Rupert Brooke's poetry turned him into a symbol of an entire generatio

Question

Rupert Brooke's poetry turned him into a symbol of an entire  generation when it reflected patriotically on the experiences of World War I .

(A) generation when it reflected patriotically on the experiences of World War I

(B) generation in that it reflected patriotically on the experiences of World War I

(C) generation, reflecting patriotically on the experiences of World War I

(D) generation, for it reflected patriotically on the experiences of World War I

(E) generation, which reflected patriotically on World War I experiences

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Rupert Brooke's poetry turned him into a symbol of an entire  generation when it reflected patriotically on the experiences of World War I .

(A) generation when it reflected patriotically on the experiences of World War I

Incorrect.

This answer choice is stylistically flawed. The use of the conjunction  when  is awkward and confusing, as it does not clearly express the relationship between the sentence's two clauses.

The use of  when  suggests that Brooke's poetry turned him into a symbol at a particular time, which does not make sense. Search for an answer choice that makes logical and concise use of a conjunction to connect the two clauses.

(B) generation in that it reflected patriotically on the experiences of World War I

Incorrect.

This answer repeats the stylistic flaw in the original question. The phrase  in that  is awkward and confusing, as it does not clearly express the relationship between the sentence's two clauses. The reason for this is that in that demonstrates how the previous information is used and it places a limit on that use. Here there is no limiting factor on the poetry to only how it reflected on the experiences of WWI.

Search for an answer choice that makes logical and concise use of a conjunction to connect the two clauses.

(C) generation, reflecting patriotically on the experiences of World War I

Incorrect.

While this answer choice attempts to correct the stylistic flaw in the original question by changing the clause  when...  to a modifier ( reflecting... ), it is still stylistically flawed.

The use  reflecting  fails to express the logical connection between the two clauses. In addition, the use of the participle clause  reflecting patriotically on the experiences of World War I  creates ambiguity, as it is not clear whether  reflecting  modifies  generation or Rupert Brooke's poetry .

(D) generation, for it reflected patriotically on the experiences of World War I

This answer choice corrects the stylistic flaw in the original question, by changing the conjunction  when  to  for , which logically connects the sentence's two clauses in a relationship of cause and effect.

for / because / since / as

Note that the preposition  for  can also be used as a reason conjunction.

Example:

John does not travel by air  because  he fears flying.

John does not travel by air  for  he fears flying.

(E) generation, which reflected patriotically on World War I experiences

Incorrect.

While this answer choice attempts to correct the original stylistic flaw by replacing the conjunction  when  with a relative pronoun  which , it is illogical and changes the meaning of the original sentence.

The relative clause  which reflected patriotically on World War I experiences  modifies the noun generation. However, in the original sentence,  Rupert Brooke's poetry , not the  generation , reflected on the war experiences: this is the reason his poetry became a symbol for an entire generation. To express this idea the modifier should have been placed after Rupert Brooke's poetry.

Crytiocanalyst · Answer

(A) generation when it reflected patriotically on the experiences of World War I
Independent clauses are not seperated by commas and in addition to that when is distorting the meaning therefore out

(B) generation in that it reflected patriotically on the experiences of World War I
that creates ambiguity here since the reference isn't correct therefore out

(C) generation, reflecting patriotically on the experiences of World War I
reflecting usage in the passage creates distorted meaning as we are not ware whether it's refering back to generation or poetry therefore out

(D) generation, for it reflected patriotically on the experiences of World War I
It refers perfectly back to poetry and the meaning is perfect therefore let us hang on to it

(E) generation, which reflected patriotically on World War I experiences
We are not sure whether which refers back to generation or poetry therefore out

Therefore iMO D

Rupert Brooke's poetry turned him into a symbol of an entire generatio

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Rupert Brooke's poetry turned him into a symbol of an entire generatio

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards