Question

reaching an economic crisis
(1) the stock market crashed in 1929, the united states entered a severe economic
contum called the great depression. (2) as the crisis deepened, the unemployment rate
soared, destroying many lives. (3) the crisis required a bold response from the government,
but president herbert hoover resisted saying economic depression cannot be cured by
legislative action or executive pronouncement.
(4) people like hoover, who thought that the government should not take steps to help the
economy, ignored the suffering of millions of americans. (5) in some cities, the
unemployment rate exceeded 70 percent. (6) many lost their homes and were forced to live
in shantytowns where the quality of housing was poor. (7) these towns were named
hoovervilles because people believed president hoover had some responsibility for the
crisis. (8) still, the hoover administration took half - hearted steps to help citizens.
(9) franklin roosevelt was then elected president. (10) recognizing that people were
scared, his inaugural address said, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. (11) franklin
roosevelts administration immediately took more action than president hoover. (12) in his
first 100 days in office, roosevelt and congress passed legislation that was known as the
new deal (13) the financial system was reformed and the employment rate increased.
(14) over the next four years, the countrys economy gained strength and the
unemployment ratei dropped a lot. (15) roosevelts ideas worked.
which version of sentence 11 (reproduced below) most effectively demonstrates a logical
comparison?
franklin roosevelts administration immediately took more action than president hoover.
no change
franklin roosevelts administration immediately took more action than president
hoover did.
franklin roosevelts administration immediately took more action than president
hoovers administration.
franklin roosevelts administration immediately took more action than the actions of
president hoovers administration.

Explanation:

When making a comparison, the structure should be parallel. In the original sentence “Franklin Roosevelt’s administration immediately took more action than President Hoover”, the comparison is between “Franklin Roosevelt’s administration” (an administration) and “President Hoover” (a person), which is not parallel.

• Option “Franklin Roosevelt’s administration immediately took more action than President Hoover did” corrects this by adding “did” (which stands for “took action”), making the comparison parallel (administration’s action vs. president’s action).
• Option “Franklin Roosevelt’s administration immediately took more action than President Hoover’s administration” is also parallel (administration vs. administration), but it is more wordy than the option with “did”.
• Option “Franklin Roosevelt’s administration immediately took more action than the actions of President Hoover’s administration” is overly convoluted and not as smooth as the option with “did”.

Answer:

Franklin Roosevelt’s administration immediately took more action than President Hoover did.