Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardEliminating Wordiness

In the mid-twentieth century, geologist Marie Tharp painstakingly plotted sonar data to map the ocean floor, revealing a massive rift valley running down the center of the Atlantic. This discovery supported the theory of continental drift, which had previously been dismissed by many scientists. Through her careful charting of the ocean floor, Tharp was able to create the first comprehensive map of the ocean bottom, which was a major breakthrough that transformed the field of oceanography.

Which choice, if substituted for the underlined portion, makes the sentence the most concise while remaining grammatically correct?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. By mapping the ocean floor, Tharp created a breakthrough thatAnswer
  3. C
    Tharp mapped the ocean floor, this breakthrough
  4. D
    Because Tharp mapped the ocean floor, creating a breakthrough that

Answer

The correct choice is the most concise option that avoids redundancy and maintains grammatical correctness: 'By mapping the ocean floor, Tharp created a breakthrough that'.
The correct choice is the most concise option because it eliminates the repetitive synonyms ('ocean floor' and 'ocean bottom') and uses the direct active construction 'Tharp created a breakthrough' instead of wordy relative clauses.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined portion for wordiness and redundancy.
The original phrasing repeats the concept of mapping the bottom/floor ('charting of the ocean floor' and 'map of the ocean bottom') and uses wordy, indirect constructions ('was able to create', 'which was a major breakthrough that').
Identifying redundancy and wordiness helps narrow down the choices to the most direct option.
2
Evaluate the choices for conciseness and clarity.
The phrasing starting with 'By mapping the ocean floor' conveys the same information in fewer words, using active verbs and removing repetitive terms.
The ACT English section favors the most direct and clear phrasing that keeps the original meaning.
3
Check the concise choices for grammatical correctness.
The choice using a comma splice and the choice creating a sentence fragment are grammatically incorrect, leaving the chosen active phrasing as the only correct, concise option.
An option must be both concise and grammatically correct to be the right answer.

Key Concept

Eliminating wordiness and redundancy while maintaining correct sentence structure
Rate this question

Topics

Eliminating Wordiness

More questions from this topic