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There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu

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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   31 Aug 2021, 22:39
Correct option : D

Parallelism identification can give, its indication not only from the end list, but also from start of some sentence.
like this one

There are several ways
to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been
to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying,
to lay them in the wall in mud mortar.
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   01 Feb 2022, 10:43
joemama142000 wrote:
There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid in the wall in mud mortar.

A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

B. forming the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid

D. to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

E. that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid


I approached this problem by remembering that the sentence I am completing is "the most extensively used method has been...".

#1 the most extensively used method has been the forming and they are laid :thumbdown:

#2 the most extensively used method has been forming and to lay them :thumbdown:

#3 the most extensively used method has been having bricks formed and they were laid :thumbdown:

#4 the most extensively used method has been to form the mud or clay into bricks and to lay them :thumbsup:

#5 the most extensively used method has been that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which were laid :thumbdown:

Here's the sentence:
There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method [to build solid walls using just mud or clay] has been to form the mud or clay into bricks and...to lay them.

It's clearly #4.
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   11 Feb 2022, 09:36
ExpertsGlobal5 wrote:
Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
joemama142000 wrote:
There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid in the wall in mud mortar.

A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

B. forming the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid

D. to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

E. that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid


Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that the most extensively used method of building walls with mud or clay has been to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them in the wall in mud mortar.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Parallelism

• "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.
• Any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

A: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between the noun phrase "the forming of bricks out of mud or clay" and the clause "they are laid in the wall in mud mortar"; please remember, any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

B: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between "forming the mud or clay into bricks" and "to lay them in the wall in mud mortar"; please remember, any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

C: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between "having bricks formed from mud or clay" and "they were laid in the wall in mud mortar"; please remember, any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

D: Correct. This answer choice avoids the subject-verb disagreement seen in Option E, as it refers to the plural noun "bricks" with the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + lay" in this sentence) rather than an active verb. Further, Option D correctly refers to the noun "bricks" with the phrase "to lay them in the wall in mud mortar", conveying the intended meaning - that the bricks formed out of mud or clay were laid in the wall in mud mortar. Additionally, Option D maintains parallelism between "to form the mud or clay into bricks" and "to lay them in the wall in mud mortar".

E: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "clay" with the plural verb phrase "were laid". Further, Option E incorrectly refers to "clay" with the phrase "which were laid", incorrectly implying that the clay itself was laid in the wall in mud mortar; the intended meaning is that the bricks formed out of mud or clay were laid in the wall in mud mortar; remember, "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team


Other than the parallelism issue, does 'they' in options A and C point correctly to the bricks. If not what do they point to?
A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   14 Feb 2022, 07:31
Expert Reply
Snehaaaaa wrote:
ExpertsGlobal5 wrote:
Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
joemama142000 wrote:
There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid in the wall in mud mortar.

A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

B. forming the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid

D. to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

E. that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid


Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that the most extensively used method of building walls with mud or clay has been to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them in the wall in mud mortar.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Parallelism

• "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.
• Any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

A: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between the noun phrase "the forming of bricks out of mud or clay" and the clause "they are laid in the wall in mud mortar"; please remember, any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

B: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between "forming the mud or clay into bricks" and "to lay them in the wall in mud mortar"; please remember, any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

C: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between "having bricks formed from mud or clay" and "they were laid in the wall in mud mortar"; please remember, any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

D: Correct. This answer choice avoids the subject-verb disagreement seen in Option E, as it refers to the plural noun "bricks" with the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + lay" in this sentence) rather than an active verb. Further, Option D correctly refers to the noun "bricks" with the phrase "to lay them in the wall in mud mortar", conveying the intended meaning - that the bricks formed out of mud or clay were laid in the wall in mud mortar. Additionally, Option D maintains parallelism between "to form the mud or clay into bricks" and "to lay them in the wall in mud mortar".

E: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "clay" with the plural verb phrase "were laid". Further, Option E incorrectly refers to "clay" with the phrase "which were laid", incorrectly implying that the clay itself was laid in the wall in mud mortar; the intended meaning is that the bricks formed out of mud or clay were laid in the wall in mud mortar; remember, "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team


Other than the parallelism issue, does 'they' in options A and C point correctly to the bricks. If not what do they point to?
A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid


Hello Snehaaaaa,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, in these answer choices "they" correctly refers to "bricks"; there is no ambiguity regarding the pronoun, as "they" can only logically refer to "bricks"; "ways" can't be air-dried or sun-dried, and the "walls" themselves cannot be "laid in the walls".

To understand the concept of "Exceptions to Pronoun Ambiguity" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   02 Jun 2022, 00:37
egmat - I'm referring to your comment

egmat wrote:
Note that the presence of a “comma + and” in a sentence doesn’t necessarily indicate that two or more Independent Clauses are connected. (The above sentence, for instance)

However, if two or more Independent Clauses are present in a sentence, they are always connected by “comma + FANBOYS”.



I just found an official sentence, from a CR option choice, that doesn't use a comma between two independent clauses separated by "and". :cry: Can you please guide what I am missing?

