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30 Mar 2021, 23:57
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D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
67% (01:22) correct
33%
(01:32)
wrong
based on 208
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
For centuries, cartography – the art and science of mapmaking – was the work of skilled individuals who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, knowledge of astronomy, and mathematics to chart the world around them.
A) who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, knowledge of astronomy, and mathematics to chart
B) relying on their own explorations, drawing abilities, and knowledge of astronomy and mathematics for charting
C) who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, and their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics to chart
D) who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, and knowledge of astronomy and mathematics to chart
E) relying on their own explorations, drawing abilities, knowledge of astronomy, and mathematics for charting
31 Mar 2021, 00:01
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
THE PROMPT
This SC question could be confounding if you fail to read carefully.
• Meaning?
For centuries, cartography was the work of skilled individuals who relied on their own experience, abilities, and knowledge to chart the world.
• Parallelism detail
The words their own "carry over" or "distribute" to whatever the individuals relied on.
The sentence needs to make the following items parallel: their own explorations, their own drawing abilities, and their own knowledge of astronomy and mathematics.
• Broken parallelism creates absurd meaning
The individuals were not relying on "their own" mathematics.
See my notes under option A.
THE OPTIONS
→ The words their own "carry over" to each item in the list
→ The sentence breaks the parallel structure by absurdly suggesting that individuals relied on their own explorations, (their own) drawing abilities, (their own) knowledge of astronomy, and (their own) mathematics.
The individuals did not rely on "their own" mathematics.
→ The phrase their own mathematics is nonsensical.
I may be mistaken, but I do not recall having seen any answer in which the poster made a big deal about this meaning mistake.
It's a big deal. "Their own mathematics" is ridiculous.
ELIMINATE A
→ What did the individuals rely on? Three things: 1) their own explorations; 2) their own drawing abilities; and 3) their own knowledge of astronomy and [knowledge of] mathematics
• for charting is not idiomatic
• for charting is not very logical, either
→ The basic idea is that people
Rely on X [in order] to do or to accomplish Y.
We rely on our talents to do something, not for doing something.
→ He relied on his training in four other languages to learn French.
→ She relied on her keen memory to master the complicated new choreography.
The tacit phrase of purpose, in order, does not fit logically with "for charting."
Wrong (ouch): She relied on her keen memory [in order] for mastering the complicated new choreography.
ELIMINATE B (or, if you don't recognize the unidiomatic phrasing, be conservative, keep it, and then dump it when you compare to (E), which is the better of the two options)
→ The sentence breaks the parallel structure by making the following parallel: their own explorations, drawing abilities, and their knowledge of something.
→ the adjective their must come before only the first list item or before all three items.
→ in this case, their precedes the first and third items but not the second item. Not parallel.
ELIMINATE C
• the list is parallel
• to chart is idiomatic and logical
KEEP
→ Like option A, this option illogically suggests that the individuals relied on their own mathematics to make maps.
• not idiomatic: for charting is not idiomatic.
→ like option B, this option uses the unidiomatic and illogical for charting. The correct, logical phrase is to chart.
ELIMINATE E
The best answer is D.
NOTES
BichT , you asked
Which one to use depends on the situation and on factors much too subtle for GMAC to test.
This split is a distraction.
In journalism—especially print journalism, in which space is limited—editors and writers tend to prefer relying to who relied.
This bias in journalism probably stems from the rather strict injunction to avoid the use of "that," to which who is related.
On the other hand, in this sentence, for stylistic reasons that pertain to aesthetic meter, I prefer who relied.
But both constructions are correct.
The writer of the original OE for this question incorrectly flagged a (non-existent) difference between who relied and relying, a mistake that partly accounts for why I write my own OEs. Doing so is a lot of work.
ravigupta2912 , your analysis of the issue was helpful and thoughtful. +1 for being helpful.
You raise some interesting points.
Easy answers don't exist. We are in a gray area that GMAC will not test.
COMMENTS
BichT and Pranjal1 , welcome to SC Butler.
I am glad to see newcomers, who are always welcome.
The analysis in these posts ranges from good to excellent.
A few posts contain analysis that is not correct, although the answer chosen is.
If you keep an error log, for example, you should note that no difference exists between "relying" and "who relied."
Nice work.
Stay safe, everyone.
Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC1)
THE PROMPT
Quote:
This SC question could be confounding if you fail to read carefully.
• Meaning?
For centuries, cartography was the work of skilled individuals who relied on their own experience, abilities, and knowledge to chart the world.
• Parallelism detail
The words their own "carry over" or "distribute" to whatever the individuals relied on.
The sentence needs to make the following items parallel: their own explorations, their own drawing abilities, and their own knowledge of astronomy and mathematics.
• Broken parallelism creates absurd meaning
The individuals were not relying on "their own" mathematics.
See my notes under option A.
