While the deus ex machina, a plot device involving a sudden and unlike

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

(C)

Step 1: Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors

The underlined portion is the primary sentence, with the first portion being an extended modifying phrase. The modifying phrase is talking about a plot device called deus ex machina. However, when the underlined portion starts, it refers to that singular item with a plural pronoun (they). That needs to be changed. (If the phrase deus ex machina is unfamiliar, there are clues in the non-underlined portion to indicate its singular nature. First, it is referred to as “a plot device.” Also, the verb “has . . . been ridiculed” is in the singular form.)

Step 2: Scan and Group the Answer Choices

(A) and (B) begin with “they,” while (C) and (E) begin with “it.” (D) moves the subject of the sentence but eventually uses “it.”

Step 3: Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains

(A) and (B) can be eliminated for using the word “they” to refer to the singular subject. The remaining choices properly change the pronoun to “it.” However, (D) moves the phrases around and, with the word “and,” puts the modifier “effectively” in the same series with “contrived and unartistic.” The positive descriptor “effectively” needs to be contrasted with the negative descriptors, so (D) can be eliminated. By substituting “being used” for “been used,” (E) fails to provide an active verb to connect with “has,” leaving the sentence incomplete. Eliminate (E). That leaves (C) as the correct answer. To be sure, read it back into the original sentence:

While the deus ex machina, a plot device involving a sudden and unlikely resolution to a seemingly unsolvable problem, has often been ridiculed for being contrived and unartistic, it occasionally, according to some critics, has been used effectively.