A 5 min read

In this article, we’ll look at the solution to the 700-level GMAT Official Guide Sentence Correction question. Here is some general information about this OG question – Some historians of science have argued that science moves forward not so much because of the insights of great thinkers but because of more mundane developments, such as improved tools and technologies.

1. OG Question – Some historians of science have argued that science moves…

Some historians of science have argued that science moves forward not so much because of the insights of great thinkers but because of more mundane developments, such as improved tools and technologies.

[Refer to the Official Guide for options]

This hard SC question requires us to use the tools of logic and grammar together to get to the correct answer choice. When we have a sentence communicating a comparison, we need to check multiple facets, including logic, idiomatic expression, and parallelism. So, let’s bust open those toolboxes and get to work.

2. Some historians of science have argued that science moves… [OG video solution]

3. Hammer Out the Meaning

The first step in solving any SC question must be to spend the time to hammer out the meaning and truly understand what the author is attempting to communicate. Some sentences require a simple ordinary hammer, some a larger mallet, but all need this initial tool to solve the question correctly. So, are your hammers ready?

• Some historians of science have argued

So, as we begin swinging away at the meaning, we know that a few historians have made an argument. Let’s keep hammering away to see what that argument is.

• that science moves forward

Okay, so the historians argue that science moves forward; why?

• not so much because of the insights of great thinkers
• but because of more mundane developments,

Now, we have the explanation to this argument on the how and why science moves forward. Some historians say science moves forward more because of mundane developments than because of the intuition or understanding of great thinkers. The author concludes by presenting a couple of examples of these “mundane developments.”

• such as improved tools and technologies.

I am not sure I would agree that improved tools and technologies are mundane developments, but our job is not to agree or disagree with the author.  We are simple repair people and are here to fix the sentence as needed. 

So, in essence, our author is making a statement about what some historians have argued.  This argument presents a comparison between two factors responsible for the progress of science over time. The comparison is between the insights of great thinkers and more mundane developments.  The historians contend that the mundane developments are responsible for the progress of science more than the great thinkers. This meaning makes logical sense. Now that we have hammered out our meaning, we can assess if our sentence is structurally sound. Back to the toolbox, we go!

4. Choice A- The Hinges Are Not Aligned

Choice A: because of the insights of great thinkers but because of

Option A draws the most incorrect answers. This choice is a failed repair job because some students use their levels first and foremost and forget to check if the hinges are properly aligned.

The first tool we need to reach for when we have a comparison in the sentence is our level. Using the level is essential in comparison questions because we need to check that our entities are being appropriately compared.  The sentence states, “not so much because of…but because of….” Using our level, we can see that the idiom that hinges our comparison together is not correctly worded.  Notice, in the non-underlined portion of the sentence, the use of “not so much” is the first portion of our idiom, and we know that for this idiom to be connected properly, we need it to be hinged together with “as.” The idiom used in the original sentence is “not so much X but Y,” which is causing the imbalance. We need to repair the hinge by fixing the idiom and replacing it with the properly balanced hinge “not so much X as Y.” This fix will render the sentence completely repaired with a perfectly logical and grammatically correct comparison that is well balanced (AKA parallel).

5. Choice C – The Correct Tool to Fix the Problem.

Choice C: because of the insights of great thinkers as because of

Using the correct tool will always get the job done correctly and efficiently. You would not choose a flathead screwdriver when you need a Phillips. Similarly, using the correct idiom will balance your sentence and express the intended comparison in a logical and grammatically correct manner.  Option C uses the correct tool to fix the problem in option A. The use of “not so much because of the insights of great thinkers as because of” balances our comparison out using the correct idiom “not so much X as Y” and leaves “because of great thinkers” parallel to “because of mundane developments.”

6. The Remaining Fixer-Uppers

Once we have found the right tool for our repair job, we will always be left with a few fixer-uppers.  That is just how the repair world works; we do not have time to repair all the options. We should always survey the answer choices to make sure and see if any of the other options provide us with a quick DIY solution that we may have missed.

B. because of the insights of great thinkers as the results of

Your level should quickly tell you that “because of” is not in balance with “as the results of.”

D. through the insights of great thinkers but through

Immediately we can see we have a misaligned hinge here with the use of “not so much…but” to connect the comparison.  Next, let’s get those hammers back out and hammer out the meaning communicated here. Can science move forward through the insights of great thinkers? Absolutely not. We know that the argument is about the insights of great thinkers and that nothing moved through the insights of the great thinkers.

E. through the insights of great thinkers but results from

This option requires a complete remodel. This choice repeats the meaning and parallelism issues discussed in options B and D and repeats the idiomatic problem from the original sentence.

So, we have successfully used the correct tools from our toolbox to repair our sentence. No hard hat is required for this one, just simply hammering out the meaning, using the level to make sure our comparison was balanced, and that our hinges that connected the comparison used the proper idiom.  With the proper tools in your SC toolbox, you can easily and efficiently repair any SC question.

7. Practice Question:

Do you need more practice repairing questions that require you to use your SC tools to keep comparisons properly hinged together and aligned? Keep your toolbox open as you work through this question.

Happy Learning!
Cheers!

Stacey

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