Effectivemess of Expression–Analysis

Refer the below post for questions ..

Question 1)

Before we commence our detailed instructions on how each type of Sentence Correction questions must be tackled, we shall briefly analyze each of these examples so that you get a preliminary ‘feel’ about them.
The error in this sentence is the non-agreement in number between the subject and the predicate. The subject of the given sentence is the singular noun ‘summary’ while the predicate is the plural verb ‘show’. So, there is a fundamental grammatical error in this sentence which needs to be corrected.
(The phrase ‘a summary of both …’ in the beginning of the sentence shows that ‘the victimization reports’ occurring later in the sentence is governed by the singular noun ‘summary’, and is not an independent subject of the sentence which could justify a plural predicate.)
Having recognized the error in the given sentence, we can rule out (A) as the answer.
Remember that you must presume that there is no error in the non-underlined part of the sentence. Since the subject summary is in the non-underlined part, and the predicate ‘show’ is in the underlined part, it is only the predicate that needs to be changed and not the subject.
Looking at the other answer choices, we can straightaway eliminate (B) because it also contains the same plural verb ‘show’.We need not waste time reading (B) fully.
(C) corrects this error, and is worth being examined further. The version in this case will be “… shows that while police reports of serious crime has risen steadily, …’. This version introduces another error – the plural subject ‘reports’ being followed by a singular predicate ‘has risen’. So, (C) is not the answer.
(D) does not have either of the two errors we saw in the first three choices, but it lacks the required conjunction ‘that’ after the verb ‘shows’. So, (D) can also be eliminated.

(E) completes a grammatical and meaningful sentence, and is the answer.

You can note from the question and the analysis above that
(i) You should not try to fit each of the five choices into the given sentence to decide which is the best among them. This procedure will not only be time-consuming, but you will also be thoroughly confused. Instead, you should try to identify the error, if any, in the given sentence, and then select that choice which corrects that error while not introducing any new error.
(ii) You do not have to waste time reading choice (A) because it merely repeats the underlined portion of the given sentence.
(iii) Once you have noticed that the same error as in (A) is repeated in any of the other choices, you can eliminate that choice straightaway without wasting time to read it fully. (In most questions, two of the other choices will have the same error as the original sentence, and can be eliminated on that basis alone, reducing the number of real choices to just two.)
(iv) Having located a choice that has corrected the original error, carefully scrutinize it tosee whether any new error has been introduced in it. If so, eliminate that choice.
(v) Having located the correct choice on the above basis, substitute that choice for the underlined part in the given sentence, and ascertain for yourself that it completes a clear and exact sentence, without awkwardness, ambiguity or redundancy as stipulated in the directions to Sentence Correction questions.

Question 2:

This question involves an error of tense as well as an error relating to noun-verb agreement in number. The phrase ‘until recently’ in the beginning of the sentence indicates that what is stated in it relates to the past. While the predicate in the first clause of the sentence ‘who had received’ is in the past perfect tense, the predicate in the second subordinate clause ‘that has a link’ is in the present tense, and is wrong.
The main clause of the given sentence is “Until recently, athletes ….. is barred from the Olympics”, in which the subject is the plural noun ‘athletes’ but the predicate is the singular verb ‘is’. This is another error in the given sentence.Thus, the given sentence has two fundamental grammatical errors, and (A) is not the answer.
The subject of the main clause ‘athletes’ is in the non-underlined portion, and cannot be changed. So, the predicate of the main clause has to be a plural verb.
Scanning the choices quickly for the predicate alone, we find the versions ‘has been’, ‘were’, ‘was’ and ‘is to be’. Of these,it is only ‘were’ that is a plural verb, and (C) should be the answer.
When we read the full sentence substituting (C) for the underlined portion, we get a grammatical, clear, exact and unambiguous sentence. So, we can confidently confirm (C) as the answer

Question 3 Analysis:

The error in this question relates to the use of the wrong ‘quantity’ word. The underlined portion covers two main clauses in which the respective subjects and predicates are (fever; infected) and (quantities; were overextended). There are nomismatches in them between the subject and the predicate.
Since the period referred to is the ‘Roaring Twenties’ (meaning the years 1920 to 1929), the use of the past tense in both these clauses is also correct.There is no error in the phrase ‘rich and poor alike’. What is wrong in the given sentence is the phrase ‘vast quantities of people’, because the word ‘quantities’ can be used only with reference to inanimate (or lifeless) objects, and not while referring to people. The correct phrase to describe people is ‘vast numbers of people’.So, the given sentence is wrong, and (A) is not the answer,
In (B), the phrase ‘vast quantities’ has been replaced by ‘great amounts’. But since the word ‘amounts’ also can be used only for referring to inanimate objects, (B) is equally wrong; and can be eliminated for that reason alone.
Scanning the other choices quickly, we find that both (D) and (E) use ‘amounts’ and ‘quantities’ respectively. Both of themcan be eliminated for that reason alone.
What is left is (C) which can be chosen as the answer. You can easily verify that, by substituting (C) for the underlined portion, we get a cogent, grammatical and clear sentence.
(B) and (D) have an additional error. The phrase ‘rich and poor alike’ includes rich and the poor. The additional word ‘both’preceding this phrase in these two choices is therefore redundant.

Question 4 Analysis:

The error in this question is the use of a misplaced modifier. The construction of the given sentence has the absurd implication that ‘northern Europeans were eaten in the Mediterranean countries’, whereas what the author obviously means is that the tomato was eaten in Mediterranean countries. So, the underlined portion must start with the phrase ‘the tomato’ and not with ‘northern Europeans’.
So, both (A) and (B) can be eliminated on this consideration.
The phrase in (D) “the tomato was suspicious to northern Europeans” does not make sense, and can be eliminated.
(C) has the phrase ‘northern Europeans who assumed’ and (D) has the phrase ‘northern Europeans, it being assumed’. Of these, the former is much clearer and neater, and must be preferred as the answer.

 

Question 5 Analysis:

This question has the error of using a wrong pronoun and also using a singular noun where a plural noun is necessary. The subject of the given sentence is ‘the well-dressed gentleman’, which is a singular noun. So, the use of the plural pronouns in the phrases ‘their clothing’ and ‘their wig’ is grammatically wrong. In addition, the phrases ‘their wig’ and ‘their head’
implies that many of them together had only one wig and only one head, which is absurd. So, (A) is ,not the answer.
A cursory examination of the other answer choices shows that (C) also incorporates the first error identified above, and canbe eliminated.
(B) corrects these errors and results in a clear and grammatical statement, and is the answer.
(D) and (E) both have the same error in reverse, with the plural noun ‘gentlemen’ being represented by the singular pronoun‘his’ in the latter part of the sentence.

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Effectiveness of Expression

The Section of Verbal Ability in CAT tests your grasp of English grammar, English syntax and English diction through 15 questions featured in its English section. These questions do not occur as a single group in the CAT, but are interspersed among questions on Reading Comprehension and Logical Reasoning.

The directions for this type of questions read as follows:
“In each of the following sentences, some part of the sentence or the entire sentence is underlined. Beneath each sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the bold  part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is better than any of the alternatives, choose answer A; otherwise, choose one of the others. Choose
the best version as your answer.

This is a test of correctness and effectiveness of expression. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English; that is, pay attention to grammar, choice of words, and sentence construction. Choose the answer that expresses most effectively what is presented in the original sentence; this answer should be clear and exact, without awkwardness, ambiguity or redundancy.”
Given below  are few examples of CAT questions. Try to answer these questions by yourself .

Question- 1
A summary of both the Uniform Crime Reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the victimization reports for the last decade show that while the number of police reports of serious crime has risen steadily, the number of victims of crime remains about the same.
(A) show that while the number of
(B)  show while
(C) shows that while
(D) shows while the number of
(E) shows that while the number of

Question-2

Until recently, athletes who had received remuneration for any activity that has a link to their athletic prowess is barred from the Olympics.
(A) that has a link to their athletic prowess is
(B) with links to their athletic prowess has been
(C) linked to their athletic prowess were
(D) linked to their athletic prowess was
(E) with a link to their athletic prowess is to be

Question3 )

The speculative fever of the Roaring Twenties infected rich and poor alike; vast quantities of people were dangerously overextended, credit was absurdly easy to obtain, and most brokerage houses required only ten percent cash for stocks
bought on “margin.”
(A) rich and poor alike; vast quantities of people were dangerously overextended
(B) both rich and poor alike; large amounts of people dangerously overextended themselves
(C) rich and poor alike; great numbers of people were dangerously overextended
(D) both rich and poor alike; vast amounts of people dangerously overextended themselves
(E) both rich and poor; great quantities of people were dangerously overextended

Question 4)

Eaten in the Mediterranean countries, northern Europeans viewed the tomato with suspicion, for they assumed it had poisonous properties because of its relationship to deadly nightshade.
(A) northern Europeans viewed the tomato with suspicion, for they
(B) northern Europeans were suspicious of the tomato, and they
(C) the tomato was viewed with suspicion by northern Europeans, who
(D) the tomato was suspicious to northern Europeans, and it was
(E) the tomato was viewed with suspicion by northern Europeans, it being

Question 5)

In England the well-dressed gentleman of the eighteenth century protected their clothing while having their wig powdered by poking their head through a device that resembled the stocks.
(A) gentleman of the eighteenth century protected their clothing while having their wig powdered by poking their head
(B) gentleman of the eighteenth century protected his clothing while having his wig powdered by poking his head
(C) gentleman of the eighteenth century protected their clothing while having their wigs powdered by poking their heads
(D) gentlemen of the eighteenth century protected his clothing while having his wig powdered by poking his head
(E) gentlemen of the eighteenth century protected their clothing while having his wig powdered by poking his head.