Link, Option C: https://gmatclub.com/forum/p52699

(C) The flute was made from a cave-bear bone and the campsite at which the flute fragment was excavated was in a cave that also contained skeletal remains of cave bears.

egmat wrote:
mstfkvs wrote:
Although I did this question correct, I have a doubt on the usage of COMMA. The question is as follow:

There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid in the wall in mud mortar.


A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

B. forming the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid

D. to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

E. that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid



My question is that in choice D, what is the role of the comma after "bricks". I can understand that the the red part is giving extra info about time, but I really did not understand the comma before "and". It seemed to me the sentence structure like this:



IC, Fanboys (But in this case) IC, AND to Verb


to verb // to verb seems OK, but what about the comma before and? The list is: to form X, and to lay Y



Hi Mustafa,

Let us see how the sentence looks when Option D is used.

There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them in the wall in mud mortar.

Let us now look at the structure of this sentence.

    • There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay,
    • but the most extensively used method has been
      o to form the
         mud or
         clay
      o into bricks, and
      o , after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them in the wall in mud mortar.


As you can see, the “and” in this sentence is connecting two entities in a list.

The entities are:
a. To form the mud or clay into bricks.
b. To lay them in the wall in mud mortar.

As you can see, the entities in the list are a bit longer than usual. Moreover, the first entity has another list embedded in it (mud or clay). So a comma is put before the “and” for a breathing pause.

So the comma before "and" is only to help us in identifying the main list.

Note that the presence of a “comma + and” in a sentence doesn’t necessarily indicate that two or more Independent Clauses are connected. (The above sentence, for instance)

However, if two or more Independent Clauses are present in a sentence, they are always connected by “comma + FANBOYS”.

Hope this helps :)

Regards,
Krishna
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There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   02 Jun 2022, 01:10
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Pankaj0901 wrote:
I just found an official sentence, from a CR option choice, that doesn't use a comma between two independent clauses separated by "and". :cry: Can you please guide what I am missing?

Link, Option C: https://gmatclub.com/forum/p52699

(C) The flute was made from a cave-bear bone and the campsite at which the flute fragment was excavated was in a cave that also contained skeletal remains of cave bears.

You really shouldn't be scouting through CR arguments, for lessons in SC Pankaj.
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   02 Jun 2022, 02:19
EducationAisle - Hmm, well noted. I always thought that the rule is a rule, be it SC, CR or RC in the GMAT. (A bit surprising though that GMAT doesn't stick to the strict SC guidelines in CR & RC.)

EducationAisle wrote:
Pankaj0901 wrote:
I just found an official sentence, from a CR option choice, that doesn't use a comma between two independent clauses separated by "and". :cry: Can you please guide what I am missing?

Link, Option C: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-spacing- ... tml#p52699

(C) The flute was made from a cave-bear bone and the campsite at which the flute fragment was excavated was in a cave that also contained skeletal remains of cave bears.

You really shouldn't be scouting through CR arguments, for lessons in SC Pankaj.
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There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   02 Jun 2022, 04:02
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Pankaj0901 wrote:
egmat - I'm referring to your comment

egmat wrote:
Note that the presence of a “comma + and” in a sentence doesn’t necessarily indicate that two or more Independent Clauses are connected. (The above sentence, for instance)

However, if two or more Independent Clauses are present in a sentence, they are always connected by “comma + FANBOYS”.



I just found an official sentence, from a CR option choice, that doesn't use a comma between two independent clauses separated by "and". :cry: Can you please guide what I am missing?

Link, Option C: https://gmatclub.com/forum/p52699

(C) The flute was made from a cave-bear bone and the campsite at which the flute fragment was excavated was in a cave that also contained skeletal remains of cave bears.

egmat wrote:
mstfkvs wrote:
Although I did this question correct, I have a doubt on the usage of COMMA. The question is as follow:

There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid in the wall in mud mortar.


A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

B. forming the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid

D. to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

E. that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid



My question is that in choice D, what is the role of the comma after "bricks". I can understand that the the red part is giving extra info about time, but I really did not understand the comma before "and". It seemed to me the sentence structure like this:



IC, Fanboys (But in this case) IC, AND to Verb


to verb // to verb seems OK, but what about the comma before and? The list is: to form X, and to lay Y



Hi Mustafa,

Let us see how the sentence looks when Option D is used.

There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them in the wall in mud mortar.

Let us now look at the structure of this sentence.

    • There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay,
    • but the most extensively used method has been
      o to form the
         mud or
         clay
      o into bricks, and
      o , after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them in the wall in mud mortar.


As you can see, the “and” in this sentence is connecting two entities in a list.

The entities are:
a. To form the mud or clay into bricks.
b. To lay them in the wall in mud mortar.

As you can see, the entities in the list are a bit longer than usual. Moreover, the first entity has another list embedded in it (mud or clay). So a comma is put before the “and” for a breathing pause.

So the comma before "and" is only to help us in identifying the main list.

