Also, combining “cuneiform” and “etched writing on clay tablets” isn’t really parallel. Option A handles that much better.

(C) cuneiform found at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etching found throughout Mesopotamia  attests  
This sentence is  INCORRECT . “Attests” is the incorrect verb form since the subject (cuneiform and clay tablets) is plural.

(D)  the finding of cuneiform  at Assur in Northern Iraq and the etched writing on clay tablets found throughout Mesopotamia  attests  
This sentence is  INCORRECT . “The finding of cuneiform” implies that it was the act of finding the cuneiform rather than the existence of the cuneiform that attests to the development of written language. Also,“attests” is the incorrect verb form since the subject (cuneiform and clay tablets) is plural.

(E)  the finding of cuneiform  at Assur in Northern Iraq and clay tablets with etched writing found throughout Mesopotamia attest  
This sentence is  INCORRECT . The sentence is unclear. “The finding of cuneiform” implies that it was the act of finding the cuneiform rather than the existence of the cuneiform that attests to the development of written language.

There you have it - option A was the correct choice all along!

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

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

You were so close,  Deepakjhamb ! Check out the official explanation in the comments to see how we tackled this one.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Well done, winterschool ! Great explanation and kudos to you for cracking the code!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Great explanation jhavyom ! We like seeing how you narrowed down your options to 2, and then how you found the correct choice from there. Kudos to you!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Another great explanation  akadiyan ! Kudos to you! We can't wait to see how you tackle the next one!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Welcome to the kudos contest  callmeDP ! You did a great job explaining how you answered this one, so kudos to you! We look forward to seeing you around for future questions (the next one is already posted)!

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While complete writing systems appeared in Egypt around 3,200 BCE

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While complete writing systems appeared in Egypt around 3,200 BCE

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