With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of

Question

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2) 
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With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,  researchers have demonstrated how our ancient ancestors heard the world.

A) With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,

B) Using CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,

C) They made use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,

D) Based on CT scans and on careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from our ancient human relatives’ ears,

E) Using CT scans and carefully virtually reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,

generis · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2)

THE PROMPT  
 
• Modifiers
→ the underlined portion must describe the noun immediately after the comma:  researchers

• Meaning
→ The researchers were using two things: CT scans and virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones.

OPTIONS  
 
• The use of  with  to create a modifier describing  researchers  is not very clear
I cannot say that the usage is completely wrong. Just weird.

• what on earth does "careful virtual reconstructing" mean?

•  reconstructing  is not as good as the dedicated noun  reconstruction 
Remember that if all else is equal, dedicated nouns are preferred to gerunds (verbINGs).
The option is grammatical. It is also stylistically poor. KEEP, but look for a better answer.

• I do not see any errors

• The sentence uses  using  to set up a participial phrase that correctly modifies  researchers .

• Now, compare to option A. This option is better.
→  Using . . . careful virtual reconstruction  makes a lot more sense than the nebulous  With . . . careful virtual reconstructing 
→ Above all, "using ___ and ___" creates a more direct link to its target, researchers, than does  With ___ and ____.  "With" often connotes accompaniment, an idea that makes very little sense in this context. The researchers are not  accompanied  by CT scans and "careful virtual reconstructing."
Eliminate A.
KEEP
 
• comma splice
→ The part before the comma is an independent clause
→ The part after the comma is also an independent clause:  Researchers have demonstrated how our ancient ancestors heard the world .
Two independent clauses cannot be "stuck together" by nothing more than a comma.
The comma must be accompanied by a conjunction such as  and .
In this case, even adding a conjunction after the comma would not rescue this train wreck because the construction of the two sentences does not lend itself to their being sutured. The first part (this option) needs rewriting.
ELIMINATE C

•  Based  is the wrong word to modify  researchers . 
→ The researchers cannot be based on something.
ELIMINATE D

• as a matter of diction generally,  carefully virtually reconstructing  is awkward.
I'll be blunt: that phrasing is horrid.

• the phrasing is nonsensical, too
There is no such thing as  carefully virtually reconstructing OF fossilized bones. 
The phrasing should be  careful virtual reconstruction OF fossilized bones. 
The correction resembles option B.
 • not nearly as clear or effective as option B
ELIMINATE E

The correct answer is B.

COMMENTS

lathikashyam  , welcome to SC Butler.

swim2109  , you wanted to know why  with  is not correct.
First, please see my analysis above for options A and B.

Second, "with" is not the only thing wrong with option A.

Third, perhaps you could elaborate? 
To describe  researchers,  why is  with ____  in option A  better  than  using _____  in option B?

I'm glad that you asked your question, because it gives me a segue to remind everyone that 
(1) we are trying to eliminate the four worst answers rather than find the one right answer, and 
2) we are often deciding between two options in such a way that we must ask, "Which one is better? Which one is worse?"

This better/worse analysis allows us to let go of a situation in which no hard and fast grammar rule exists.

On the GMAT, the word  with  is among the most difficult to pin down in terms of generating a guideline that is predictable and consistent.
If "with" becomes an issue, compare other parts of the options.

These answers range from very good to excellent. Stay safe, all.

rvgmat12 · Answer

With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives, researchers have demonstrated how our ancient ancestors heard the world.

A) With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,
Incorrect. Reconstructing of..

B) Using CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,
Correct

C) They made use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,
Incorrect modifier. Eliminate

D) Based on CT scans and on careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the our ancient human relatives’ ears,
Incorrect. Researchers are not based on..

E) Using CT scans and carefully virtually reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,
Incorrect

Posted from my mobile device

Kyala1Jameson · Answer

imo   B

With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,  researchers have demonstrated how our ancient ancestors heard the world.

A) With the use of CT scans and careful  virtual reconstructing of  fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,
 -- With the use of virtual reconstructing of -- failed to provide intended meaning 
 
B) Using CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,
--   Correct   .. Opening modifier Using X and Y correctly modifying to researchers 
C) They made use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,
 -- Comma splice error
 
D)  Based on  CT scans and on careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the our ancient human relatives’ ears,
 -- , subject modifier error .. Opening modifier Based on X and Y doesnot modify to researchers ..
 
E) Using CT scans and carefully virtually reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives, 
 -- Using virtual reconstructing of --failed to provide intended meaning

ravigupta2912 · Answer

B - Comma splice. Two ICs joined with just a comma. Eliminate.

D - “researchers” cannot be “based on”. Eliminate.

A - “with” is not the correct preposition here. It usually is used when to show something is accompanying something. Eliminate.

E - “carefully virtually reconstructing” (gerund modified by an adjective phrase - just weird) is not grammatically parallel to “CT scans” (simple noun). Eliminate.

B is the winner

Posted from my mobile device

winterschool · Answer

With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives, researchers have demonstrated how our ancient ancestors heard the world.

A)  With the use  of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,  Incorrect

researchers demonstrated by using CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing, not with the use of..

B)  Using CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,   Correct

C)  They made use  of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,  Incorrect

changes meaning and two independent clause must be separated by ';'

D)  Based on  CT scans and on careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the our ancient human relatives’ ears,  Incorrect

based on uses wrong

E) Using CT scans and  carefully virtually  reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,  Incorrect

carefully virtually reconstructing - sounds awkward

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives, researchers have demonstrated how our ancient ancestors heard the world.

A) With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives, Incorrect

researchers demonstrated by using CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing, not with the use of..

B) Using CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives, Correct

C) They made use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives, Incorrect

changes meaning and two independent clause must be separated by ';'

D) Based on CT scans and on careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the our ancient human relatives’ ears, Incorrect

based on uses wrong

E) Using CT scans and carefully virtually reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives, Incorrect

carefully virtually reconstructing - sounds awkward

swim2109 · Answer

Waiting for expert's reply on why usage of 'with' is wrong?

lathikashyam · Answer

With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,  researchers have demonstrated how our ancient ancestors heard the world.

A) With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,

B) Using CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives,  - opening clause correctly modifies researchers

C) They made use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives, - missing a conjunction; can’t join to independent clauses using just a comma

D) Based on CT scans and on careful virtual reconstructions of fossilized bones from the our ancient human relatives’ ears, - sentence says ‘researchers are based on’ which doesn’t make sense

E) Using CT scans and carefully virtually reconstructing of fossilized bones from the ears of our ancient human relatives, - ‘reconstructing of’ is not parallel to noun CT scans, reads wrong

generis · Answer

The official explanation is  here .

With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

With the use of CT scans and careful virtual reconstructing of

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