In a chapter titled Agency and Pain the argument raised by Talal Asad

Question

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In a chapter titled “Agency and Pain,”  the argument raised by Talal Asad, contrary to scholars such as Bernard Williams, is that the story of Oedipus cannot be read  as a narrative about responsibility, but rather as one of high moral standards.

A) the argument raised by Talal Asad, contrary to scholars such as Bernard Williams, is that the story of Oedipus cannot be read

B) Talal Asad is of the argument that, unlike Bernard Williams and other scholars, the story of Oedipus cannot be read

C) Talal Asad, in contrast to scholars such as Bernard Williams, argues that the story of Oedipus cannot be read

D) Talal Asad argues, unlike Bernard Williams and other scholars, that the story of Oedipus is not such to be read

E) Talal Asad argues, even though Bernard Williams and other scholars would disagree, that the story of Oedipus is unreadable

The  best or excellent answers get kudos , which will be  awarded  after   the answer is revealed.

sm86 · Answer

Q. In a chapter titled “Agency and Pain,”  the argument raised by Talal Asad, contrary to scholars such as Bernard Williams , is that the story of Oedipus cannot be read as a narrative about responsibility, but rather as one of high moral standards.

Meaning Analysis : In chapter X, Asad argued something. It was contrary to Bernard.

Error Analysis: 
In question stem, argument is parallel to scholars ---> Incorrect. So eliminating Option A.

E) Talal Asad argues, even though Bernard Williams and other scholars would  disagree , that the story of Oedipus  is unreadable 
Changes meaning. No information about whether Bernard agrees/disagrees.

Does the argument states, unlike Bernard, the story of X? The options B and D cause that confusion.
B) Talal Asad is of the  argument that, unlike Bernard  Williams and other scholars, the story of Oedipus cannot be read
D) Talal Asad  argues, unlike Bernard  Williams and other scholars, that the story of Oedipus is not such to be read

We are left with  C.

Darshi04 · Answer

sm86 
In option C, "Talal Asad" is preceded and succeeded by a comma and we see that it is a dependent clause. A dependent clause should have a subject and a verb. The verb is missing in option C. The ambiguity that gets created here is whether "Talal Asad" is a part of the chapter's name or he is the author/character (arguer in our case). If Talal is not a part of chapter's name (which from meaning analysis, it clearly isn't), then what Talal does in that chapter (the verb, the action of arguing) must come here in this clause.

Posted from my mobile device

sm86 · Answer

Darshi04  yes I agree its a clause.

In chapter X, TA, unlike others, argues that ......
Here TA - Subject. Argues - Verb
Meaning: In chapter X, TA is a character/author unlike Bernard and he argues something.

I hope this makes sense now!

yash312 · Answer

IMO C

A) the argument raised by Talal Asad, contrary to scholars such as Bernard Williams, is that the story of Oedipus cannot be read---> incorrect; comparison issue argument cannot be compared to Bernard williams

B) Talal Asad is of the argument that, unlike Bernard Williams and other scholars, the story of Oedipus cannot be read--> Incorrect, Fragment 2 clauses are joined by a comma

C) Talal Asad, in contrast to scholars such as Bernard Williams, argues that the story of Oedipus cannot be read--> correct

D) Talal Asad argues, unlike Bernard Williams and other scholars, that the story of Oedipus is not such to be read---> Incorrect,No verb for the main clause

E) Talal Asad argues, even though Bernard Williams and other scholars would disagree, that the story of Oedipus is unreadable---> Incorrect, idiom not followed

KUDOS plz

Darshi04 · Answer

sm86 
I do understand your thought process behind C. I'm just not sure if grammatically we can use TA between 2 commas without a verb. Anyhow, the more I see other options, C seems to be the best option - although for some reason I've gone with D.

Would love to read the OE for this one. Can't sleep now.

Was nice reading your analysis btw, gave me a different perspective.

Posted from my mobile device

yash312 · Answer

Hi

It seems you think that "IN X, subject, modifier, Verb + prepositional phrase "---wrong
but plz note that the above mentioned chronology is very well correct, as far the sentence makes sense and completes it meaning

In option C: problems it the later part of sentence, which states "cannot be read"; this part is wrong as the Idiom is " not x but rather y" , so the before is correct, problem comes in the later part of sentence.

hope this helps

kudos

Darshi04 · Answer

Yash312 Hello, Thanks for that clarification. I just made up some examples to check this chronology and your explanation makes sense. Yes I thought about the later part too, which is also why I chose D (I was wondering why D sounds better). Clearly because of the idiom. I was still unsure of D because "such" is used in place of "one" and I'm not sure if that's correct. But I just read up a little about the usage of "such" and there are instances where it can be used as a pronoun. I think this problem is one of such instances so I guess it's correctly used. Totally losing sleep over this problem!

