Executive PrepLab · V5 Practice · Axis 7

Concision

Three layers, in order. Layer 1 isolates the decision with nothing else in the way. Layer 2 hides it inside a full item, the way the exam does. Layer 3 reads your errors back to you and says what to repeat.

Work them in sequence — the diagnosis at the end only means something if you have your Layer 2 results in front of you.

Layer 1

Isolated drills

Rewrite each sentence, cutting every word that earns nothing. Do not change the meaning.

D1. The delay was due to the fact that the permit had not been issued.

D2. In the event that the sensor fails, the backup engages automatically.

D3. The two survey teams cooperated together throughout the season.

D4. At this point in time the data remain inconclusive.

D5. The laboratory has the ability to process samples overnight.

D6. She made a decision to withdraw the application.

D7. The reason the trial was halted is because three participants withdrew.

D8. Advance planning prevented the shortage from becoming acute.

D9. He referred back to the estimate published the previous year.

D10. There are many observers who believe the projection is optimistic.

	Cut to	What was wrong
D1	The delay was because* the permit had not been issued*	due to the fact that is five words for one
D2	If the sensor fails…	same, four words for one
D3	…cooperated* throughout the season*	cooperate already means together
D4	*Currently* the data remain inconclusive	at this point in time is four words for one
D5	The laboratory can* process samples overnight*	has the ability to is four words for one
D6	She decided* to withdraw the application*	a verb turned into a noun plus a weak verb
D7	The trial was halted because* three participants withdrew*	the reason … is because says it twice
D8	*Planning* prevented…	planning is necessarily in advance
D9	He referred to* the estimate…*	refer already means going back
D10	*Many observers believe* the projection is optimistic	there are … who delays the subject for nothing

The two patterns underneath all ten. First, a phrase standing in for a single connective — due to the fact that, in the event that, at this point in time. Second, a verb buried inside a noun — made a decision for decided, has the ability for can. Both are habits of formal writing, and both are always the wrong answer here.

Layer 2

Full items

Now the same decision, buried in a sentence with other things going on. Read the whole sentence, find where the options split, settle one axis at a time.

Item 1

The delay in issuing the report was due to the fact that three members of the panel had recused themselves.

One word for five. A, B, C and E are all variants of the same padding, and the fact that four of the five options are padded is itself the signal — when most options are long and one is short, concision is the axis.

Item 2

The two agencies cooperated together on a joint survey of the coastline.

Two redundancies, not one. Cooperate means to work together, so together is dead. And a survey two agencies cooperate on is necessarily joint, so joint is dead too. E removes one and keeps the other; B and D shuffle the same words. Only C removes both.

Item 3

In the event that the primary sensor fails, the backup engages within milliseconds.

Four words for one. C, D and E are longer still — a reliable sign that the item is testing concision and the short option is correct.

Item 4

The laboratory has the ability to process two hundred samples overnight.

Can replaces has the ability to. C is the same construction in different clothes. B and D are ungrammatical: able to be processing and capable to process are both wrong, and D specifically breaks the idiom from Axis 8 — capable of, never capable to.

Note the order of operations: D is eliminated on grammar before length ever enters the discussion.

Item 5

The reason the trial was halted is because three participants withdrew in the first week.

The reason … is because states the causal relationship twice. C says it once. A, B, D and E all keep the doubled construction in some form.

Item 6

The committee decided to postpone the vote until the audit was complete.

Correct as written, and the shortest. B through E are progressively more elaborate ways of saying decided. This is the item that confirms concision is real: when the underlined portion is already the leanest correct version, A is the answer.

Item 7

There are a number of researchers who have questioned the methodology of the original study.

There are … who pushes the real subject three words back for no gain. C puts A number of researchers in front where it belongs. B is the same construction in the present perfect. D turns the sentence into a fragment. E is a cleft with no purpose.

Item 8

The panel concluded that the design was flawed and recommending a full structural review.

Here the shortest option is broken, which is the whole point of the item. B — flawed and recommended — drops the verb was, leaving the design flawed, which is not a clause. A, C and E all mismatch was flawed against a participle. Only D pairs two past-tense verbs: was flawed and recommended.

Concision is a tiebreaker between grammatically equal options. It is never a reason to choose a broken one.

Answer as many as you like, then check — it scores what you have answered so far.

Layer 3

Diagnosis

Check your Layer 2 answers against this. The pattern of what you missed matters more than how many.

If you missed	It means	Repeat
1, 3, 5	Padded connectives not recognised on sight	D1, D2, D4, D7
2	Redundancy not recognised	D3, D8, D9
4, 7	Buried verbs and delayed subjects	D5, D6, D10
6	You changed the leanest correct option	— see below
8	You applied concision before checking grammar	— see below

If you missed 6 or 8, or both: these are the two items that test the limits of the rule rather than the rule. Missing 6 means you assume the underlined portion must be wrong. Missing 8 means you reached for the shortest option without checking it was a sentence. Both are more costly than any padded phrase, because both are habits rather than gaps.