Researchers agreed that the study of new treatments for

Question

Researchers agreed that the study of new treatments for heart attack patients was
extremely important but more research was needed to determine that balloon angioplasty
preceded with ultrasound was or was not any better for heart attack patients than the
balloon procedure by itself.
A. more research was needed to determine that balloon angioplasty preceded with
ultrasound was or was not any better for heart attack patients than
B. more research was needed for determining whether or not balloon angioplasty
preceded by ultrasound is any better for heart attack patients than is
C. that more research was needed to determine whether balloon angioplasty preceded
by ultrasound is any better for heart attack patients than
D. that more research was needed to determine that balloon angioplasty preceded
with ultrasound was any better for heart attack patients than
E. that more research was needed for determining that balloon angioplasty preceded
by ultrasound is or is not any better for heart attack patients than is

daagh · Answer

This question is a great muddle. Let me elaborate. 
1. A and B are wrong because of missing the parallel conjunction - that  -in the second part of what the scientists agreed. 
2. C and D miss the verb -  is  -after than; “ is ” after than is required to be parallel with the use of “ is ” earlier. 
3. B and E are wrong for using “f or determining ” rather than the preferred idiom  “to determine”  and E is more wrong because of using the inelegant – “  ultrasound is or is not any better  “ 
4. B, C and E are additionally wrong for unnecessarily shifting the tense from past tense to present tense –  is  – when the entire clause is set in the past.

B is wrong on at least three counts but is said to be the OA;

BKimball · Answer

This is a nice tough question! I'm not able to address this question directly, but let me just tackle what I see as the most important issue: the missing "that" -->

On the first charge: the missing "that" -->

Researchers agreed that the study of new treatments for heart attack patients was
extremely important but...

Here you actually do not need another "that." This sentence says the researched agreed THAT:

1. the study of new treatments was important 
BUT
2. more research was needed...

You can think of the "that" as getting "distributed" to the "more research was needed" (think: x*(y+z) = xy + xz).

Brett

krishireddy · Answer

I am just confused...Manhattan SC says ...the idiomatic expression "Whether or Not "is always incorrect...

can someone xplain how is B the correct answer?

daagh · Answer

Oh! One more reason to claim why B can not be the answer; or take the OA with a pinch of salt.

BKimball · Answer

Sometimes you do need to take the OA with a grain of salt. It is rare, but the OG does occasionally make mistakes.

We need to remember that Sentence Correction is about getting rid of four wrong answers, not looking for your ideal answer. I agree that B has some issues, but the real question is: "Of the five answer choices I am given, which one is best?" This is a good question to remember just in case the GMAT makes a mistake on the real test (highly, highly unlikely) or if you aren't really sure whether something minor is right or wrong.

Brett

shrive555 · Answer

i crossed out B for the same reason

WishMasterUA · Answer

can somebody explain why the OA is C.

Thanks in advance

Researchers agreed that the study of new treatments for

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