The Happy Planet Index which ranks 151 countries considers data like

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION




The Happy Planet Index, which ranks 151 countries, considers data like life expectancy, overall well-being, and a country’s ecological footprint on calculating the happiness of a country.

A) which ranks 151 countries, considers data like life expectancy, overall well-being, and a country’s ecological footprint on calculating the happiness of a country

B) which ranks the happiness of 151 countries, considers data like life expectancy and overall well-being and a country’s ecological footprint

C) which ranks the happiness of 151 countries, considers data such as life expectancy and overall well-being, as well as the country’s ecological footprint in its calculations

D) which ranks 151 countries, considers data such as life expectancy, overall well-being, as well as a country’s ecological footprint when calculating the happiness of a country

E) which ranks 151 countries, consider data such as life expectancy, overall well-being, and a country’s ecological footprint to deter¬mine the happiness of a country



1. Eliminate E because consider is a plural verb and The Happy Planet Index is singular.
2. Be suspicious of A and B because such as should be used to introduce examples, not like.
→ Eliminate (A) for the incorrect use of "on calculating." The word on should be in or when
→ Eliminate (B) because X and Y and Z is not a correct list construction
3. Eliminate (D) because X, Y, as well as Z is not a correct list construction
The answer is (C). The correct list construction in this case is X and Y, as well as Z.



THE PROMPT

• Concepts tested?
→ lists
→ subject/verb agreement
→ such as vs. like
→ idiom with preposition in

Two idioms that contain the word consider are not tested.
There are two such idioms, and at least one construction involving consider that GMAC still rejects. (See Notes, below.)

• Tip: one of GMAC's sneakiest traps involves lists that are correct but that do not conform to what you expect.
This question involves that kind of list.

THE OPTIONS


• to list examples, such as is preferred to like

• the preposition on is incorrect and should be in or when
→ correct: I consider factors such as the clarity of the thesis statement and creative analysis in calculating essay grades.
→ correct: I consider factors such as the clarity of the thesis statement and creative analysis when [I am] calculating essay grades.
ELIMINATE A

Note: the list in option A follows what most aspirants expect: X, Y, and Z.
That structure is not the only way to list more than two items and is not the structure of the list in the correct answer.
GMAC likes to fool around with list structure.

• The structure of the list in this option is not idiomatic:
→ X and Y and Z is incorrect.
X = life expectancy
Y = overall well-being
Z = a country's ecological footprint
→ we need the structure of the list used in either (A) or (C)

• such as rather than like should be used to list examples
If you are not sure about this option, keep it and look for a better one.
ELIMINATE B

• The list in this option is correctly constructed: X and Y, as well as Z
→ in the parallel structure X and Y, the word and indicates that X and Y are equally weighted, whereas

→ the phrase as well as Z typically suggests that Z is not as important as X and Y.
Correct: One common healthy diet includes fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates, and protein, as well as a bit of healthy fat.
→ That list has the structure P and Q, R, and S, as well as T

→ Notice the Oxford comma (the comma + and that precedes "S": I have never seen an official question that fails to use this comma.
→ Journalists in newspapers do not use this comma. They are saving space.

GMAC uses the Oxford comma, which can help us sort out the kind of list an option is giving us.

For a discussion of and and as well as, see this post, here.

• (C) uses such as rather than like to introduce examples
KEEP


• this list structure is incorrect: X, Y, as well as Z

→ We need the structure in option C (X and Y, as well as Z) or the structure in option A (X, Y, and Z)

• The X and Y elements need the word and between them.

→ The phrase as well as before the third element in the list implies that the third element is not as important as the first two elements.


• subject/verb disagreement
Happy Planet Index is singular. The verb should be considers, singular, not consider, plural.
ELIMINATE E

The answer is C.

Notes

→ Lists

You may be tested on your ability to recognize that you are looking at a list even though it does not follow the typical X, Y, and Z pattern.
→ X, Y, and Z always requires an Oxford comma (the comma that is placed before the last item in a list)
→ These structures are okay, too:
P, Q and R, and S
P, Q, and R, as well as S
P and Q, R, and S, as well as T
P and Q, as well as R (obviously - answer C)

→ Consider -- part an idiom?
Yes. Just not in this sentence.

I am happy to be proven wrong.
When consider means "to regard (someone or something) as having a specified quality," here, #2,
GMAC
(1) tests one idiom: Consider X, Y
(2) has recently used another idiom that many thought was incorrect: Consider X to be Y
and
(3) rejects other constructions, especially Consider X as Y.
then "consider" is idiomatic.

With respect to #2 above, GMAC recently used the expression Consider X to be Y in the non-underlined portion of a question.
That is, consider to be is occasionally acceptable on the GMAT.
Spoiler alert: One recent official question used consider . . . to be in the non-underlined portion of the sentence.
You can find that question by clicking here.

With respect to #3 above, Consider X as Y is not idiomatic.
If someone wants to produce an official question in which consider as is part of the correct answer or part of the non-underlined portion of an official question, I will amend my stance.
I have not seen such a question.

That one recent consider to be usage may not be well-known, so people may still be teaching that only one idiom is acceptable.
I think that this recent question and one other that I cannot recall at the moment signal only that Consider X, Y will not be pitted against Consider X to be Y.
I do not think that this recent question signals that the idiom Consider X, Y has ceased to be.

When consider means to think carefully about, especially in order to make a decision, the verb simply takes direct objects and is not part of an idiomatic expression.
Correct: Universities consider A, B, and C when making admissions decisions.
That usage has nothing to do with idioms and everything to do with transitive verbs that require direct objects.

COMMENTS

AntrikshR and PrashantK0099 , welcome to SC Butler.

rahat16 and #Varunsawhney8 , good to "see" you again.

Smiley faces go to answers whose explanations were good but incomplete; kudos go to clear explanations.