Note that the presence of a “comma + and” in a sentence doesn’t necessarily indicate that two or more Independent Clauses are connected. (The above sentence, for instance)

However, if two or more Independent Clauses are present in a sentence, they are always connected by “comma + FANBOYS”.

Hope this helps :)

Regards,
Krishna


Hello Pankaj0901,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the lack of a comma in the sentence you have mentioned is most likely a typographical error; rest assured, a conjunction cannot join two independent clauses alone.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   02 Jun 2022, 04:15
Hi,

In this SC question, your knowledge of finding parallels is tested.

Start by eliminating choices:

Option A: the forming...they are laid: not parallel
Option B: forming...to lay them: not parallel
Option C: having...they were laid: not parallel
Option D: to form...to lay them: parallel
Option E: incorrectly points 'clay' were laid, & not the bricks
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   21 Aug 2022, 03:06
how is the use of 'and' justified in D]

we have two standalone info linked to the common excerpt- ''the most extensively used method has been''

1. to form the mud or clay into bricks,

and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying,

2. to lay them


if I say- ''the most extensively used method has been to lay them in wall of mortar''
it does not make sense on its own since the preceding action of forming bricks is linked to the 2nd action

How we will justify parallelism here?
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   22 Aug 2022, 02:10
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himanshu0123 wrote:
How we will justify parallelism here?


This sentence describes a procedure consisting of two consecutive steps.

Consecutive actions are quite commonly connected with just the simple parallel marker "and".
e.g.,
Children are taught to stop, drop, and roll if their clothing should ever catch fire.
I'm going to go to the gym, get some groceries, and stop for gas on my way home from work.[/i]

If it's [b]NOT obvious that a given set of actions happen in sequential order, then an additional signal word (such as "then") can be used for clarification. If that relationship is obvious, then just "and" is good enough.

In this sentence, it's plain that these actions must be performed in sequence (it's impossible to form bricks and lay them into a wall at the same time!), so there's no need for any connector other than "and".
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   05 Feb 2023, 04:42
"There are several ways to build solid walls (no comma?) using just mud or clay..."
I understood the solution of the question, but I wonder why there is no comma before "using just mud or clay". Since it is an adverbial v-ing modifier, isn't a comma required in that sentence?
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   23 Feb 2023, 10:26
joemama142000 wrote:
There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid in the wall in mud mortar.

A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

B. forming the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid

D. to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

E. that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid


Hi Experts KarishmaB GMATNinja egmat

I am really confused with the meaning in (D). I know that it ticks the parallelism correctly but I am not satisfied with the whole meaning.

As per (D), the most extensively used method has been "this" & "this". how can one method consists of two things? I think (E) makes a little better meaning wise though incorrect for other reasons.

Thanks!
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   28 Feb 2023, 04:33
Expert Reply
GMATking94 wrote:
joemama142000 wrote:
There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid in the wall in mud mortar.

A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

B. forming the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid

D. to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

E. that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid


Hi Experts KarishmaB GMATNinja egmat

I am really confused with the meaning in (D). I know that it ticks the parallelism correctly but I am not satisfied with the whole meaning.

As per (D), the most extensively used method has been "this" & "this". how can one method consists of two things? I think (E) makes a little better meaning wise though incorrect for other reasons.

Thanks!


A method can consist of multiple steps. Here the steps are 'to make bricks and to lay them in the wall.'
This is just one method with two steps. We can join them using 'and.'
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   28 Feb 2023, 09:33
took me 28 seconds and choose option d
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   24 Jun 2023, 02:50
here are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid in the wall in mud mortar.
My answer

A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid- Forming, and laid are not parallel.

B. forming the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them- Same as above

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid- Same as above

D. to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them- To form the mud or clay, and to lay them- parallel

E. that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid- Not parallel
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink] New post   07 Nov 2023, 22:10
Would be really grateful if anyone can kindly help validate the following reasoning for eliminating incorrect choices:

A.
method has been
  • the forming of bricks out of mud or clay,
  • and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

In short: method has been the forming of X and they are laid..

Error: Parallelism error as a noun phrase is parallel to a clause.

B.
method has been
  • forming the mud or clay into bricks,
  • and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

In short: method has been forming X and to lay them...

Error: Parallelism error as a noun phrase is parallel to an infinitive phrase

C.
method has been
  • having bricks formed from mud or clay,
  • and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid

In short: method has been having bricks formed and they were laid...

Error: 2nd part is a clause whereas 1st part is not a clause

D.
method has been
  • to form the mud or clay into bricks,
  • and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

In short: method has been to form X and to lay them...

Both the parallel elements are in the same format

E.
method has been
  • that bricks were formed from mud or clay,
    • which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid

In short: method has been that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which were laid...

Here I think issue is not with sentence structure/ parallelism but with the following:
1) 'which' incorrectly refers to mud or clay
2) usage of past tense. The sentence overall has a factual tone, so should be in the present tense.
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Re: There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu [#permalink]
07 Nov 2023, 22:10
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