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Difficulty: HardEliminating Redundancy

To transport clean water across long distances, Roman engineers constructed aqueducts, which were vast bridge-like structures that carried water over valleys. Because they relied on gravity alone as the sole force of movement, the conduits had to decline at a precise, consistent slope to prevent stagnation.

Which of the following choices best replaces the underlined portion of the sentence to construct a clear, grammatically correct statement without redundant phrasing?

  1. A
    Because they relied on gravity alone as the sole force of movement, the
  2. Because they relied on gravity alone, theAnswer
  3. C
    Relying on gravity alone, which was the sole force that moved it, meaning the
  4. D
    They relied on gravity alone, the

Answer

Because they relied on gravity alone, the
The correct option, 'Because they relied on gravity alone, the', successfully eliminates the redundant phrase 'as the sole force of movement' from the original sentence. Since 'gravity alone' already conveys that gravity was the only source of propulsion, any additional mention of a 'sole force' is repetitive. This option resolves the redundancy while maintaining grammatical correctness and clear sentence structure.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the redundant information in the underlined portion of the sentence.
Recognize that 'gravity alone' and 'sole force of movement' express the exact same concept of a single driving force.
To make the sentence clear and concise, repetitive ideas must be removed.
2
Evaluate the options to find the one that removes this redundancy without introducing grammatical errors.
The choice 'Because they relied on gravity alone, the' removes 'sole force of movement' while maintaining a subordinate clause that logically connects to the main clause.
This establishes a clear cause-and-effect relationship using the subordinator 'Because'.
3
Check the remaining options for grammatical correctness and sentence structure errors.
The choice starting with 'Relying' creates a dependent fragment, while the choice 'They relied on gravity alone, the' results in a comma splice.
Ensuring the selected choice forms a complete, grammatically correct sentence is necessary to satisfy ACT English conventions.

Key Concept

Redundancy in writing occurs when words or phrases repeat the same information. In standardized tests like the ACT, the most concise grammatically correct option that preserves the sentence's meaning is always preferred.
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Topics

Eliminating Redundancy

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