Difficulty: Easy

Average Score: 77%

(1) 'Hurry up, George! (2) You're going to be late!' I yelled to my brother as he was finishing his breakfast. (3) I'm pretty sure he'd miss the bus every day if it wasn't for my help. (4) It was important that he wasn't late that day though, George had a big test first thing in the morning! (5) He put his cereal bowl in the sink, grabbed his backpack from its hook in the hallway, gave me his usual grateful smile, and sprinted out the door just in time to get on the bus.

Which of the following corrects an error in the excerpt?

Rationale

Changing the comma to a period in sentence 4 corrects an error in the excerpt.

In sentence 4, the structure is overly long and contains two independent clauses that should be separated for clarity. Changing the comma to a period creates two distinct sentences, enhancing readability and grammatical correctness.

A (Changing the exclamation point to a period in sentence 1) YOUR ANSWER

This change would alter the tone of the sentence from urgent and excited to neutral, which is not necessary. The exclamation point effectively conveys the speaker's urgency, making it an appropriate punctuation choice for the context.

B (Adding a comma after 'day' in sentence 3) YOUR ANSWER

Adding a comma after 'day' would not correct any grammatical error, as the sentence is already clear and correctly structured without it. The phrase flows well, and the addition of a comma would unnecessarily interrupt the reading.

C (Changing the comma to a period in sentence 4) CORRECT

This adjustment effectively separates two independent clauses: "It was important that he wasn’t late that day" and "George had a big test first thing in the morning." This correction enhances clarity and adheres to grammatical standards, making it the most appropriate choice.

D (Adding an apostrophe after the 't' in 'its' in sentence 5) YOUR ANSWER

The word 'its' is correctly used to indicate possession in this context, referring to 'backpack.' An apostrophe would imply a contraction (it is), which is not applicable here. Therefore, this change would introduce a grammatical error instead of correcting one.

Conclusion

Correcting errors in writing is crucial for clarity and coherence. In this excerpt, changing the comma to a period in sentence 4 effectively addresses a structural issue, allowing each independent thought to stand alone and enhancing the reader's understanding. The other options either misinterpret the need for punctuation or do not address actual grammatical errors.

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