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Question

Difficulty: Very hardEliminating Redundancy

To create the illusion of depth in his portraits, Leonardo da Vinci employed the *sfumato* technique. This was a method that blends tones and colors together so gradually that they merge imperceptibly without any perceptible lines.

Which option is the most concise and grammatically correct replacement for the underlined portion of the passage?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. This technique blended tones and colors so gradually that they merged without lines.Answer
  3. C
    Which was a method that blended tones and colors together, merging them without lines.
  4. D
    This technique blended tones and colors together, it merged them without lines.

Answer

This technique blended tones and colors so gradually that they merged without lines.
The correct option, which states 'This technique blended tones and colors so gradually that they merged without lines,' is correct because it resolves the tense inconsistency of the passage by changing the present-tense verbs to past-tense ('blended' and 'merged') to match 'employed.' Additionally, it eliminates the redundant word 'together' (since blending inherently combines elements) and the repetitive use of 'imperceptibly' and 'perceptible' by simplifying the clause to 'merged without lines.'

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined sentence for redundant words or phrases that repeat ideas unnecessarily.
Identify that 'blends... together' is redundant because blending already involves combining elements. Also, 'merge imperceptibly' and 'without any perceptible lines' are redundant because they use different forms of the same word root to express the exact same idea of not being visible.
Finding and removing redundant language is the core requirement of this question category.
2
Check for grammatical correctness and consistency, specifically verifying verb tenses and sentence structure.
The passage is set in the past tense ('employed'). Therefore, the verbs describing the technique should also be in the past tense ('blended' and 'merged') rather than the present-tense ('blends' and 'merge'). Additionally, verify that the punctuation does not create sentence fragments or comma splices.
A correct ACT English answer must be both concise and grammatically correct.
3
Evaluate the remaining options to find the one that is both grammatically correct and most concise.
The option starting with 'This technique blended' correctly uses the past tense, avoids all redundancies, and forms a complete, grammatically sound sentence.
Eliminating grammatically incorrect options leaves the most effective and concise correct answer.

Key Concept

Eliminating Redundancy
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Topics

Eliminating Redundancy

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