Unsolicited electronic junk mail, also termed spam, has hurt companies

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The original sentence correctly employs parallel structure in the expression "both x and y." The two items are logically parallel in that both "draining resources" and "diminishing productivity" are direct ways in which spam has hurt companies. The two items are also structurally parallel in that both phrases begin with a gerund ("draining" and "diminishing") followed by objects ("company resources" and "employee productivity").


(A) CORRECT. This choice is correct as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) This choice incorrectly places "both" after the word "draining" such that the two elements in the expression "both x and y" are not logically parallel. The expression "both x and y" now reads "both company resources . . . and diminishing employee productivity." The second element ("diminishing employee productivity"), unlike the first element ("company resources"), is a way in which spam has hurt companies. The "draining" of company resources, not the "company resources" themselves, has hurt companies. Moreover, the two items in the expression are no longer structurally parallel: the first element is a noun phrase ("company resources") whereas the second element is a gerund followed by an object ("diminishing employee productivity").

(C) This choice incorrectly places "both" after the word "draining" such that the two elements in the expression "both x and y" are not logically parallel. The expression "both x and y" now reads "both company resources . . . and diminishing employee productivity." The second element ("diminishing employee productivity"), unlike the first element ("company resources"), is a way in which spam has hurt companies. The "draining" of company resources, not the "company resources" themselves, has hurt companies. Moreover, the two items in the expression are no longer structurally parallel: the first element is a noun phrase ("company resources") whereas the second element is a gerund ("diminishing") followed by a somewhat awkward and wordy clause ("how productive its employees are").

(D) In this choice, the two items in the expression "both x and y" are not structurally parallel: the first element is a gerund followed by an object ("draining company resources") whereas the second element is a clause consisting of a noun ("the productivity) and passive verb construction ("is diminished").

(E) In this choice, the two items in the expression "both x and y" are not structurally parallel: the first element is a gerund ("draining") followed by an object ("company resources") whereas the second element is a gerund ("diminishing") followed by a somewhat awkward and wordy clause ("how productive its employees are"). Additionally, the antecedent to the pronoun "its" is unclear, as "its" structurally could refer to "the problem" or "junk mail" as well as the more logical "company."