A 3 min read

In this article, we’ll look at the solution to this GMAT Official Guide sentence correction question – People who inherit the sickle cell anemia gene from only one parent seem to be resistant to malaria, an evolutionary advantage that may explain why a genetic condition so debilitating to many individuals has survived in the human population.

We have analyzed the 5 answer choices and arrived at the correct choice through 3 steps:

1. Meaning analysis
2. Error analysis
3. Answer choice analysis

General information on this GMAT OG SC question

1.1 Question – People who inherit the sickle cell anemia gene…

People who inherit the sickle cell anemia gene from only one parent seem to be resistant to malaria, an evolutionary advantage that may explain why a genetic condition so debilitating to many individuals has survived in the human population.

[Refer to the GMAT Official Guide for options]

1.2 Meaning Analysis

1.2.1 Sentence Structure

1.2.2 Meaning

This sentence begins by saying those persons, who genetically receive the sickle cell anemia (SCA) gene from one of their parents, appear to be resistant to malaria. This resistance has been called an evolutionary advantage. This advantage may explain the reason why a genetic condition that makes many people weak and infirm is still found in the human population.

1.3 Error Analysis

1. The sentence correctly uses the plural verb “seem to be” for the plural subject “People”. This subject pair is logical also.
2. The structure of this verb is also correct as the verb “seem” is correctly followed by “to”.
3. The usage of the expression “resistant to malaria” is grammatical and presents the logical intended meaning clearly.
4. The sentence has no errors.   

1.4 Answer Choice Analysis  

A. seem to be resistant to malaria,

Correct: This choice is correct as explained in the Error Analysis section.

B. seemingly are resistant to malaria,

Incorrect: Meaning Error:

The use of the adverb “seemingly” denotes that something appears to be a certain way but is not really that way. Let’s take a simple example to understand the same:

• The room is seemingly large.

This sentence means that the room appears to be large but actually is not. Similarly, the use of the word “seemingly” in this choice presents the meaning that people who inherit the SCA gene appear to be resistant to malaria but actually are not. This meaning is certainly not the intended logical meaning.  

C. seem to be resistant to malaria and have

Incorrect: Parallelism error leading to Meaning Error:

The forced parallelism between the verbs “seem to be” and “have” distorts the intended meaning by saying that people suffering with sickle cell anemia gene have an evolutionary advantage. This point is no more related to the resistance of malaria. However, the original sentence says that resistance to malaria is an evolutionary advantage.    

D. seemingly are resistant to malaria and to have

Incorrect:

1. Meaning Error: This choice repeats the error of Choice B with regards to the usage of “seemingly”.
   
   
2. Parallelism Error leading to Meaning Error: The forced parallelism between “to malaria” and “to an evolutionary advantage” completely distorts the intended meaning of the sentence. The original sentence does not say that those people who inherit the sickle cell anemia gene appear to be resistant to have some evolutionary advantage.
   

E. are, it seems, resistant to malaria, and they have

Incorrect: Meaning Error:

This choice also distorts the intended meaning of the sentence by saying that those people who inherit the sickle cell anemia gene appear to be resistant to have some evolutionary advantage.

1.5 Takeaways

1. Make sure to understand the meaning conveyed by a structure that has been changed in answer choices. Please be wary of structural changes that change the meaning of the sentence.
2. A list must be both grammatically and logically parallel. A list that changes the intended meaning of the sentence is incorrect.

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