THE OPTIONS
Quote:
• Broken parallelism creates absurd meaning
→ The words their own "carry over" to each item in the list
→ The sentence breaks the parallel structure by absurdly suggesting that individuals relied on their own explorations, (their own) drawing abilities, (their own) knowledge of astronomy, and (their own) mathematics.
The individuals did not rely on "their own" mathematics.
→ The phrase their own mathematics is nonsensical.
I may be mistaken, but I do not recall having seen any answer in which the poster made a big deal about this meaning mistake.
It's a big deal. "Their own mathematics" is ridiculous.
ELIMINATE A
Quote:
• the absurd meaning in option A is corrected
→ What did the individuals rely on? Three things: 1) their own explorations; 2) their own drawing abilities; and 3) their own knowledge of astronomy and [knowledge of] mathematics
• for charting is not idiomatic
• for charting is not very logical, either
→ The basic idea is that people
Rely on X [in order] to do or to accomplish Y.
We rely on our talents to do something, not for doing something.
→ He relied on his training in four other languages to learn French.
→ She relied on her keen memory to master the complicated new choreography.
The tacit phrase of purpose, in order, does not fit logically with "for charting."
Wrong (ouch): She relied on her keen memory [in order] for mastering the complicated new choreography.
ELIMINATE B (or, if you don't recognize the unidiomatic phrasing, be conservative, keep it, and then dump it when you compare to (E), which is the better of the two options)
Quote:
• parallelism is broken
→ The sentence breaks the parallel structure by making the following parallel: their own explorations, drawing abilities, and their knowledge of something.
→ the adjective their must come before only the first list item or before all three items.
→ in this case, their precedes the first and third items but not the second item. Not parallel.
ELIMINATE C
Quote:
• the meaning problem present in option A is resolved; the individuals used their own knowledge of astronomy and [of] mathematics to do something.
• the list is parallel
• to chart is idiomatic and logical
KEEP
Quote:
• nonsensical
→ Like option A, this option illogically suggests that the individuals relied on their own mathematics to make maps.
• not idiomatic: for charting is not idiomatic.
→ like option B, this option uses the unidiomatic and illogical for charting. The correct, logical phrase is to chart.
ELIMINATE E
The best answer is D.
NOTES
BichT , you asked
Quote:
Meaning-wise, there is no difference between the two phrases.
Which one to use depends on the situation and on factors much too subtle for GMAC to test.
This split is a distraction.
In journalism—especially print journalism, in which space is limited—editors and writers tend to prefer relying to who relied.
This bias in journalism probably stems from the rather strict injunction to avoid the use of "that," to which who is related.
On the other hand, in this sentence, for stylistic reasons that pertain to aesthetic meter, I prefer who relied.
But both constructions are correct.
The writer of the original OE for this question incorrectly flagged a (non-existent) difference between who relied and relying, a mistake that partly accounts for why I write my own OEs. Doing so is a lot of work.
ravigupta2912 , your analysis of the issue was helpful and thoughtful. +1 for being helpful.
You raise some interesting points.
Easy answers don't exist. We are in a gray area that GMAC will not test.
COMMENTS
BichT and Pranjal1 , welcome to SC Butler.
I am glad to see newcomers, who are always welcome.
The analysis in these posts ranges from good to excellent.
A few posts contain analysis that is not correct, although the answer chosen is.
If you keep an error log, for example, you should note that no difference exists between "relying" and "who relied."
Nice work.
Stay safe, everyone.
31 Mar 2021, 00:40
Kudos
Bookmarks
My Answer - D
1. who relied is correct, so eliminate B and E
2. Option C is not parallel - drawing abilities, and their knowledge
3. Option A missing and before knowledge
For centuries, cartography – the art and science of mapmaking – was the work of skilled individuals who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, knowledge of astronomy, and mathematics to chart the world around them.
A) who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, knowledge of astronomy, and mathematics to chart
B) relying on their own explorations, drawing abilities, and knowledge of astronomy and mathematics for charting
C) who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, and their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics to chart
D) who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, and knowledge of astronomy and mathematics to chart
E) relying on their own explorations, drawing abilities, knowledge of astronomy, and mathematics for charting
1. who relied is correct, so eliminate B and E
2. Option C is not parallel - drawing abilities, and their knowledge
3. Option A missing and before knowledge
For centuries, cartography – the art and science of mapmaking – was the work of skilled individuals who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, knowledge of astronomy, and mathematics to chart the world around them.
A) who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, knowledge of astronomy, and mathematics to chart
B) relying on their own explorations, drawing abilities, and knowledge of astronomy and mathematics for charting
C) who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, and their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics to chart
D) who relied on their own explorations, drawing abilities, and knowledge of astronomy and mathematics to chart
E) relying on their own explorations, drawing abilities, knowledge of astronomy, and mathematics for charting
