In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on

Question

In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on only the 2 or 3 percent of the population that comprised the political and social elite, but they have generally overlooked the rest, thereby failing to understand European civilization as a whole.

(A) In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on

(B) Studies of pre-industrial Europe by these historians have been focused on

(C) Studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have had as a focus

(D) These historical studies of pre-industrial Europe have had as a focus

(E) In their study of pre-industrial Europe, historians have been focusing on

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Per the official solution, "they" refers to historians .... but how can we be sure "They" refers to historians and not studies ...

Also -- how would you go about solving this problem ?

I chose B but that isnt right

Show Answer

Official Answer

A

Tan2017 · Answer

While solving such question you need to first analyze the original sentence and understand the meaning

As per the Option A

In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on only the 2 or 3 percent of the population that comprised the political and social elite, but they have generally overlooked the rest, thereby failing to understand European civilization as a whole.

3 facts have been mentioned about the historians 
1) They have been studying pre-industrial Europe
2)  In doing so  they have focused on only the 2 or 3 percent of the population 
3)  But  they have generally overlooked the rest

Thus we can see that "they" correctly refers to "historians" and there is no other logical antecedent for "they"

Option B (minus the grammatical errors) however changes the original intended meaning shifting the focus to studies. We need to fit grammar into logic and not vice-versa. A sentence may be grammatically correct but if it does not convey the original intended meaning then it is not the correct option.

Hope this helps!

Chets25 · Answer

B is incorrect since it changes the meaning of the sentence...As per original sentence,  historians have focussed on the population  however as per option B  studies have focussed on the population ....hence A is correct.

All other options are incorrect as per highlighted text below....Pls give kudos!!1

In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on only the 2 or 3 percent of the population that comprised the political and social elite, but they have generally overlooked the rest, thereby failing to understand European civilization as a whole.

(A) In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on
(B) Studies of pre-industrial Europe by these historians have been focused on
(C) Studying pre-industrial Europe, these  historians have had as a focus 
(D) These historical studies of pre-industrial Europe  have had as a focus 
(E) In their study of pre-industrial Europe, historians  have been focusing  on -  the sentence is in past tense as per non-underlined position however this makes it present continuous as if its still happening

hermitnisant · Answer

In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on only the 2 or 3 percent of the population that comprised the political and social elite, but they have generally overlooked the rest, thereby failing to understand European civilization as a whole.

Things to notice before moving on to the options :
1) but they have generally....... pronoun 'they' must refer to an antecedent , which is plural. 
2) parallelism eg. Scientists  have studied  the climate, but they  have overlooked  the global warming.

(A) In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on--  seems correct .. let's save it for the end.

(B) Studies of pre-industrial Europe by these historians have been focused on..  'they' can refer to the studies as well as historians. And also, studies cannot 'fail' to understand the European civilization, but the historians are failing to understand European civilization.

(C) Studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians  have had as a focus 
(D) These historical studies of pre-industrial Europe  have had as a focus 
(E) In their study of pre-industrial Europe, historians  have been focusing  on - this option clearly breaks the parallelism as mentioned above.

In studying pre-industrial Europe,  these historians have focused on  only the 2 or 3 percent of the population that comprised the political and social elite,  but they have  generally  overlooked the rest , thereby failing to understand European civilization as a whole.

stoor0777 · Answer

In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on only the 2 or 3 percent of the population that comprised the political and social elite, but they have generally overlooked the rest, thereby failing to understand European civilization as a whole.

(A) In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on
(correct, historians is the subject)
(B) Studies of pre-industrial Europe by these historians have been focused on
(passive voice error)
(C) Studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have had as a focus
(past perfect error)
(D) These historical studies of pre-industrial Europe have had as a focus
(past perfect error)
(E) In their study of pre-industrial Europe, historians have been focusing on
(present perfect progressive error)

jsr1989 · Answer

Historians have... But they have... Parallel only in option 'A'

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In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

In studying pre-industrial Europe, these historians have focused on

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