In all, the new algorithm sorts through thousands of bits of

Question

In all, the new algorithm sorts through thousands of bits of information about a person and their online behavior: what sites a person visits; what types of language, positive or negative, a person uses to describe certain technologies;  the skills that are listed on a person’s resume; and the school a person attended and in what major, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report. 
 
A) the skills that are listed on a person’s resume; and the school a person attended and in what major, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report.
 
B) the skills that are listed on a person’s resume; the school a person attended; and the major of that person, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report.
 
C) what skills are listed on a person’s resume; what school a person attended; and what major, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report.
 
D) what skills are listed on a person’s resume; and what school a person attended, as well as the major and ranking of that school in U.S. News and World Report.
 
E) what skills are listed on a person’s resume; and what school a person attended and in what major, as well as the ranking of that school in U.S. News and World Report.

ankurgupta03 · Accepted Answer

In all, the new algorithm sorts through thousands of bits of information about a person and their online behavior: what sites a person visits; what types of language, positive or negative, a person uses to describe certain technologies; the skills that are listed on a person’s resume; and the school a person attended and in what major, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report.

A)the skills that are listed on a person’s resume; and the school a person attended and in what major, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report.
 what should be present to make the structure of the sentence parallel 
B)the skills that are listed on a person’s resume; the school a person attended; and the major of that person, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report.
 what should be present to make the structure of the sentence parallel 
C)what skills are listed on a person’s resume; what school a person attended; and what major, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report.
 "and what major" should not be after the semicolon as it is not a trait itself, but a continuation of the trait "what school ..." 
D)what skills are listed on a person’s resume; and what school a person attended, as well as the major and ranking of that school in U.S. News and World Report.
 as well as the major and ranking of the school is wrong. The major has to be used for the person not the school 
E)what skills are listed on a person’s resume; and what school a person attended and in what major, as well as the ranking of that school in U.S. News and World Report.
 Correct

pqhai · Answer

IMO, E is correct.

A) the skills that are listed  on a person’s resume; and the school a person attended and in what major, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report.
 Wrong.  Not parallel.
 
B) the skills that are listed  on a person’s resume; the school a person attended; and the major of that person, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report.
 Wrong.  Not parallel.
 
C)what skills are listed on a person’s resume; what school a person attended;  and what major, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report .
 Wrong.  Not parallel because the last part " and what major........ " is a noun phrase, not a clause.

D)what skills are listed on a person’s resume; and what school a person attended, as well as the major and ranking of that school in U.S. News and World Report.
 Wrong.  
- The usage of "as well as": the clause before "as well as" is not parallel with the noun phrase after "as well as". The two portions should be parallel, e.g. noun as well as noun, clause as well as clause
- Change meaning: the intended meaning is the major that a person attend, not the major of the school. But D changes the meaning to "the major of the school".
- "The ranking" is more clear than "ranking" 
 
E) what skills  are listed on a person’s resume; and  what school  a person attended and in what  major, as well as the ranking  of that school in U.S. News and World Report.
 Correct.  Good parallel structure.

anish123ster · Answer

Nicely done..pqhai and ankur..+1 to both

pqhai · Answer

Thanks anish123ster. You deserve a kudo for a GOOD question too

pqhai · Answer

IMO, E is correct, not C.

A) the skills that are listed  on a person’s resume; and the school a person attended and in what major, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report.
 Wrong.  Not parallel.
 
B) the skills that are listed  on a person’s resume; the school a person attended; and the major of that person, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report.
 Wrong.  Not parallel.
 
C)what skills are listed on a person’s resume; what school a person attended;  and what major, as well as that school’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report .
 Wrong.  Not parallel structure because the last part " and what major........ " is a noun phrase, not a clause. In addition, "the major" should be the one that a person attended, not the major of the school.

D)what skills are listed on a person’s resume; and what school a person attended, as well as the major and ranking of that school in U.S. News and World Report.
 Wrong.  
- The usage of "as well as": the clause before "as well as" is not parallel with the noun phrase after "as well as". The two portions should be parallel, e.g. noun as well as noun, clause as well as clause
- Change meaning: the intended meaning is the major that a person attend, not the major of the school. But D changes the meaning to "the major of the school".
- "The ranking" is more clear than "ranking" 
 
E) what skills  are listed on a person’s resume; and  what school  a person attended and in what  major, as well as the ranking  of that school in U.S. News and World Report.
 Correct.  Good parallel structure.

aadikamagic · Answer

I read somewhere, all the sentences separated by semi colon should be independent sentences. in this question, all the sentences have at least one part after a semi colon that starts with "and". Is this correct. Can someone please put a light on it?

spetznaz · Answer

I have a doubt on this one - two independent clauses are joined by a semi-colon or by "comma + and" , is it correct to join 2 independent clauses using ";" and a co-ordinating conjunction such as "änd". Experts please help !

sayantanc2k · Answer

If there is requirement of comma  within  an item of a list, semicolon is used instead of comma to separate the items of the  outer  list. For example (from MGMAT SC guide):

Wrong: I listen to Earth, Wind & Fire, Wow, Owls, and Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Right: I listen to Earth, Wind & Fire; Wow, Owls; and Blood, Sweat & Tears.

There are three items in the outer list:
1. Earth, Wind & Fire (comma used within the item)
2. Wow, Owls (comma used within the item)
3. Blood, Sweat & Tears (comma used within the item)

In the subject question, there are 4 items in a list:

1. what sites a person visits
2. what types of language, positive or negative, a person uses to describe certain technologies (comma used within the item)
3. what skills are listed on a person’s resume
4. what school a person attended and in what major

Within one of the items (item 2), comma is required to separate a modifier. Hence we are required to use semicolon instead of comma to separate the items of the outer list.

BillyZ · Answer

OFFICIAL SOLUTION

Solution: E

Explanation: This long sentence contains a structure that many students are unfamiliar with: multiple semicolons in one sentence. Semicolons are used this way to link together several complex elements in a series when commas would be too confusing. The key on this problem is to make sure that all components are parallel and contain uniform structures. Since the first two parts of the series begin with “what….”, the remaining portions must use a comparable structure. (A) and (B) are wrong because they lack this essential structure in the remaining parts of the series. In (C), the last portion, “what major…..,” cannot be disconnected from the discussion of the school and must have some verb with it. In (D) you cannot have the “major…of a school.” Only (E) contains parallel structures and gets the last portion correct: “what school a person attended and in what major (he attended is understood), as well as the ranking of that school.” (E) is correct.

VerbalBot · Answer

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In all, the new algorithm sorts through thousands of bits of

Prep Toolkit

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

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From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards