A punctuation question tests how a descriptive phrase fits into a sentence. Read past the blank to find where the main sentence continues, then cross out the possible insert, a phrase the sentence could do without. Commas enclose inserts, semicolons join complete sentences, and colons follow complete sentences. With no mark, the words must connect directly. Track both ends of an insert and check whether the remaining sentence is complete.
Hints
- Hint 1
Look for what the sentence says will happen to Patel's method. This helps you find where the main sentence continues after the words about memory.
- Hint 2
Try crossing out the breakthrough description. Does the sentence still work, and what punctuation already marks the end of that description?
Step-by-step
Find the insert and match its ends
Step 1Find the method's main verb
Dr. Aisha Patel's new method is the thing the sentence is about, so what will happen to it? It will be described in a paper. That's its main verb, the verb that tells us what happens to it, so the punctuation must let the sentence carry on to that verb.
- Step 2
Cross out the description
What do the words breakthrough that could reshape the study of memory, add? They give Patel's method another description. Let's cross out that description: Patel's new method for mapping neural circuits will be described in a paper. What's left is complete, so the description is an insert, extra information the sentence could do without.
- Step 3
Match the opening mark
What punctuation already ends that insert? The comma in memory, will be described closes it before the method's main verb. An insert in the middle needs matching marks, so this closing comma needs an opening comma before a breakthrough. The version circuits, a supplies it. Choice D.