Hi aaba,

Thanks for your question. Let's tackle this one problem at a time, and see if we can narrow it down to the correct answer.

The first big difference I noticed between the answers is how they begin: has/have. To make sure the subject and verb agree, let's determine what the subject is from the original sentence:

The explosion in the cost of college and the rise in access to technology has persuaded industrious high school students they should attempt to develop and market teenage friendly items that are not found in mainstream retail outlets.

The subject is two different things, so we know it's a plural subject that needs a plural verb to match: have. So let's rule out answers A, B, & C because they use the singular "has."

Now we're left with answers D & E. Here are the main differences between both answers in bold:

D: have persuaded industrious high school students to attempt to develop and market teenage friendly items

E: have persuaded industrious high school students to attempt and develop and market items that are friendly to teenagers

The first problem I see with answer E is the phrase "to attempt and develop." This suggests that high school students should attempt one thing and develop another. This isn't really true - the attempt IS to develop items, so the phrase "to attempt to develop" makes more sense.

Second, the phrase "items that are friendly to teenagers" doesn't work logically - it's saying the items themselves will be friendly to teenagers, not that they are easy to use. Saying "teenage friendly items" is clearer to readers because it shows that the items are made for teenagers, not that they will somehow be their friends.

Based on both subject-verb agreement and clarity, it's clear that D is the correct answer.
_________________

persuade + that or persuade to + verb is idiomatic -> A and B are out.
" to attempt and develop " in E and "try the development and marketing " in B looks terrible in term of grammar.
Hence, D is the correct answer.

The explosion in the cost of college and the rise in access to technology has persuaded industrious high school students they should attempt to develop and market teenage friendly items that are not found in mainstream retail outlets.

A has persuaded industrious high school students they should attempt to develop and market teenage friendly items - subject verb agreement issue - The explosion in the cost of college and the rise in access to technology is a compound subject

B has persuaded industrious high school students to attempt developing and marketing items that are friendly to teenagers - same as A ; illogical meaning -- teenagers that are not found
C has persuaded industrious high school students that they should try the development and marketing of items that are friendly to teenagers - same as A ; illogical meaning -- teenagers that are not found
D have persuaded industrious high school students to attempt to develop and market teenage friendly items - Correct

E have persuaded industrious high school students to attempt and develop and market items that are friendly to teenagers - illogical meaning -- teenagers that are not found ; teenage friendly items is better than items that are friendly to teenagers

Answer D
_________________

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
_________________