A punctuation question with the same transition in every choice tests how you set that word off. Cover the transition and check which parts can stand alone, then look at the punctuation that's already there. Periods and semicolons separate full sentences; colons introduce explanations or lists after full sentences. Commas set off transitions, while dashes mark a break or added emphasis. Then read for meaning to find which sentence the transition belongs to.
Hints
- Hint 1
Look at the semicolon before the blank. Check whether each side can stand alone as a sentence.
- Hint 2
After the semicolon, look at the words around the blank. How does the transition connect to the words that follow?
Step-by-step
Cover, split, and set off the transition
Step 1Find the sentence break
Cover the blank and ask: can each side of the semicolon stand alone? Beekeepers wear protective clothing and smoke their hives to calm the insects gives a complete thought, and so does they sometimes get stung while collecting honey. The semicolon already joins two full sentences, so we're choosing punctuation for the transition rather than another sentence break.
- Step 2
Place the transition by meaning
How do the two ideas connect? The beekeepers wear protective clothing and use smoke to calm the insects, but they sometimes get stung anyway. Nevertheless means despite that, so it shows that they get stung despite trying to protect themselves. The transition belongs at the start of the second sentence, immediately after the semicolon.
- Step 3
Set off the opening transition
Which mark sets off a transition at the start of a sentence? A comma follows the opening transition, separating it from the rest of that sentence. The choice nevertheless, puts that comma before they sometimes get stung while collecting honey, so the linking word is set off. Choice D.