Punctuation Practice

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

Check C first, but there's no other dash in the sentence and it's definitely not acting as a colon since there's no independent clause before it.

So then check A and D. The only reason why a comma would be before argues or after is because the comma is attaching a non-essential element. So you need read the sentence the blank is in and identify the independent clause and non-essential elements. In this case, the independent clause is "Stendhal was 'literally inhabited by his creations.'" Everything else is additional information, so to attach "Fowlie argues" to the sentence, you need to put a comma before and after it, which is why there's a comma after argues.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1B

CCSS.L.2.2C

CCSS.L.3.2D

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

This is a title name question "researchers" is the title and the names are "Roberto Scandone and Christopher Kilburn." There should never be any punctuation in between the title and name in the same phrase so you can eliminate answer choice A and B. D is wrong because there shouldn't be a comma before "and." There's no independent clause before, no non-essential element that the comma is attaching, and there's only a list of 2 things so you shouldn't put a comma in between the items.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1B

CCSS.L.2.2C

CCSS.L.3.2D

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

Looking at the answer choices, the semicolon in answer choice D is not because of a semicolon list (as there's no other semicolon in the sentence) so both the semicolon and the period do the same thing and you can eliminate before B and D.

The only reason why there should be a comma after "not" is if it's attaching a non-essential elements (since there's no comma list going on). So now you have to read the sentence and identify the independent clause and the unnecessary additional information. The independent clause is "aerobic and anaerobic respiration are both forms of cellular respiration, " meaning "While one requires oxygen and one does not" is unnecessary additional information and should be attached using a comma. Therefore, the answer is C

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1B

CCSS.L.2.2C

CCSS.L.3.2D

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

According to the priority list, the first answer choice that should be checked is D. For the colon to be correct, there needs to be an independent clause before and a separate expanding thought after. Here, there's an independent clause before. Also, "openness to experience" after the colon is an example of the "one personality trait" mentioned before the colon, so the colon is definitely correct here.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1J

CCSS.L.2.1F

CCSS.L.8.1C

CCSS.L.K.1D

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

Following the priority list, you should check answer choice C first. However, after the colon is not a separate thought from the rest of the sentence (what comes after a colon needs to be a separate thought). In fact, the colon is in the middle of a list. The list is "the sanctity of animal life, the just treatment of the elderly, and the abolition of the slave trade." Therefore, the answer is D. If you didn't realize there was a list, following the priority list, you should have checked B and noticed there's no independent clause after the semicolon, and then move on to check answer choice D.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1J

CCSS.L.2.1F

CCSS.L.8.1C

CCSS.L.K.1D

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

Following the priority list, answer choice B should be checked first. What's after the colon is not a separate thought from what's before, so B is wrong. Answer choice C is wrong because "and what impact it has...ocean" is not an independent clause. Also, A is wrong because "what impact it has on the distribution of heat and nutrients in the ocean" is not an independent clause either (it's just a subject). The comma in A is also not attaching non-essential elements and there's no comma list, so the only answer left is Answer Choice D. Actually, this is a list 2 items (how current-driven... and what impact...) separated by an "and." You can't put any commas to separate the items in a list of 2.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1B

CCSS.L.2.2C

CCSS.L.3.2D

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

Following the priority list, you check answer choice D first. "Researcher Lin Zhi developed a process for increasing the tensile strength of silkworm silk" is an independent clause (the main verb is "developed") and "Zhi increased the amount of force required to stretch it from approximately 0.5 GPa to 2 GPa" is also an independent clause ("increased" is the main verb). Therefore, there's an independent clause before and after the period, so D is correct.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1B

CCSS.L.2.2C

CCSS.L.3.2D

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

Check C first, there is an independent clause before and after, so C is correct.

Reminder: Make sure you are finding independent clauses by looking for the subject and main verb.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1B

CCSS.L.2.2C

CCSS.L.3.2D

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

According to the priority list, check C first and there's an independent clause before and after the semicolon so C is correct. "Saville is not the protagonist of Shelley's novel" is the independent clause before, and "she's the 'occasion' of it" is the independent clause after (she's = she is, so "she" is the subject and "is" is the main verb).

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1B

CCSS.L.2.2C

CCSS.L.3.2D

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

There's no other dash in the sentence and no independent clause before, so it can't be C or A. D is also wrong, there's no non-essential element. While there is a comma list, the list starts at "childhood" and you only use comma in comma lists to separate the items in the list, so there should not be a comma after "of." This means B is correct, as it's the only answer left.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1J

CCSS.L.2.1F

CCSS.L.8.1C

CCSS.L.K.1D