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Difficulty: MediumEliminating Redundancy

The following passage contains an underlined portion:

To map the ocean floor, scientists use sonar technology to send sound waves into the deep water, and this technique determines the exact, precise location of underwater features.

Which of the following choices best eliminates the redundancy in the underlined portion?

  1. A
    water, and this technique determines the exact, precise location
  2. water, detecting the locationAnswer
  3. C
    water, this determines the location
  4. D
    water. Because it determines the location

Answer

The correct option is the one that replaces the underlined text with a comma followed by 'detecting the location'. This choice successfully eliminates the synonym redundancy of 'exact' and 'precise' while maintaining correct sentence structure.
The correct option removes the wordy and redundant repetition of synonyms ('exact' and 'precise'). It uses a participial phrase starting with 'detecting' to modify the main clause, which is grammatically correct and concise.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify redundancy in the underlined segment.
The words 'exact' and 'precise' mean the same thing in this context, so one of them must be removed to avoid wordiness.
ACT English questions require eliminating redundant synonym pairs that repeat the same meaning within a sentence.
2
Evaluate the remaining options for grammatical correctness.
The choice ending with 'this determines the location' creates a comma splice. The choice ending with 'Because it determines the location' creates a sentence fragment because it isolates a dependent clause.
An option that eliminates redundancy must not introduce other grammatical errors such as comma splices or fragments.
3
Choose the option that is both grammatically correct and free of redundancy.
The phrase using a participial modifier ('detecting the location') avoids both the redundancy and the grammatical errors, smoothly joining the description to the main clause.
A participial phrase functions as an adjective modifier, avoiding independent clause run-ons or dependent clause fragments.

Key Concept

Eliminating Redundancy
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Topics

Eliminating Redundancy

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