The reason most new ventures fail within a year of their launch is

Question

Project SC Butler: Day 131: Sentence Correction (SC2) 
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The reason most new ventures fail within a year of their launch is  because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than  implementing it.

(A) because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than

(B) because the founders are spending most of their efforts towards strategy formulation rather than

(C) that the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than on

(D) that the founders have spent most of their efforts on strategy formulation instead of

(E) that most of the efforts of the founders are spent towards formulating strategy rather than towards

generis · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Project SC Butler: Day 131: Sentence Correction (SC2)

The reason most new ventures fail within a year of their launch is because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than implementing it.

(A) [The reason . . . is] because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than [ON]

(B) [The reason . . . is] because the founders are spending most of their efforts towards strategy formulation rather than

(C) that the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than on

(D) that the founders have spent most of their efforts on strategy formulation instead of [on]

(E) that most of the efforts of the founders are spent towards formulating strategy rather than towards[/quote]

• POE

Split #1: Redundancy

The reason . . . is and because are redundant.
Essentially we are saying that, "The reason is the reason."

Options A and B incorrectly state, "The reason . . . is because . . ."
Eliminate A and B

Split #2 - VERB TENSE

The sentence is a statement of general fact. We use present tense to state general facts.

Option D incorrectly states, ". . . .founders have spent. . ."
Eliminate D

• Split #3: ACTIVE v PASSIVE and concision

Compare C and E
E: most of the efforts of the founders are spent
C: founders spend most of their efforts

Passive voice is not automatically wrong. In this case, though, active voice IS better.
in reality, the founders actively do something. That active stance is reflected in C.
Further, option E adds unnecessary prepositional phrases. Option C demonstrates that the unnecessary parts can be avoided.
Option C is more forceful and more concise than option E is.

Eliminate E.

The answer is C

OTHER ISSUES

• IDIOM: spend efforts ON
spend energy ON, spend resources ON, spend time ON [if the time is used to do something]

spend energy towards is not correct in options B and E

• Parallelism
In the construction X rather than Y, the X and Y elements must be parallel.
. . . spend efforts [on formulating] rather than [on implementing]
Spending efforts on X rather than on Y is correct.
Options A and D probably need to repeat the word ON before implementing it.
(I say "probably" because I have a vague memory of an official question without the preposition, but at the moment I do not have time to find it. Eliminate A for redundancy and D for the wrong verb tense. Or compare to C. Neither A nor D is as good as C.)

• INSTEAD OF is okay
Almost always, GMAC prefers rather than to instead of.
Not always. Instead of is a preposition that requires a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.
In option D, instead is followed by a noun phrase.
-- implementing is a gerund (a verbING). The preposition is followed by a noun phrase.

• Notes on redundancy

On the GMAT and in good writing generally, "the reason is" and "because" are redundant.
GMAC prefers concision. "The reason is" and because repeat the same idea.

The reason tells us why something happened.
Because also tells us why something happened.
-- The reason already announces that we are about to hear a causal explanation. Because indicates the same idea.
-- This site, here discusses the construction at issue. Essentially we are saying that "the reason is the reason.”
-- Native speakers frequently use "the reason . . is because" (and "the reason why," which is also redundant) in speech.
GMAC follows the typical rule for formal writing: "because" and "the reason is" are redundant, and concision is important.

Redundancy is not necessarily fatal; make sure a correct answer without redundancy exists.
When redundancy arises, see whether you can find a better answer—one that does not repeat ideas.

-- Takeaway: Compare options. Which is better? Which is worse? Pick the better one.
The reason that he arrived late to the party is because the subway broke down. [WORSE]
He arrived late to the party because the subway broke down. [BETTER]

COMMENTS

utkarshg97 and taniad , welcome.

As always, I am happy to see familiar posters.

Next week I will post Butler questions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

These answers range from very good to outstanding. Everyone gets kudos.

As always, I am happy to see familiar posters. Next week I will post Butler questions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. These answers range from very good to outstanding. Everyone gets kudos.

utkarshg97 · Answer

The reason most new ventures fail within a year of their launch is because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than implementing it.

(A) because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than
because of x is redundant as "the reason of x" is already mentioned.

(B) because the founders are spending most of their efforts towards strategy formulation rather than
because of x is redundant as "the reason of x" is already mentioned.

(C) that the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than on
Correct answer. Efforts on forumlating... on implementing. Correct parallelism with verb conjugation and preposition (on)

(D) that the founders have spent most of their efforts on strategy formulation instead of
efforts on formulation... of implementing. No parallelism with verb conjugation or preposition, and have spent implies a past action, when in fact it is a statement in present as it is a generalization

(E) that most of the efforts of the founders are spent towards formulating strategy rather than towards
the reason for failure lies with the the founders' strategy, not the degree of efforts.

ayush19 · Answer

amitanshumaity · Answer

The reason most new ventures fail within a year of their launch is because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than implementing it.

The reason --> Gives Causation 
Because --> also gives Causation
So, there is a redundancy error. 
Also, we need to look for the connector which can connect the ideas in a proper way such as 'that'.

The correct choice--> C) that the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than on

uses 'that' as a connector and also accounts for the parallelism. It also conveys the intended meaning without any distortion.

IMHO C

shridhar786 · Answer

(A)  because  the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than 
reason .....because redundant

(B)  because  the founders are spending most of their efforts towards strategy formulation rather than
reason .......because redundant

(C)  that the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than on 
concise.....active construction........ correct idiom rather than is used .......correct parallelism ( on formulating strategy  rather than  on implementing it.  ...it correctly refers to strategy)

(D) that the founders have spent most of their efforts on  strategy formulation  instead of  implementing it . 
not parallel rather than should be preffered in place of instead of

(E) that  most of the efforts of the founders are spent towards formulating strategy rather than towards 
wordy and passive construction

J2S2019 · Answer

Correct one is C.

