Socially and environmentally responsible investing is on the

Question

Socially and environmentally responsible investing is on the rise: last year in the United States, over $2 trillion was invested in funds that screen companies  according to a variety of criteria such as  adherence to labor standards, protection of the environment, and observance of human rights.

A. according to a variety of criteria such as
B. according to a variety of such criteria, as by
C. according to such a variety of criteria as by
D. in accordance with such a variety of criteria as
E. in accordance with a variety of criteria, such as by

daagh · Accepted Answer

D is significantly different from the original meaning. To understand the same, look at the following two cases. 
1. This batch comprises students who have scored 800 in GMAT such as Tom, Dick and Harry. 
2. This batch comprises such students who have scored 800 in GMAT as Tom, Dick and Harry. 
There is a basic difference between the two sentences. The first one denotes that Tom, Dick and Harry are just three examples of many more students who have scored 800. On the other hand, the second one denotes that Tom, Dick and Harry are the only three students in the class who have scored 800 and that there are no more than these three. Based on this distinction, 
A. according to a variety of criteria such as -- means there are many more items in the criteria list apart from the three cited in the text. 
D. in accordance with such a variety of criteria as – means that the companies are screened only as per the three items mentioned. --- This is not true. A corporate is also weighed upon additional factors such as business ethics, conscientious management, and overall Corporate Social Responsibility etc.

srijay007 · Answer

Confused between D and E!!!
I pick E ... My guess is "by" is elliptic
I am skeptical about D because of the way it uses "such as"
Can someone clarify whether it is idiomatic to split "such as" as is done in D?

kedar1972 · Answer

Why not A? I don't see any obvious error in the original sentence.

srijay007 · Answer

I think "in accordance with" is the correct usage.
Ex:
The film was shot according to a plan
The film was shot in accordance with censorship guidelines

Correct me if I'm wrong

amitbalan · Answer

I think it's A. Such as clearly welcomes the list....
and according to is idiomatic....

D I think is wrong. 'such a variety of criteria as' sounds wrong...

ywilfred · Answer

I pick A. Structurally, there's nothing wrong with A. In fact, 

B. according to a variety of such criteria, as by 
- awkward 'such criteria' and 'as by adherence'
C. according to such a variety of criteria as by 
- awkaward 'such a variety of criteria' and 'as by adherence'
D. in accordance with such a variety of criteria as 
- Same as above
E. in accordance with a variety of criteria, such as by
- Same as above

A for me.

hardworker_indian · Answer

A.
Not sure if "such a variety of criteria as" is correct or wrong.
But "screen something according to some criteria" seems better than "screen something in accordance with criteria".

twixt · Answer

Could someone explain what suits the best beetween according to and in accordance with.
I think "such a variety of criteria as" is correct and more "old english" than variety of criteria such as

Could a more seasoned than me guy provide his inputs on these points ?

PrakharGMAT · Answer

Hi Experts/  chetan2u  /  daagh  /  aditya8062  ,

Please help with this question.
IMO--D
There is already a lot of discussion going on between A and D, but still not convinced

As per GMAT Instructor, D should be correct.
But OA is A.

Is by any chance OA posted wrong...??

Please assist.
Will be waiting fo your response.

chetan2u · Answer

HI,
I have two points on this Q..
 1) It will not be correct to limit usage of "according to" only to 'indicate authority of', as few have suggested in the thread.. 
 it can also mean
in conformity with, as determined by, .....
here " funds that screen companies according to a variety of criteria such as", 'according to' is used meaning in conformity with/as determined by..
 
  2. such as 
the way such as has been used just does not sound good for th ereason..
such as is used to give examples: what examples are being given here- examples of criteria..
I do not think the examples are of 'a variety of criteria'..
so if it said --such criteria as____, ____.. would still be ok
But 'such a variety of criteria' in my view would be OK if we were following it up with 'that'..
example  the admissions were done using such a variety of criteria that it was difficult to clear the process..  
OA as A should be OK

hsa · Answer

marine , can you reveal the source of this question? Thanks

BLTN · Answer

Dear hsa there are bunch of sources, such as GMAC Official Prep and EA, in which the question was alluded Or There are such a variety of sources as GMAC Official Prep and EA that have mentioned the question. You can choose whatever please you

Sajjad1994 Add tag please.

vit09 · Answer

Socially and environmentally responsible investing is on the rise: last year in the United States, over $2 trillion was invested in funds that screen companies according to a variety of criteria such as adherence to labor standards, protection of the environment, and observance of human rights.

A. according to a variety of criteria such as
B. according to a variety of such criteria, as by
C. according to such a variety of criteria as by
D. in accordance with such a variety of criteria as
E. in accordance with a variety of criteria, such as by
Show Answer

please explain solution of this - difference in A and E and when and how to use in accordance

JYnaey · Answer

Isn't "meaning" playing an important role in this question?

Maybe it's because the "fund" is exclusively "screening" (= selecting companies to invest) companies that are "in accordance with such rules". 
Because the first sentence distinctly says "Socially and environmentally responsible investing is on the rise."

When I read there are funds that "screen" companies "according to some criteria", the purpose of screening becomes some what vague.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Socially and environmentally responsible investing is on the

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