The 5 sentences below are all incorrect responses from GMATPrep questions.

Each
one contains a different distractor. All questions are 700-level questions! Note
that there is more than one reason for why the distractor is wrong. The distrac
tors below are easy to identify.
Distractor 1 (double subject)
A simple sentence only needs to state the subject one time. Here is an answer ch
oice that has a double subject.
In order to conserve the energy and heat they need to spend the entire winter si
tting motionless over incubating eggs, male penguins huddle over the nests in gr
oups, and they thereby reduce by 25 percent the rate they burn energy, as compar
ed to what it would be with isolated birds.
Notice that the underlined section uses the word they. The word they is the doub
le subject. They is referring to the penguins, but we already know that so its u
sage is redundant. In our Spanish language, it is perfectly fine to use the doub
le subject so at first this is a little counter-intuitive but if you practice it
becomes something very easy to apply.
Distractor 2 (-ing ending)
Be very wary of answer choices that add an -ing verb (or ing- anything). 9 times
out of 10 the answer choice can be eliminated. Here is an example.
Narwhals can be called whales of the ice: in icy channels, ponds, and ice-shield
ed bays, they seek sanctuary from killer whales, their chief predator, and whose
annual migrations following the seasonal rhythm of advancing and retreating ice
.
In the original stem, the word follow does not have an ing ending. There are var
ious reasons for why adding an -ing ending is incorrect but I will not overwhelm
you with those. Remember, if you see an -ing answer choice, think eliminate! Re
ad it to yourself aloud and ask does this sound right? 9 times out of 10 it will
not!
Distractor 3 (missing verb)
This is an error that my fourth grade students often commit. They write long sen
tences without a single verb. Here is a GMAT example of an answer choice without
a verb.
A recording system that was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Ov
al office even Theodore C. Stevensen, the White House counsel, did not know it e
xisted.
Can you find the verb? There is not one. What did the recording system that was
so secretly installled and operated in the Kennedy Oval office do? This error is
common among 700 level questions so make sure to keep an eye on it.
Distractor 4 (ambiguity)
Good writing should never be ambiguous. Here is an example of a GMAT answer choi
ce with ambiguity.
Naked mole rats form colonies of approximately twenty animals, each of which con
sists of a single reproductive female and workers that defend her.
What does the word 'each' refer to? Is it referring to the animals or to the col
onies? The central focus of the sentence is on the colonies so simply using the
word each is not sufficient. Adding the word 'colony' after each would eliminate
the ambiguity.
Distractor 5 (referents)
This is the most common distractor in 700 level questions. Let me give you an ea
sy example to illustrate. Take a look at this example: After working diligently
on the GMAT for three months, Jose's score improved by 190 points. At first sigh
t this may look like a correct sentence, but take a closer look. Who worked dili
gently for three months? Jose's score or Jose? Jose's score did not work diligen
tly. That is nonsensical. That is why this is wrong. Now take a look at this GMA
T distractor.
Without the adequate amount of sleep they need, people's newly acquired skills a
nd even new factual information may not get properly coded into their memory cir
cuits.
Who needs the adequate amount of sleep? People's newly acquired skills or people
? People of course. Anytime you see a phrase that is referring to something (par
ticularly to something that has an apostrophe which indicates possession), read
it carefully and determine whether it is referring to the correct thing.
Using the strategies above has been a key reason for why my students' performanc
e has been the best in the entire school district where I work (over 30 elementa
ry campuses and thousands of students). They also helped me improve my score. Th
ere are only about 20 possible distractors. Once you know all of them, you can a
nswer 100% of the sentence correction questions.
Distractor 1 (repetition-using two words that mean the same thing)
Good writing should be succinct. Here is a problem that uses two words that mean
the same thing.
Many scientists now agree that man-made pollution is the main cause for the rise
and increase of global warming.
Notice that the word rise means the same thing as the word increase. You do not
need to say both of them.
Distractor 2 (subject-verb agreement)
This is a basic concept that gets tested but that many testers still get wrong.
The subject and verb must agree. Here is a simple example. Many students in my f
ourth grade class enjoys playing soccer during recess. The subject (students) is
pluralends in s. The verb should be enjoytake away the s. Now lets look at a GMAT
distractor.
Efforts to equalize the funds available to school districts, a major goal of edu
cation reformers and many states in the 1970s, has not significantly reduced the
gaps existing between the richest and poorest districts.
Here the subject is efforts (plural) so the helping verb should match. We do not
use has for plural subjects; instead, we use have. Has should be changed to have.
Distractor 3 (parallelism-compare similar things)
Only things that are similar can be compared. Lets look at an example. Unlike mat
h, which shares a universal language across cultures, poets are confined by the
language of their home country. Here math is being compared to poets, but this i
s not correct. Math is a subject whereas poets are people. This would be correct
if we were comparing math to poetry. Lets look at a GMAT example.
Unlike a typical automobile loan, which requires a fifteen-to-twenty-percent dow
n payment, the lease-loan buyer is not required to make an initial deposit on th
e new vehicle.
Notice that the loan is being compared to the lease-loan buyer. This is not para
llel. A loan and a buyer (human) are not similar.
Distractor 4 (two things completed in the past)
Many times the GMAT will make reference to TWO things that happened in the past
and then use a verb to suggest that one of those things is still happening. If b
oth of those things happened in the past, then do NOT use a helping verb that in
dicates present tense.
Though the artifacts of pre-Colombian civilization created a stir from the very
first European contacts with the new world in the sixteenth century, until the l
atter half of the nineteenth century Western designers, artists, and crafters ha
ve not been inspired to imitate.
Are we in the latter half of the nineteenth century now? Of course not! The sent
ences use of the words have not been makes it seem that we are still in the latter
half of the nineteenth century.
Distractor 5 (pronoun it refers to ONE THING)
The pronoun it refers to one thing. It can be a house, a car, a book, a group, etc
. But it refers to a singular noun. This comes up frequently throughout the GMAT a
nd can also aid you in understanding reading comprehension passages. Many times
you can find what the it is referring to in a passage to figure out the answer. He
re is a GMAT example.
The golden crab of the Gulf of Mexico has not been fished commercially in great
numbers, primarily because they live at great depths2,500 to 3,000 feet down.
What is they referring to? They is referring to the golden crab, but the golden
crab is singular so we cannot use the pronoun they. Instead, we should use the pro
noun it. It refers to a single noun (golden crab). If the sentence was talking abo
ut crabs then we could use the pronoun they.