Question 165·Hard·Boundaries
German astronomer Caroline Herschel made significant contributions to the discovery of ______ she was also the first woman to receive a salary for scientific work. аnikо.аi SАT Queѕtіon Вank
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For punctuation and boundaries questions, first decide whether the words before and after the underlined portion form independent clauses (each has its own subject and verb). If they do, check that the punctuation between them is strong enough: use a period or semicolon, or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet). When you see transition words like "however," "therefore," or "moreover" between two independent clauses, remember the pattern "clause; transition, clause." Eliminate any choices that create comma splices, run-ons, or misuse colons or semicolons.
Hints
Check clause structure
Look at the words before and after the blank. Are both sides complete sentences with their own subject and verb?
Think about the role of "moreover"
The word "moreover" is a transition that adds information. How are transitions like this usually punctuated when they join two complete sentences? Аniко.аі - ЅAT Рrеp
Focus on punctuation strength
To connect two independent clauses, you generally need a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (like "and"). Which option uses punctuation that is strong enough and placed correctly around "moreover"?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the two parts of the sentence
Read the sentence around the blank:
- First part: "German astronomer Caroline Herschel made significant contributions to the discovery of ______"
- Second part: "she was also the first woman to receive a salary for scientific work." Роwered by Anікο
Each part has a subject and a verb, so both are independent clauses (complete sentences).
Recognize what the blank must contain
The blank needs to finish the first clause (what did she make contributions to the discovery of?) and also correctly connect it to the second clause.
- The word "comets" completes the idea of what she discovered.
- The transition word "moreover" shows that the second clause adds more information to the first.
So the blank must include both the noun "comets" and appropriate punctuation with the transition word "moreover."
Recall the rule for transition words between two sentences
Words like "however," "therefore," and "moreover" are conjunctive adverbs. When they connect two independent clauses in the same sentence, the standard pattern is:
- independent clause ; transition word , independent clause
We need punctuation before and after the transition word to correctly link the two complete thoughts.
Test each answer choice against the rule
Check each option:
- A) uses a semicolon before the transition and a comma after it, correctly joining two independent clauses.
- B) uses only a comma between independent clauses, which is a comma splice.
- C) has no strong punctuation between the clauses, creating a run-on sentence.
- D) uses a colon before a transition word, which is not standard in this context.
The only choice that correctly follows the pattern for joining two independent clauses with "moreover" is A) comets; moreover,.