Question 142·Easy·Boundaries
During the ice-sculpture competition, contestants worked with delicate tools as ______ chisels, fine brushes, and heated knives.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For boundaries questions, determine the grammatical structure on each side of the blank. If a complete clause is followed by a list of examples (often signaled by phrases like “as follows”), the colon is the standard way to introduce that list. Eliminate semicolons unless both sides are full sentences, and eliminate periods if the next part would be a fragment.
Hints
Identify what comes after the blank
After the blank is "sharp chisels, fine brushes, and heated knives"—is that a complete sentence or a list?
Check whether the part before the blank is complete
Read up to the blank with each option’s words included. Does the part before the punctuation form a complete sentence?
Match punctuation to purpose
Which mark is typically used to introduce a list of examples after a complete statement (especially after a phrase like "as follows")?
Step-by-step Explanation
Read the sentence with the blank
The sentence is setting up examples of the “delicate tools” the contestants used, and the words after the blank form a list ("sharp chisels, fine brushes, and heated knives").
Check what comes before the list
Up to the blank, the sentence forms a complete statement: "During the ice-sculpture competition, contestants worked with delicate tools as follows". This can stand on its own.
Use the rule for introducing a list
A colon is used after a complete clause to introduce a list, explanation, or elaboration that follows.
Eliminate the other punctuation and select the best choice
- A period would create a new sentence, but "Sharp chisels, fine brushes, and heated knives" is not a complete sentence.
- A comma does not conventionally introduce a list after "as follows" in this structure.
- A semicolon must be followed by an independent clause, not a list.
Therefore, the correct choice is follows: sharp.