Question 213·Hard·Boundaries
During the early 1930s, the Works Progress Administration provided funding for painters, sculptors, and ______ photographers—artists whose livelihoods had been jeopardized by the Great Depression—allowing them to continue their craft.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For punctuation-in-a-blank questions, first strip the sentence down to its core structure (especially lists and main clauses). Identify what the word or phrase in the blank is doing—modifier, noun, or clause—and remember that adjectives usually sit directly before their nouns without punctuation. Then evaluate each punctuation mark by its real grammatical job: colons need a full clause before them, dashes set off interruptions or explanations, and commas mark clear boundaries (like between list items or clauses), not between a single adjective and its noun. When in doubt, choose the least punctuation that keeps the structure clear and correct.
Hints
Look at the list items
Read the part "provided funding for painters, sculptors, and ______ photographers." What three types of artists are being listed, and how are they connected?
Consider how adjectives normally work
Think about how you usually describe a type of photographer (for example, "wildlife photographers"). Is there typically punctuation between the describing word and "photographers"?
Pay attention to the existing em dash
Notice there is already an em dash right after "photographers." What is that dash doing in the sentence, and does it affect whether you need more punctuation before the word "photographers"?
Test each punctuation mark logically
Ask yourself: Does a colon, dash, or comma make sense between a describing word and the noun it describes, especially inside a list and right before another em dash?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the basic structure of the sentence
Focus on the core list: the Works Progress Administration provided funding for painters, sculptors, and ___ photographers. The underlined part should complete this list so it stays parallel: three types of artists.
Decide what role the missing word plays
The missing word comes right before "photographers." That means it is describing the kind of photographers (their type), so it should work as an adjective directly modifying "photographers" (like "portrait photographers" or "nature photographers"). Normally, an adjective comes directly before its noun with no punctuation between them.
Notice the dashes already in the sentence
After "photographers" there is an em dash: "photographers—artists whose livelihoods had been jeopardized by the Great Depression—allowing them to continue their craft." That dash already begins a nonessential phrase that renames or explains "photographers." Because the dash is there, we do not need another colon, dash, or comma before "photographers."
Check why each punctuation mark would be wrong here
A colon (:) usually follows a full independent clause, which we do not have just before the blank. An em dash (—) would create two dashes in a row and wrongly break up the noun phrase. A comma (,) between an adjective and its noun would incorrectly separate them and disrupt the list. Therefore, the only correct option is the one that leaves "documentary" directly before "photographers" with no punctuation, so the answer is D) documentary.