Whyyy generis

yash312 · Answer

sm86 I do understand your thought process behind C. I'm just not sure if grammatically we can use TA between 2 commas without a verb. Anyhow, the more I see other options, C seems to be the best option - although for some reason I've gone with D. Would love to read the OE for this one. Can't sleep now. Was nice reading your analysis btw, gave me a different perspective. Posted from my mobile device Hi It seems you think that "IN X, subject, modifier, Verb + prepositional phrase "---wrong but plz note that the above mentioned chronology is very well correct, as far the sentence makes sense and completes it meaning In option C: problems it the later part of sentence, which states "cannot be read"; this part is wrong as the Idiom is " not x but rather y" , so the before is correct, problem comes in the later part of sentence. hope this helps kudos Yash312 Hello, Thanks for that clarification. I just made up some examples to check this chronology and your explanation makes sense. Yes I thought about the later part too, which is also why I chose D (I was wondering why D sounds better). Clearly because of the idiom. I was still unsure of D because "such" is used in place of "one" and I'm not sure if that's correct. But I just read up a little about the usage of "such" and there are instances where it can be used as a pronoun. I think this problem is one of such instances so I guess it's correctly used. Totally losing sleep over this problem!

Whyyy generis

Please note that u are making an error if u are thinking such as is used as a pronoun. Please note such as is used to introduce example or type ...and it has been correctly adjective

IronMaiden69 · Answer

Only C Qualifies

A) Contrary to here must modify argument not the author

B) Modifier unlike must modify Talal Asad

C) Correct Placement of the modifiers

D) Again Modifier unlike must modify Talal Asad

E) Meaning is an important flaw here as the option states that the story of Oedipus is unreadable. But is it so? Is it really unreadable, or it cannot be read in a particular context.

generis · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

My annotations are in blue typeface.

Method I: "Alternative" (using the answer choices)

•• The connectors point out the logical connection we should look for between the different
parts of the sentence. We look for connectors such as: reason and result, contrast, purpose, etc.

••  All else being equal,  short and clear wording is always better than "that which must be described in so many words."

We will use the answer choices because it is not obvious how to correct the original sentence.

• A:  The argument  cannot be  contrary  to  scholars   "argument" and "scholars" are not parallel]

• B " is of the argument " is awkward  compared to (C)  Talal Asad argues  ]
"Unlike Bernard . . . the story cannot be read" isn't logical

• C: Great —  Asad  argues in contrast to  scholars   who also argue, just differently - implied ]

• D: ". . .  argues unlike Bernard " — so  which is it ]: Bernard does not argue or Bernard argues differently?
" Not such to be read " is awkward  see my post below for discussion of SUCH ]

• E:  Disagree  to the fact he argues?    
 Unreadable  means that it is not clear enough to read (physically  - the typeset is blurry, e.g. )

Method II - Logical

because we can easily correct the wrong illogical comparison.

•• When we compare two things, they must be parallel to each other (such as two amounts or two years — but not an amount compared to a year)

•• The contrast  cannot  be between an  argument  and a  scholar , as these are two
different kinds of things.

•• The contrast must be between two things of the same kind such as actions: Talal Asad argues, in contrast to scholars

A) the  argument  raised by Talal Asad,  contrary to scholars  such as Bernard Williams, is that the story of Oedipus cannot be read

B) Talal Asad is of the argument that,  unlike Bernard Williams  and other scholars, the  story of Oedipus cannot be read

C)  Talal Asad , in contrast to  scholars such as Bernard Williams , argues that the story of Oedipus cannot be read

D) Talal Asad argues, unlike Bernard Williams  and other scholars, that the story of Oedipus is not such to be read

E) Talal Asad argues, even though Bernard Williams and other scholars would  disagree , that the story of Oedipus is  unreadable

COMMENTS

I am delighted to see dialogue among posters! 
For that reason, the interlocutors (look it up - great word) get smiley faces. 
( sm86  , I cannot award you more than one kudos of any kind; I can make a second kudos happen, though, a few hours from now)

IronMaiden97  gets honorable mention smiley face.

sm86  has the best answer. Kudos!

generis · Answer

Darshi04 ,

Thanks for the laugh. (I'm laughing WITH you.) Oh, how this sentiment sounds familiar (that is, I, too, have been too interested in issues to sleep). Why? Ask an open-ended question, and . . . Who knows what answer follows! "Why are you all giving us sentences that make us stay awake?" Because we are wingnuts who like to inflict . . . No. I'm kidding.

