We live in a world in which crime is rampant, children are

Question

We live in a world in which crime is rampant,  children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty prevails.

(A) children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty prevails. 
(B) children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty is prevalent. 
(C) in which children are recalcitrant, in which change is the only constant, and in which uncertainty is prevalent. 
(D) where children are recalcitrant, where change is the only constant and where uncertainty is prevalent. 
(E) where children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty is prevalent

This question is a poor tool for practicing SC.   
Its source is not official. 
It creates conflict between two general rules: correct grammar and concision.
It also contravenes a few specific, subtler rules.

There are better and similar questions, for example,  here ,  here ,  and here .

gmatavenue · Accepted Answer

A learning question !
Here is what I think.

If I write the sentence like:
We live in a world  with  rampant crime, recalcitrant children , constant change , and prevailing uncertainty.

Now do we need to repeat WITH again and again ?
No , because all the elements here are phrases.

We live in a world NP, NP, NP and NP.

The above construction is fine. Then why should we need "in which" to be repeated.

Lets look into the sentence again,
We live in a world  in which   crime is rampant ,  children are recalcitrant ,  change is the only constant , and  uncertainty is prevalent .

The above construction is trying to build a ||sm with Independent Clauses. 
Like; IC in which IC,IC,IC and IC.

The above construction is not a well appreciated. There are always rules to combine ICs.

So the construction has to use "Dependent Maker".... "in which" in our case.
IC in which IC,in which IC,in which IC and in which IC.

I found a lot of help from another thread and googling on ||sm.

unplugged · Answer

C, D and E can be rejected straight away.

Between A and B, I'll choose A because B is slightly awkward. 'The world in which' needs to be parallel to all the other words. 'uncertainty prevails' is better that ' uncertainty is prevalent'

I'll go with A

Cheers,
Unplugged

scthakur · Answer

I think I have seen this question earlier. Here, the answer should be C. This is because, "in which" is required to maintain parallelism. Else, it seems as if "rampant" is being compared to "change is the only constant", etc.

ritula · Answer

OA is also C and OE speaks of parallelism but sumhow the repitition of 'in which' in C sounds a bit awkward.

scthakur · Answer

Look at the following example.

We live in a world in which crime is rampant and uncontrolled.
We live in a world in which crime is rampant and in which law and order situation is uncontrolled.

In the first sentence, "uncontrolled" modifies "crime". In the second question, "uncontrolled" modifies "law and order situation".

However, if the second sentence is re-written as

We live in a world in which crime is rampant, and law and order situation is uncontrolled.

it seems as if "law and order situation is rampant" tries to modify "crime".

kissthegmat · Answer

I'll go with option B. I'm rejecting C on the basis of wordiness. I don't think we need "in which" 4 times when we can convey the same meaning by using only 1 "in which".

GMATPill · Answer

Please note that both (B) and (C) can work. The question itself is flawed.

Please note that you should stay away from sources other than OG, GMATPrep. You can use GMAT Pill questions (https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... -questions), which are very similar to OG and GMATprep questions. Try to stay away from other sources.

dentobizz · Answer

Hi the source is Gayatri SC notes on Gmatclub i-remember-a-thread-having-gayatri-s-sc-notes-120954.html We live in a world in which crime is rampant, children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty prevails. (A) children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty prevails. (B) children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty is prevalent. (C) in which children are recalcitrant, in which change is the only constant, and in which uncertainty is prevalent. (D) where children are recalcitrant, where change is the only constant and where uncertainty is prevalent. (E) where children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty is prevalent OA is C OE----What is wrong with B? "in which" is part of a prepositional phrase. If we start the parallelism after "in which" we are using parallel fragments. Also without “in which” the subsequent phrases seem to modify the noun “crime” as opposed to “world”. I didnot agree with the OE so I wanted a expert to comment about the same

Vercules · Answer

Deal All,

The question is not the best one to practice,  both B and C are correct.

dentobizz you are correct, there is nothing wrong with B.

If given a choice to pick the correct answer B would be the one; however you can rest assured that in actual GMAT you will never get such choices.

if you want an expert advice --  Master the OG, GMATprep and other official questions, you will succeed in GMAT. If you have exhausted the official material, then try other sources.

It's from my personal experience. I practiced unreliable stuff, I scored 610 in the GMAT; I mastered the official stuff, I scored 750.

Hope it helps

Vercules

dentobizz · Answer

I completely agree official sources are the best and  most reliable  to practice from won't be using this and other suspect sources (brutal sc , etc) anymore. Congrats! for the excellent score

JJ2014 · Answer

We live in a world in which crime is rampant, children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty prevails.

(A) children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty prevails. 
(B) children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty is prevalent. 
(C) in which children are recalcitrant, in which change is the only constant, and in which uncertainty is prevalent. 
(D) where children are recalcitrant, where change is the only constant and where uncertainty is prevalent. 
(E) where children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty is prevalent

can someone please explain this?

AtlanticGMAT · Answer

Hi JJ,

This is a list so we should look for parallelism. The portion that we cannot change has the structure  noun is adjective
 
We live in a world in which crime is rampant,  children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty prevails.

(A) children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty prevails.
 not parallel 
(B) children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty is prevalent.
 This is correct 
(C) in which children are recalcitrant, in which change is the only constant, and in which uncertainty is prevalent.
 This is also correct 
(D) where children are recalcitrant, where change is the only constant and where uncertainty is prevalent.
 Where should be used to describe a physical place and not an idea 
(E) where children are recalcitrant, change is the only constant, and uncertainty is prevalent
 Where should be used to describe a physical place and not an idea and this is not parallel

There are two correct answers here. I guess that B is correct because it is more concise but I doubt that you would actually have a choice between these types of correct answers on the real GMAT. Happy studies!

HG.

sony26 · Answer

C is  Incorrect 
Even i think B should be the right choice as it is a parallel structure.

Cheers~
Sony

ramanujanu · Answer

explanation for C being the OA please . B is a lot more concise . AB+AD+AD =A(B+C+D) inwhich(B+C+D) i tought is the better one to choose

JJ2014 · Answer

To be honest, I'm not sure. I got this question from a study guide that was posted on this forum, and I didn't understand why C is the OA either..

umeshpatil · Answer

I also have the same view ! there is not need to repeat  in which  3 times. It's wrong. Need expert advice on this.

Vercules · Answer

Hi Umesh,

(B) is the better of the two correct choices, (B) and (C). Both choices are correct and (B) is better because it is more concise. You can change the OA to (B).

Vercules

stoy4o · Answer

After reading this, it makes sense for C to be the correct choice: we-live-in-a-world-in-which-crime-is-rampant-children-are-15395.html#p96993

espa · Answer

oa must be B, there is no need to use in which for every statement.

We live in a world in which crime is rampant, children are

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We live in a world in which crime is rampant, children are

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