OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
Purchasing a new computer, the average consumer often experiences confusion due to not having the relevant technical knowledge needed to compare products.A. Purchasing a new computer, the average consumer often experiences confusion due to not having the relevant technical knowledge needed to compare products
This sentence begins with a modifier: Purchasing a new computer. A modifier should be placed right next to the noun it describes (in this case, the average consumer). This answer choice correctly places the noun the average consumer directly after the modifier that describes it.
Also notice the correct usage of due to as it answers the question what? and can be replaced by as a result of.B. Purchasing a new computer, the relevant technical knowledge needed to compare products is foreign to the average consumer who often experiences confusion because of this
This sentence begins with a modifier: Purchasing a new computer. A modifier should be placed right next to the noun it describes. The only noun that this modifier can logically modify is the average consumer. However, the words the average consumer are quite far from the modifier that describes them.
What helps us identify this question as a Dangling or Misplaced Modifier question as well as identify the mistake is the following Stop Sign:
A modifier
- Verb+ing or V3, or non participial phrase at the beginning of the sentence, and separated by a comma). The modifier should modify the noun following the comma.
- Verb+ing or V3, or non participial phrase appearing in the middle to end of a sentence and preceded by a comma; the modifier should refer back to the nearest subject or clause or show the result of the previous clause.
- Verb+ing or V3, or non participial phrase appearing in the middle to end of a sentence and NOT preceded by a comma; the modifier should modify the preceding noun or noun phrase.
Whenever you see this Stop Sign, focus on the modifier: check whether the modifier has something to modify and, if so, that it modifies what it is supposed to.C. Not having the relevant technical knowledge needed to compare products, confusion is often experienced by the average consumer while purchasing a new computer
This sentence begins with a modifier: Not having the relevant technical knowledge needed to compare products. A modifier should be placed right next to the noun it describes. The only noun that this modifier can logically modify is the average consumer. However, the words the average consumer are quite far from the modifier that describes them.D. Purchasing a new computer, the average consumer often experiences confusion as a result of not having the relevant technical knowledge needed to compare products
Although this answer choice corrects the original Misplaced Modifier mistake and is grammatically correct, stylistically it is flawed. Replacing the two-word phrase due to with the four-word phrase as a result of creates redundancy.
There's another grammatically correct answer that is more concise than this one. Look for it!E. By purchasing a computer, the average consumer often experiences confusion because of not having the relevant technical knowledge to compare new products
Although this answer choice corrects the original Misplaced Modifier mistake and is grammatically correct, it changes the meaning of the original sentence. In the original sentence, new describes computer whereas in this answer choice it describes products.
In addition, the use of because of is incorrect. Because of should answer the question why? In addition, we can insert as a result instead of the because of this is not the correct use of because of.