Question

Difficulty: MediumEliminating Redundancy

Sourdough bread relies on a wild yeast starter, which is a symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria. Because this starter must be fed water and flour on a regular basis at scheduled intervals, bakers often treat it like a household pet.

Which of the following choices best replaces the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    Because this starter must be fed water and flour on a regular basis at scheduled intervals
  2. Because this starter must be fed water and flour regularlyAnswer
  3. C
    This starter must be fed water and flour regularly
  4. D
    Since the starter, requiring water and flour regularly

Answer

The option that states 'Because this starter must be fed water and flour regularly' is correct because it eliminates the repetitive phrasing and retains the necessary subordinating conjunction to form a grammatically correct introductory clause.
The correct choice replaces the repetitive phrases 'on a regular basis' and 'at scheduled intervals' with the single adverb 'regularly,' which conveys the same meaning concisely. It also retains the subordinating conjunction 'Because' and the finite verb 'must be fed,' preserving the necessary grammatical structure of the sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify any redundant expressions within the underlined segment.
The phrases 'on a regular basis' and 'at scheduled intervals' both express the idea of recurrence, making one of them redundant.
ACT English conventions require clear and concise phrasing, avoiding repetitive words or synonyms.
2
Check the remaining options for grammatical errors, specifically focusing on sentence structure and connection of clauses.
Eliminating the subordinating conjunction 'Because' without changing the comma after 'regularly' joins two independent clauses incorrectly. Using the participle 'requiring' instead of a verb leaves the introductory clause incomplete.
Correcting redundancy must not introduce new grammatical errors like comma splices or sentence fragments.

Key Concept

Eliminating Redundancy
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