413. In the mid-1920’s the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company was the scene of an intensive series of experiments that would investigate changes in working conditions as to their effects on workers’ performance.
(A) that would investigate changes in working conditions as to their effects on workers’ performance
(B) investigating the effects that changes in working conditions would have on workers’ performance
(C) for investigating what are the effects in workers’ performance that changes in working conditions would cause
(D) that investigated changes in working conditions’ effects on workers’ performance
(E) to investigate what the effects changes in working conditions would have on workers’ performance
Solution:
Pronouns + Awkwardness/wordiness + Logical
A: “their” in "investigate changes ... as to their effects" is unclear.
B: “investigating what are the effects…working conditions would cause” wordy and awkward.
D: Double possessives make the choice unclear and awkward. The intended meaning involves “effects of the changes”, but this choice seems to indicate that the conditions themselves haven't changed - only their “effects” have. That's not the intended meaning.
E: "to investigate X" is concise and clear as compared to "to investigate what X is".
B: The participle "investigating" follows "experiments" immediately. No filler words are necessary; this is good concision.
"would" is used properly here, as a past-tense form of "will".
(i.e., if this sentence were translated into the present tense, it would read "...that changes ... will have")
Sentence Correction - 1000 Questions with Solution:
(A) that would investigate changes in working conditions as to their effects on workers’ performance
(B) investigating the effects that changes in working conditions would have on workers’ performance
(C) for investigating what are the effects in workers’ performance that changes in working conditions would cause
(D) that investigated changes in working conditions’ effects on workers’ performance
(E) to investigate what the effects changes in working conditions would have on workers’ performance
Solution:
Pronouns + Awkwardness/wordiness + Logical
A: “their” in "investigate changes ... as to their effects" is unclear.
B: “investigating what are the effects…working conditions would cause” wordy and awkward.
D: Double possessives make the choice unclear and awkward. The intended meaning involves “effects of the changes”, but this choice seems to indicate that the conditions themselves haven't changed - only their “effects” have. That's not the intended meaning.
E: "to investigate X" is concise and clear as compared to "to investigate what X is".
B: The participle "investigating" follows "experiments" immediately. No filler words are necessary; this is good concision.
"would" is used properly here, as a past-tense form of "will".
(i.e., if this sentence were translated into the present tense, it would read "...that changes ... will have")
Sentence Correction - 1000 Questions with Solution: