A 4 min read

In this article, we’ll look at the solution to the 700-level GMAT Official Guide Sentence Correction question SC17561.01- “A Natural Response”.

SC17561.01 – A natural response of communities devastated by earthquake or flood is to rebuild on the same site, overlooking the possibility that the forces that caused it could be repeated.

Refer to GMAT Official Guide for Options

Here is some general information about this OG question:

OG Solution -SC17561.01- “A Natural Response”

This official sentence is indeed fascinating. Some “forces” conspicuously bring disaster to some answer choices. However, some entities have created quite a controversy regarding their correct usage in the GMAT SC world. But we will take the safest route to solve this question without getting into any such debate.

Uncover the Force of Logic

The sentence explains that communities that get ruined by natural calamities such as earthquakes and floods tend to rebuild in the very same place. In their organic response, they do not consider that the same disasters can again hit them hard. What the sentence intends to convey is very clear. But does it correctly convey what it should?       

Forces of Destruction 

Many evil forces plague the original sentence. Let’s deal with them one at a time:

1. The malicious modifier: The comma + verb-ing action modifier “overlooking the possibility…” logically modifies the preceding action “is to rebuild” by presenting the result of this action. However, this modifier fails to logically connect with the subject of the modified action, “A natural response.” It does not make much sense to say that a response overlooks something. It makes more sense to say devasted communities overlook the possibility. But this connection is not possible in this sentence.   
2. The problematic pronoun: The sentence uses the singular pronoun “it” but has no antecedent for it. Did you ask why it cannot refer to “earthquake” or “flood“? It cannot because the sentence does not talk about communities affected by an earthquake or a flood. The sentence talks about communities that get ruined by any natural calamity.   
3. The minced-up meaning: The last part of the sentence says, “… the forces… could be repeated.” This meaning is totally illogical. It is clear from the context of the sentence that natural calamities such as earthquakes or floods can reoccur at the same site.
4. The ridiculous redundancy: The sentence uses “possibility” and “could” to talk about the same event. The usage of both words together makes the sentence redundant.     

So, Choice A is a disaster in its own right.

The Catastrophic Choice C

Choice C:  overlooking that the forces that caused the disaster could also cause another one

This most loved incorrect answer choice is indeed very crafty. It certainly sets right the problematic pronoun and the menacing meaning we encountered in Choice A. However, the macabre modifier continues to plague this answer choice. Additionally, the word “overlook” or “overlooking” must be followed by the overlooked noun. For example,

• The teacher overlooked the harmless mischief of John.  

But this choice does not comply with this structure and violates the grammar.

Considering All Calamities

It’s now time to analyze the destructive forces in four choices to safely land on the correct one.

Choice A: overlooking the possibility that the forces that caused it could be repeated

Choice B: overlooking the possibility that the forces causing it could be repeated

This choice is slightly different in structure from Choice A but repeats all the errors we saw there. Choice B is bogus.

Choice C: overlooking that the forces that caused the disaster could also cause another one

Choice D: without considering that the forces causing the disaster could be repeated

Partially cleansed, this choice retains the menacing meaning error of Choice A.

Finding the Safe Haven

Choice E: without considering that the forces that caused the disaster could also cause another such disaster

After fighting all the forces of destruction, we finally land on the correct answer choice that presents the logical intended meaning. Many dismiss this choice as it appears to be “wordy.” Generally, people think that answer choices that use a greater number of words than others is called wordy. No, that is not what wordy means in GMAT SC. Those choices are classified wordy that do not use straight and simple expressions to convey the meaning lucidly.   

Yes, Choice E used a maximum number of words, but all these words are needed to convey the meaning properly. Never make the mistake of rejecting an answer choice solely because it simply contains more words than other choices.

Controversial Conundrum

Remember I mentioned a controversy this sentence has created in the GMAT SC world? After some deliberation, I decided to let you know about it. The idea behind this disclosure is that this controversy does not come in our way of solving this question correctly.

We reject the comma + verb-ing modifier “overlooking the possibility…” saying that “A natural response” cannot overlook anything. By that logic, the use of comma + “without considering…” should also be incorrect because “A natural response” cannot even consider anything. So, are all the choices incorrect? That is not possible. We need to choose the correct answer that is Choice E. However, we can choose the right answer without analyzing these controversial characters. The incorrect answer choices have blatant errors.        

Practice Question:  

Want more practice in questions that meddle with structures and logic? Try your hand at this question to learn to identify structures that make the sentence illogical.

You can also watch this SC Session that teaches why and how to apply the meaning-based approach to solve SC questions:

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

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