Question

read the sentence.

selena had an unexpected surprise when she attempted to duplicate a copy of a culinary dish she learned in culinary school.

what is the best way to rewrite the sentence to avoid repetition?

• when she attempted to duplicate a copy of a culinary dish she learned in culinary school, selena had an unexpected surprise.
• selena had a surprise when she attempted to duplicate a dish she learned in culinary school.
• a surprise for selena occurred when she attempted to copy a culinary dish she learned in culinary school.
• selenas culinary dish gave her an unexpected surprise when she attempted to duplicate it.

Explanation:

Identify redundant phrases in the original sentence

The original sentence contains two main instances of redundancy:

1. "unexpected surprise": A surprise is inherently unexpected, making "unexpected" redundant.
2. "duplicate a copy": To duplicate means to make a copy, making "a copy" redundant.

Evaluate the answer choices

• Option 1: Retains both "unexpected surprise" and "duplicate a copy".
• Option 2: Correctly removes "unexpected" (leaving "surprise") and removes "a copy" (leaving "duplicate a dish"). It also avoids repeating "culinary" unnecessarily.
• Option 3: Retains "surprise" and "copy" but is phrased passively ("A surprise... occurred") and keeps the repetitive "culinary dish... culinary school".
• Option 4: Retains "unexpected surprise" and is awkwardly structured.

Select the most concise and clear revision

Option 2 is the best rewrite because it eliminates all redundant phrasing while maintaining the original meaning and flow of the sentence.

Answer:

• (A) When she attempted to duplicate a copy of a culinary dish she learned in culinary school, Selena had an unexpected surprise.
• (B) Selena had a surprise when she attempted to duplicate a dish she learned in culinary school. (Correct answer)
• (C) A surprise for Selena occurred when she attempted to copy a culinary dish she learned in culinary school.
• (D) Selena's culinary dish gave her an unexpected surprise when she attempted to duplicate it.