Law firms and other professional services groups

[spencer]

Law firms and other professional services groups, academic institutions, and research divisions often have informal talent marketplaces where senior employees strive to identify the best employees junior to them and the junior employees compete for the assignments that they find most attractive.


a) where senior employees strive to identify the best employees junior to them and the junior employees compete for the assignments that they find most attractive

b) in which senior employees strive and identify the best junior employees and the junior employees compete for the assignments that they find most attractive

c) where senior employees strive to identify the best junior employees and the best junior employees compete for the most attractive assignments.

d) that enable senior employees to strive and identify the best junior employees and the best junior employees compete for the most attractive assignments

e) in which senior employees strive to identify the best junior employees and the best junior employees compete for the most attractive assignments

Once again I'm getting caught up with the distortion of the sentence.

E) says that the best junior employees compete for the most attractive assignments BUT THE ORIGINAL SENTENCE NEVER SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT THIS!

From the sentence we know that there are two things going on at these these talent marketplaces. Seniors are trying to identify the best junior employees and junior employees are looking for attractive assignments. How are we supposed to assume that only the best junior employees are competing for attractive assignments when the original sentence NEVER SAYS THIS. We only know what the sentence tells us.

Since the "best junior employees compet(e)(ing)" was in all the combinations I chose B which said "strive and identify". Even though the original said they strive to identify, I figured that this correction distorted the original meaning less then E, which was marked the correct answer. Again, I spent way too much time arguing with myself over such a stupid thing.

[StaceyKoprince]

I completely agree that this issue is annoying. However, this sometimes occurs on the real test, so... we just have to suck it up. :)

Remember that grammar trumps everything else. There's something grammatically wrong with B (and all of the others, except E). Only use things like clarity of meaning, concision, etc., AFTER you have dealt with all purely grammatical issues.

Go back and look at the grammar issues that you'd want to deal with first. See whether you even have any choices left after you've dealt with all grammar issues. (Hint: take a look at that "they" in B; are we talking about the junior or senior employees here?)

[StaceyKoprince]

By the way, I brought this up with our curriculum director and he went ahead and removed that second "best" in choices C, D, and E. :)

(Though I have seen things like this occasionally on the real test - not commonly, but occasionally - so just remember that grammar trumps everything and try to deal with all direct grammar issues first. Hopefully that takes you down to just one choice!)

[Anon]

Whats wrong with C ??
usage of where ???

Please help...
thanks

[RonPurewal]

Whats wrong with C ??
usage of where ???

Please help...
thanks

'where' is problematic here, because 'where' is only used for physical places. although at first glance a 'talent marketplace' may sound like an actual place, it isn't; it's metaphorical.