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Question

Difficulty: EasyEliminating Wordiness

Although she had never painted before, Elena decided to try her hand at watercoloring. She bought a variety of brushes, several tubes of paint, and a pad of textured paper. She then proceeded to paint a picture of a landscape scene that depicted the mountains.

Which choice is the most concise and grammatically correct replacement for the underlined portion?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. She then painted a mountain landscape.Answer
  3. C
    Since she then painted a mountain landscape.
  4. D
    She then painted a mountain landscape, it was her first attempt.

Answer

She then painted a mountain landscape.
The correct option, 'She then painted a mountain landscape.', is the most direct, concise, and grammatically correct way to express the action. It eliminates the wordy phrases 'proceeded to paint a picture of' and 'that depicted the mountains' by using a simple active verb and a concise modifier.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the wordy and redundant phrasing in the underlined portion.
The phrase 'proceeded to paint a picture of a landscape scene that depicted the mountains' contains excessive words and redundant concepts (such as 'landscape scene' and 'depicted').
The ACT exam rewards concise writing that preserves the original meaning without unnecessary wordiness.
2
Evaluate the options for conciseness and grammatical correctness.
The option 'She then painted a mountain landscape.' is grammatically correct and the most concise. The other options either remain wordy or introduce grammatical errors like fragments or comma splices.
The best choice must be both concise and grammatically correct.

Key Concept

Eliminating Wordiness
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Topics

Eliminating Wordiness

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