Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumEliminating Wordiness

In 1948, graduate student Bernard Silver overheard a grocery store executive asking for a system that could automatically record product information at checkout. Silver shared this request with his friend Norman Joseph Woodland. Woodland, who was completely fascinated and also deeply intrigued by the request, subsequently decided that he would move to Florida in order to focus on developing a solution.

Which of the following is the most effective and concise choice for the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. Woodland, fascinated by the request, decided to move to FloridaAnswer
  3. C
    Woodland, fascinated by the request, and deciding to move to Florida
  4. D
    Woodland, who was fascinated by the request, had the decision to move to Florida made by him

Answer

Woodland, fascinated by the request, decided to move to Florida
The correct choice is the most concise and direct option that maintains grammatical correctness and the original meaning of the sentence. The phrase 'fascinated by the request, decided to move to Florida' successfully communicates the subject's reaction and action without redundant synonyms or passive constructions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined portion for redundancy.
The phrase 'completely fascinated and also deeply intrigued' contains redundant synonyms because 'fascinated' and 'intrigued' convey the same meaning of extreme interest.
ACT English tests efficiency; expressing the same idea twice using synonyms is grammatically redundant.
2
Analyze the sentence structure and wordiness in the remaining phrasing.
The clause 'subsequently decided that he would move' is unnecessarily wordy and can be shortened to 'decided to move' while preserving the meaning.
Streamlining wordy verb constructions helps make the sentence direct and concise.
3
Evaluate the remaining answer choices for conciseness and grammatical correctness.
The option stating 'Woodland, fascinated by the request, decided to move to Florida' is the most concise and grammatically correct. The option using 'and deciding' lacks a main verb, creating a fragment. The option with 'had the decision... made by him' is wordy and passive.
The correct choice must eliminate wordiness without introducing new grammatical errors like fragments or passive voice.

Key Concept

Eliminating Wordiness and Redundancy
Rate this question

Topics

Eliminating Wordiness

More questions from this topic