A punctuation question with opening descriptions tests where extra words end and the main sentence begins. Read past the blank to find who does what, then cross out the description to check that the sentence still works. An extra description at the start takes one comma at its end; in the middle, it needs a comma at both ends. Check which words belong together, because a comma between them must have a separate job.
Hints
- Hint 1
Read the words after the blank. Who does the work, and which word tells you what they do?
- Hint 2
Cross out the description added in the blank. Does the sentence still work, and what does that tell you about the added words?
- Hint 3
Look at the two words shared by every choice, and decide how they fit together. Then find where their description ends and the main sentence begins.
Step-by-step
Find the description's end
Step 1Find the main sentence
Read past the blank to the team cataloged each artifact, since the punctuation has to connect the opening words to what follows. Who does what here? The team is the subject, meaning who the sentence is about, and cataloged is the main verb, which tells what they did. These words can stand alone, so the blank comes before a complete sentence, not between its subject and verb.
- Step 2
Test the added description
The comma in Under the oppressive heat and humidity of the tropical afternoon, ends the phrase, a group of words about the setting. Does it also finish the description added in the blank? No, because those words come after it and need their own ending. Working describes the team, and meticulously is an adverb, a word that tells how they're working, so the two words make one opening description. Cross out those words, and the sentence still works; there's no separate aside within them to set off with another comma.
- Step 3
Place the comma at the end
Where does that opening description end? It ends before the team, where the main sentence begins. An extra description at the start takes one comma at its end, so the comma goes after meticulously, not between it and working. The version working meticulously, puts the break at the end of the whole phrase. Choice B.