Difficulty: Easy

Average Score: 88%

Which of the following revisions to the passage above most effectively corrects the punctuation error in sentence 2?

Rationale

The student, investigating butterfly migration patterns for the research paper, asked if Ms. Smith knew anything about monarch butterflies.

This revision correctly places commas around the phrase "investigating butterfly migration patterns for the research paper," indicating that it is a non-restrictive clause. This punctuation enhances clarity by showing that the clause adds additional information about the student without altering the main idea of the sentence.

A (The student investigating butterfly migration patterns for the research paper asked if Ms. Smith knew anything about monarch butterflies.) YOUR ANSWER

This option lacks the necessary commas to offset the non-restrictive clause. While the sentence is grammatically correct, it does not address the punctuation error as it presents the additional information about the student in a restrictive manner, making it less clear.

C (The student investigating butterfly migration patterns for the research paper asked if Ms. Smith knew anything about monarch butterflies.) YOUR ANSWER

Similar to option A, this choice also omits the crucial commas around the non-restrictive clause. The sentence remains grammatically correct but fails to resolve the punctuation issue present in the original passage, thus not effectively correcting the error.

D (The student investigating butterfly migration patterns for the research paper; asked if Ms. Smith knew anything about monarch butterflies.) YOUR ANSWER

This option incorrectly uses a semicolon before “asked,” which is inappropriate here. A semicolon is used to connect independent clauses, and using it in this context creates a punctuation error rather than correcting the original mistake.

Conclusion

The appropriate choice for correcting the punctuation error in the sentence is option B, which effectively uses commas to delineate the non-restrictive clause. This change clarifies the sentence structure and enhances readability, ensuring the reader understands the student's additional information without confusion. The other options either maintain the error or introduce new ones, failing to achieve the intended correction.

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