"Why do these sentences make us stay awake all night?" Because aspirants care, are curious, and are driven to give the test their best, a drive that in my book is the same as the drive to achieve excellence. Any one of those reasons is good news. Having three reasons? When the energy behind one or two is sapped, the third will pick up the slack. Breaking down C and D C) In a chapter titled “Agency and Pain,” Talal Asad, in contrast to scholars such as Bernard Williams, argues that the story of Oedipus cannot be read as a narrative about responsibility, but rather as one of high moral standards. D) In a chapter titled “Agency and Pain,” Talal Asad argues, unlike Bernard Williams and other scholars, that the story of Oedipus is not such to be read as a narrative about responsibility, but rather as one of high moral standards. Shorten each sentence. C) Talal Asad, in contrast to scholars such as B.W., argues that cannot be read as a , but rather as . D) Talal Asad argues, unlike other scholars, that the story of is not such to be read as a , but rather as . In Option D, "such" means "of the kind that," and "of the kind" refers to "story." D) Talal Asad argues, unlike B. W. and other scholars, that the story of Oedipus is not of the type to be read as a narrative about responsibility, but rather as one of high moral standards. That structure, though, is tortuous -- really awkward. Unless a person were an academician or professor, the specialized meaning would not be very clear. "Such" is a hard word, but GMAC tests predictable uses of such. One way to solve issues that are frustrating is: If an Official Guide 2016 is or later, haul it out. Read every Sentence Correction question and find the ones that use the word "such." Write down the correct answer (full sentence) on a flashcard. If the incorrect answers are noted, use full sentences. Finding the patterns that GMAC tests with particular words or phrases is incredibly helpful. Unlike is correctly followed by a noun. That issue is not a problem. The problem is that what we contrast must be clear and parallel. In a comparison that uses the word "like" or "unlike,": Do the two nouns do the same kind of thing (albeit in this case, differently)? In (D), we do not know whether the other scholars are different (unlike) from Asad -- because those scholars do not argue at all OR -- because those scholars argue in a way different from Asad's way Although I can (barely) make the case for "such" as meaning "of the type of story," compared to (C) in terms of clarity, there is no contest. In fact, I think that the distinction is hard to catch unless we compare D to C. A subject can be separated from a verb in numerous ways. Relative clause, for example: Alana, who learned good study habits early, never procrastinates on homework projects. The differences between "unlike" and "in contrast to" are subtle. Often the two are interchangeable. Writing about the exact details would require: 1) a chapter in a book; and 2) much more than the GMAT requires Something else will be wrong with the sentence. In this case, (D) uses a "such" construction that is almost impossible to dissect and compared to (C), is a rhetorical disaster. Everyone can learn the patterns of GMAC by making flashcards with correct examples of "such" as found in OGs. I would use only an OG or two, but just in case people decide to go looking: For background: Oxford Dictionaries Online in which such is treated concisely. Another source is HERE, in which SUCH is analyzed on English Grammar Today. That link includes three other good links (So, Such or So, and Such As) Most people have good pickup for patterns. I hope that everyone will read. Read a novel or a book of non-fiction on a fascinating subject . Yes, it's important to read RC-like passages. But those kinds of pieces tend not to be "page-turners." Find a book that makes the reader want to turn the page.

generis · Answer

Yash312 , I think you mean option D.

yash312 · Answer

Hi It seems you think that "IN X, subject, modifier, Verb + prepositional phrase "---wrong but plz note that the above mentioned chronology is very well correct, as far the sentence makes sense and completes it meaning In option C: problems it the later part of sentence, which states "cannot be read"; this part is wrong as the Idiom is " not x but rather y" , so the before is correct, problem comes in the later part of sentence. hope this helps kudos Yash312 , I think you mean option D.

generis .....Yes thank u generis ....TYPO error I mean option D

VerbalBot · Answer

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In a chapter titled Agency and Pain the argument raised by Talal Asad

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In a chapter titled Agency and Pain the argument raised by Talal Asad

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