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GMAT Sentence Correction — Format, Directions and Example Question

The Sentence Correction question format is one of three basic ones you'll encounter during the GMAT Verbal section. This page lists the key features of GMAT Sentence-Correction questions and provides the test directions for this format. This page also provides an example question, along with a detailed analysis of the example.

GMAT Sentence Correction—Format and Skills Tested

Here are the key features of GMAT Sentence-Correction questions:

How many: 14-15 questions

Where: In the 75-minute Verbal section, mixed with Reading-Comprehension sets and Critical-Reasoning questions

Format: A sentence, all or part of which is underlined, is followed by five different ways of phrasing the underlined part (you select one of the five choices by clicking on an oval)

Skills tested: Your facility with English grammar, sentence construction, word usage, and effective expression — but not punctuation or spelling

Directions for GMAT Sentence-Correction Questions

The following directions will appear on your screen just before your first Sentence-Correction question (and you can access them while tackling any Sentence-Correction question by clicking on the HELP button):

Directions: This question presents a sentence, all or part of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose one of the others.

This question tests correctness and effectiveness of expression. In choosing your answer, follow the requirements of standard written English; that is, pay attention to grammar, choice of words, and sentence construction. Choose the answer that produces the most effective sentence; this answer should be clear and exact, without awkwardness, ambiguity, redundancy, or grammatical error.
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To review these directions for subsequent questions of this type, click on HELP.

GMAT Sentence Correction—Example Question

Here's an example of a GMAT Sentence-Correction question. Notice that the first answer choice repeats the sentence's underlined part, while the other four choices provide alternative ways of phrasing the underlined part. The question is about average in difficulty for the GMAT.

Patrice, whom according to the classical musician community is a virtuoso, plays in a unique style which is all her own but which also embodies a warmth prevalent during the golden age of violin playing.

whom according to the classical musician community is a virtuoso, plays in a unique style which is all her own but which also embodies
considered a virtuoso by the community of classical musicians, plays in a style all her own which at the same time embodies
regarded by classical musicians as being a virtuoso, plays in a unique style all her own yet embodies
regarded by classical musicians as a virtuoso, who plays in a style all her own which at the same time embodies
whom the community of classical musicians would consider to be a virtuoso, plays in a unique style while at the same time embodying

Quick Tip for Example Question

Be on the lookout for superfluous words that can be omitted without affecting the sentence's meaning, as well as wordy and awkward phrases. An answer choice that suffers from any of these problems is probably not the best choice, regardless of whether it contains any grammatical errors.

Analysis of Example Question

The original sentence (and the first answer choice) suffers from the following three problems:

The pronoun "whom" is improper here because its grammatical function here is to serve as a subject (as opposed to an object). The best answer choice must either replace "whom" with "who" or reconstruct the entire clause (for example, "...whom the...community considers a virtuoso..." would be grammatically correct).
The phrase "classical musician community" is confusing. It is unclear whether the adjective "classical" refers to the noun "musician" or to the noun "community." The best answer choice must remedy this problem.
The phrase "unique style which is all her own" is redundant; that is, "unique" and "all her own" mean essentially the same thing. The sentence should omit one or the other. Also, omitting the superfluous phrase "which is" would make for a more concise and effective sentence. Although these problems are not grammatical errors, a better sentence would remedy them.

The second answer choice (we'll call it "B") provides the best version of the sentence. It remedies all three problems with the original sentence. Notice that (B) is not necessarily an ideal or "perfect" sentence. The first clause employs the passive voice ("considered...by classical musicians") rather than the preferred active voice ("classical musicians consider"). Nevertheless, (B) is the best response among the five choices.

The third answer choice (we'll call it "C") corrects the first two problems with the original sentence, but it does not correct the redundant "unique" and "all her own." Moreover, (C) creates two new problems. First, the phrase "as being" is an improper idiomatic expression; the word "being" should be omitted. Second, notice the word "yet," which connects two clauses — one beginning with "plays" and the other beginning with "embodies." Given the grammatical structure of (C), both clauses describe Patrice. But in order for the sentence to make sense the verb "embodies" should refer to Patrice's playing style, not to Patrice herself. One solution would be to substitute "which also" (as in the original version) for "yet."

The fourth answer choice (we'll call it "D") corrects all three problems with the original sentence. But (D) creates a sentence fragment — that is, an incomplete sentence. The subject "Patrice" is followed by two modifying clauses (the first begins with "regarded," and the second begins with "who"). Thus, you can easily eliminate (D).

The fifth answer choice (we'll call it "E") corrects all three problems with the original sentence. But (E) creates two new problems. The verb "would consider" is a subjunctive (hypothetical) form of the infinitive "to consider." The original sentence, however, expresses the community's view of Patrice as factual. In this respect (E) distorts the intended meaning of the original sentence, and therefore it cannot be the best answer choice. Second, the word "embodying" improperly refers to Patrice instead of her playing style — the same faulty parallelism that we saw in answer choice (C).