Written early in the French Revolution, Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindic

Question

Written early in the French Revolution,  Mary Wollstonecraft’s  A Vindication of the Rights of Man  (1790) and  A Vindication of the Rights of Woman  (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to be the result of  the dominance of aristocratic values and patriarchal hereditary privilege.

(A) Mary Wollstonecraft’s  A Vindication of the Rights of Man  (1790) and  A Vindication of the Rights of Woman  (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to be the result of

(B) Mary Wollstonecraft’s  A Vindication of the Rights of Man  (1790) and  A Vindication of the Rights of Woman  (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to result from

(C) Mary Wollstonecraft’s  A Vindication of the Rights of Man  (1790) and  A Vindication of the Rights of Woman  (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to

(D) in  A Vindication of the Rights of Man  (1790) and  A Vindication of the Rights of Woma n (1792), Mary Wollstonecraft attributed Europe’s social and political ills to have been the result of

(E) Mary Wollstonecraft, in  A Vindication of the Rights of Man  (1790) and  A Vindication of the Rights of Woman  (1792), attributed Europe’s social and political ills to

OG 2017 New Question

sayantanc2k · Accepted Answer

"Attributed to" means "to result from" or "to be the result of" - option A and B both have redundancy issues.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Hello Everyone!

Let's take a look at this question, one problem at a time, to determine the best way to tackle such a long sentence! Before we dive in, here's the original question with any major differences highlighted in orange:

Written early in the French Revolution,  Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to be the result of  the dominance of aristocratic values and patriarchal hereditary privilege.

(A)  Mary Wollstonecraft’s  A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills  to be the result of  
(B)  Mary Wollstonecraft’s  A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills  to result from  
(C)  Mary Wollstonecraft’s  A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills  to  
(D)  in  A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Mary Wollstonecraft attributed Europe’s social and political ills  to have been the result of  
(E)  Mary Wollstonecraft, in  A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), attributed Europe’s social and political ills  to

After a quick glance over the options, we have 2 major issues to deal with:

1. Proper use of comma placement/non-essential clauses/modifiers in options D & E
2. attributed X to / to result from / to have been the result of / to be the result of

Since #1 involves an easy way to check for errors, let's start there.  To make sure these extra commas and re-arranged phrases work, here is each sentence in its entirety, with any non-essential clauses (anything that is placed between commas) crossed out. Remember - for non-essential clauses to work, removing them MUST NOT change the overall meaning of the sentence:

(D)  Written early in the French Revolution ,  in A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) ,  Mary Wollstonecraft  attributed Europe’s social and political ills to have been the result of the dominance of aristocratic values and patriarchal hereditary privilege.

This is  INCORRECT  because the modifier phrase "Written early in the French Revolution" is being used to modify Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary wasn't written during the French Revolution - her books were! This is a case of a misplaced modifier!

(E)  Written early in the French Revolution ,  Mary Wollstonecraft ,  in A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) , attributed Europe’s social and political ills to the dominance of aristocratic values and patriarchal hereditary privilege.

Again, this is also  INCORRECT  because the modifier is placed next to Mary, suggesting Mary was written, not her books.

So - we can eliminate options D & E because re-arranging the sentences and adding in commas created problems with modifiers!

Now, let's move on to #2 on our list: how to phrase clauses that refer to attribution! The proper idiom format for this is:

attributed X to Y

That's it. There is no need to add extra wording, such as "attributed X to result from Y" or "attributed X to have been the result of Y." Both of those options are clunky and overly wordy. The GMAT prefers concise writing whenever possible, so let's see which options use concise and correct idiomatic structure here:

(A) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)  attributed Europe’s social and political ills to be the result of   -->  INCORRECT   (overly wordy/awkward)

(B) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)  attributed Europe’s social and political ills to result from   -->  INCORRECT   (overly wordy/awkward)

(C) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)  attributed Europe’s social and political ills to  -->  CORRECT   (concise and follows idiomatic rules)

There you have it - option C is the correct choice!

Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.

daagh · Answer

The idiomatic template of ‘attribute to’ is that one attributes X to Y, where X and Y are parallel in the form of nouns and the ‘to’ is a preposition. In A and B, one will find that what follow ‘to’ are verbs, thereby rendering them as infinitives, an unparallel structure. In C, the ‘attributed’ is followed by ‘the ills (a noun) to another noun, the dominance. That is the reason C wins over and A and B for using correct idiomatic construction

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning of the sentence is key to solving this question; the intended meaning is that Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) were written early in the French Revolution and they attributed Europe's social and political ills to the dominance of aristocratic values and patriarchal hereditary privilege.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• In a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.

A:  This answer choice uses the redundant phrase "attributed...to be the result", leading to awkwardness and redundancy; this usage is redundant, as both "attributed" and "result" are used to convey a cause-effect relationship.

B:  This answer choice uses the redundant phrase "attributed...to result", leading to awkwardness and redundancy; this usage is redundant, as both "attributed" and "result" are used to convey a cause-effect relationship.

C:   Correct.  This answer choice correctly uses "Written early in the French Revolution" to modify "Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)", conveying the intended meaning - that   A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790)   and   A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)   were written early in the French Revolution. Further, Option C is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

D:  This answer choice incorrectly uses "Written early in the French Revolution" to modify "Mary Wollstonecraft", illogically implying that   Mary Wollstonecraft   was written early in the French Revolution; the intended meaning is that   A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790)   and   A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)   were written early in the French Revolution; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.

