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Question

Difficulty: HardEliminating Wordiness

During the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, Chief Engineer Washington Roebling became bedridden with decompression sickness, leaving his wife, Emily Warren Roebling, to step in and assist. She was responsible for taking on the duty of serving as the primary liaison, acting as a link between her husband and the on-site engineers. Over the next fourteen years, Emily mastered civil engineering, supervised daily operations, and successfully managed the completion of the monumental project.

Which choice is the most concise and grammatically correct way to write the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    She served as the primary liaison, she acted as a link between
  3. She served as the primary liaison betweenAnswer
  4. D
    Because she served as the primary liaison between

Answer

She served as the primary liaison between
The correct option is the most concise choice that preserves the meaning of the sentence and is grammatically correct. It avoids the redundant phrasing of the original sentence while maintaining proper independent clause structure.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined portion for redundancy and wordiness.
The original phrasing contains repetitive elements: 'responsible for taking on the duty' and 'liaison, acting as a link' both repeat the idea of her role and connection.
Identifying redundancy helps eliminate choices that are wordy.
2
Evaluate the remaining choices for conciseness while ensuring grammatical correctness.
The option containing the subordinating conjunction 'Because' creates a dependent clause with no independent clause, making the sentence a fragment. The option with 'she acted as a link' creates a comma splice by joining two independent clauses with only a comma.
Conciseness must not come at the expense of proper sentence structure and grammar.
3
Select the option that is both grammatically correct and the most concise.
The phrasing 'She served as the primary liaison between' is grammatically correct and expresses the idea in the fewest possible words.
This is the standard criteria for wordiness questions on the ACT English section.

Key Concept

Eliminating Wordiness
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Eliminating Wordiness

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