A & B are easily knocked off as "the reason" & "Because.. " should not be used in a sentence together, both trying to convey same meaning.

D is having Tense error, perfect tense usage is not required, E is awkward construction.

C is pretty concise.

Lampard42 · Answer

A - the reason and because - redundant; on X rather than - on is missing
B- same errors as A
C - correct
D - have spent - present perfect is incorrect
E - efforts does not agree with the non underlined part hence structure is Wrong

Posted from my mobile device

Ashokshiva · Answer

IMO C

The reason most new ventures fail within a year of their launch is because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than implementing it.

(A) because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than 
Use of "because" Is redundant since the non underlined portion has "the reason"

(B) because the founders are spending most of their efforts towards strategy formulation rather than 
same as A

(C) that the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than on 
Looks ok

(D) that the founders have spent most of their efforts on strategy formulation instead of
"rather than "is preferred over"instead of"

(E) that most of the efforts of the founders are spent towards formulating strategy rather than towards 
Passive construction

taniad · Answer

The reason most new ventures fail within a year of their launch is  because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than  implementing it.

(A) because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than 
 because of x is redundant as "the reason of x" is already mentioned.
 
(B) because the founders are spending most of their efforts towards strategy formulation rather than 
 because of x is redundant as "the reason of x" is already mentioned.

(C) that the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than on 
 Correct answer. Efforts on forumlating... on implementing. Correct parallelism with verb conjugation and preposition (on)

(D) that the founders have spent most of their efforts on strategy formulation instead of 
 efforts on formulation... of implementing. No parallelism with verb conjugation or preposition, and have spent implies a past action, when in fact it is a statement in present as it is a generalization

(E) that most of the efforts of the founders are spent towards formulating strategy rather than towards 
 the reason for failure lies with the the founders' strategy, not the degree of efforts.

XyLan · Answer

Sentence Structure  
 Subject  -  Verb :
  The reason    most new ventures   fail   within a year of their launch  is  that 
  the founders   spend  most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than on implementing it.

Issues:   
The usage of Reason & Because in the same sentence is unwarranted.
 A and B   - Redundancy issue

Answer choice analysis:  
 (A)  because  the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than 
   - Redundancy issue

(B)  because  the founders are spending most of their efforts towards strategy formulation rather than 
   - Redundancy issue

(C) that the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than on 
   Redundancy check. Idiom check( - on X rather than on Y). verb-tense shift check.  C  is the champ!   
(D) that the founders  have spent  most of their efforts on strategy formulation instead of 
   General facts should be stated in the present tense. - Unsolicited  verb-tense shift .   
(E) that most of the efforts of the founders are spent towards formulating strategy rather than towards
   Grammatically correct. However, E is passive and less concise than C.

Raxit85 · Answer

Imo C.

The reason most new ventures fail within a year of their launch is  because the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than  implementing it.

(A)  because  the founders spend most of their efforts  on formulating strategy rather than  - Redundancy error & parallelism error.

(B)  because  the founders are spending most of their efforts towards  strategy formulation rather than  - Redundancy error & parallelism error.

C) that the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than on - No error.

(D) that the  founders have spent most  of their efforts on  strategy formulation instead of  - Parallelism error. Rather than preferred to instead of.

(E) that  most of the efforts of the founders are spent  towards formulating strategy rather than towards - Distorts meaning because of verb tense error.

zhanbo · Answer

My answer is  C . I always use POE for SC questions. I spent 1 minute and 20 seconds on this questions. Most of my time was spent deciding between C and E.

Issue with (A): It is well-established, with good reason, that "the reason ... is that" should be used instead of "the reason ... is because".
Issue with (B): Same with (A)
Issue with (D): The use of present perfect tense is incompatible with the tense used by the main clause. It should use simple present. Besides, "strategy formulation" is not parallel with "implementing it". I also wonder if "rather than" should be "rather than on". Finally, maybe "instead of" should be "rather than".
Issue with (E): I do not see anything obviously wrong with (E), other than the use of passive voice. Is passive voice alone enough to eliminate E when compared with option C? I hope there are other signs of problems for E. I think "Spend time/money on sth" or "Spend time/money (in) doing something" are two commonly used collocations. So, in (E), "Spend time/money  towards " may be unidiomatic. Finally, towards is mainly British English spelling while toward is American English spelling. And we know GMAT is a US-based test.

Gagan0009 · Answer

The  reason  most new ventures fail within a year of their launch is   because  the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than  implementing it.

(A)   because  the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than --  Redundancy  function of reason and because are same and as reason in non underlined portion, we'll have to eliminate this option.

(B)   because  the founders are spending most of their efforts towards strategy formulation rather than -- Similar as option A.

(C) that the founders spend most of their efforts on formulating strategy rather than on  -- Tense is right and no redundancy.

(D)  that the founders  have spent  most of their efforts on strategy formulation instead of -- tense error Sentence is pointing toward a general trend so need for present perfect.

(E)  that most of the efforts of the founders are spent towards formulating strategy rather than towards -- less concise and passive structure. Option C is better.

generis · Answer

I have posted the official explanation  HERE

VerbalBot · Answer

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The reason most new ventures fail within a year of their launch is

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The reason most new ventures fail within a year of their launch is

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