E:  This answer choice incorrectly uses "Written early in the French Revolution" to modify "Mary Wollstonecraft", illogically implying that   Mary Wollstonecraft   was written early in the French Revolution; the intended meaning is that   A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790)   and   A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)   were written early in the French Revolution; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqgMtdyK2D4

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

CounterSniper · Answer

C perfectly conveys the meaning ,has no modifier error and usage of idiom attribute ...to

Divyadisha · Answer

IMO, 'attributed' and 'result' are redundant. A, B and D are out.

Now, looking at the meaning- something was written in French revolution, and that was Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). Only 'C' modifies it correctly.

RichaChampion · Answer

Some posters are arguing that attribute to and result from are redundant. Is redundancy an issue here or the issue is in ||'sm as you have mentioned attribute X to Y, X and Y are not || in A and B.

Celestial09 · Answer

Chief!
None of my sentence correction analysis is complete unless i go through the analysis of experts like YOU. But please above explanation, can you make it in simple terms. Its my fault that I am unable to understand your explanation.
Thanks

abhimahna · Answer

Correct Idiom is  attribute X to Y , where X and Y should be parallel.

daagh · Answer

Sorry Abhi for my unclear message. 
Let’s now analyse the usage of the word ‘to’. The word can act in two ways, one as a part of an infinitive verbal such as ‘to sing’, ‘to play’ or ‘to walk’. You might see that when it is part of the infinitive, a verb always follows the word ‘to’. 
The second use of ‘to’ be as a preposition that precedes a noun in prepositional phrases. To Delhi, to freedom, to the dominance etc. Here the word ‘to’ is always followed by a noun. 
Point 3 is that, idiomatically ‘attributed’ will only take the ‘to’ as a phrasal verb in the role of a preposition. Then what follows must be a noun. On the contrary, the ‘to’ in ‘attribute to’ never takes a verb 
 Try to Google attribute with any of the words such as ‘attribute to be’ or ‘attribute to result from’, or ‘attribute to have been the result of’, and you will get the prompt response that there is no such phrase in English Dictionary. That is the simple reason why A, b and D are instantly out. 
The final tie is between C and E. E is out because of improper modification and C wins the grand finale. 
Hope I have made amends

KB04 · Answer

Written early in the French Revolution, Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to be the result of the dominance of aristocratic values and patriarchal hereditary privilege.

A) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to  be  the result of -  The correct idiom is attributed + to + noun phrase

B) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to result from -  The verb attribute idiomatically requires the preposition to followed by a noun phrase, not the infinitive marker to followed by a verb.

C) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to -  correct

D) in A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Mary Wollstonecraft attributed Europe’s social and political ills to have been the result of -  Modification error. The phrase "Written early in the French Revolution" is modifying books written by MW.

E) Mary Wollstonecraft, in A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), attributed Europe’s social and political ills to -  Modification error. The phrase "Written early in the French Revolution" is modifying books written by MW.
 
  Take away: attributed + to + noun phrase (not a verb)

ramlala · Answer

Written early in the French Revolution,  Mary Wollstonecraft’s  A Vindication of the Rights of Man  (1790) and  A Vindication of the Rights of Woman  (1792)  attributed  Europe’s social and political ills to  be the result of   the dominance of aristocratic values and patriarchal hereditary privilege.

(A) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to be the result of 
Modifier  'Written early in the French Revolution'  modifies subject perfectly.
Here we have redundancy issue. Meaning of attribute and result of is same.

(B) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)  attributed  Europe’s social and political ills to  result from  
Modifier  'Written early in the French Revolution'  modifies subject perfectly.
Here we have redundancy issue. Meaning of attribute and result from is same.

(C) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to
 No remarks

(D) in A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Mary Wollstonecraft attributed Europe’s social and political ills to have been the result of 
Modifier & meaning issue

(E) Mary Wollstonecraft, in A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), attributed Europe’s social and political ills to
Modifier issue.

rahul2013 · Answer

A. """Attributed to"" means ""to result from"" or ""to be the result of"" -.
So here we have redundancy issue"
B. same as A
C. Correct
D. same as E and A
E. Written … modifies MW's books so incorrect here

Kritika09 · Answer

(A) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to be the result of

(B) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to result from

(C) Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attributed Europe’s social and political ills to

(D) in A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Mary Wollstonecraft attributed Europe’s social and political ills to have been the result of

(E) Mary Wollstonecraft, in A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), attributed Europe’s social and political ills to

D and E - Modifiers issue
A and B - incorrect idiom usage

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Mandeep1357 · Answer

Before the underline part,

we have a modifier "Written early in the French Revolution", which can modify a book

In option D, Subject is "in A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790)..... " , which is not a name of a book.

Eliminate D

In option E, Subject is "Mary Wollstonecraft", which is not a name of a book.

Eliminate.

In Option A, B and C, the subject is the name of the book.

In option A and B

"attributed" is same as "result of" and "result from"

We have redundancy

Eliminate

Hence C, is the correct answer

VerbalBot · Answer

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Written early in the French Revolution, Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindic

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