Bluebook_Test7_Section3_No5

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<li>The programmers always talked of having too much to do, but in truth [they had a lesser amount of work to do than] their colleagues.</li>
</ol>

<p>(A) they had a lesser amount of work to do than
(B) their work was the least among
(C) they were having less work to do than
(D) the amount of work they had to do was the least of
(E) they had les work to do than</p>

<p>Answer: “Choice (E) is correct. It avoids the error of the original by removing unnecessary words.” (Online Course)</p>

<p>I had thought that choice E would’ve been an comparison error which compares the work the programmers had to the colleagues instead of the colleagues’ work, and instead chose choice B. "Choice (B) makes no sense. It does not make sense to describe “work” as being “least among their colleagues.” " (Online Course)</p>

<p>Now I’m really confused about comparison questions. How does one identify whether it’s a comparison error or just simply a wordy error?</p>

2

<p>It's only correct if the amount of work is less than their colleagues. So by saying that "their work was the least among," you're not specifying what about their work was "the least." To correct a comparison error you basically just have to pay attention to exactly what the superlative is referring to. In this case it is the amount of work, not the work itself.</p>

3

<p>Thanks Ruella76, but I'm still confused about choice (E). I don't understand how "they had less work" can be compared to colleagues.</p>

4

<p>Choice E is correct because if you complete the sentence, it makes sense: they had less work to do than their collegues--- did. </p>

<p>Also, if you don't understand the question you can reason that since you cannot change the part about collegues, like you can't change the sentence to "collegues' work," then you have to just stick with the revisions given to you.</p>