A punctuation question within a description tests whether a mark separates words that belong together. First, read the whole sentence and look for matching punctuation around extra information, including marks already printed. Then look at the words on each side of the blank and ask what each part does. No mark separates a verb from words needed to complete its meaning, except paired marks around extra information. A pause alone never calls for punctuation.
Hints
- Hint 1
Look for where the nickname description starts and ends. Which commas already mark where it begins and ends?
- Hint 2
Ask how the title connects to the word that introduces it. Does it complete that word's meaning or form a separate aside?
Step-by-step
Keep the naming word with the name
Step 1Find the existing comma pair
Start with Marine biologist Sylvia Earle, and read ahead to has spent thousands of hours. Earle is the subject, the person doing the exploring. The words after the second comma give the main verb. What do those commas surround? They set off extra information about Earle's nickname, which we could remove without losing the sentence about her ocean exploration. We're choosing punctuation inside that description, so the commas already there matter.
- Step 2
Find what the title completes
What do the words "Her Deepness" tell us within the description? They give the name Earle was called, while by her peers tells us who gave her that name. The title completes the naming verb's meaning, rather than adding a separate aside within the description. We can set off the whole description because the main sentence still works without it, but there's no reason to split the naming word from the name it introduces.
- Step 3
Choose the form without an inner break
No punctuation separates the naming verb from its title. The version with a comma splits those words, while the version with a dash and the version with an opening parenthesis start another aside without a matching closing mark. That leaves nicknamed, which joins directly to "Her Deepness" without adding an extra break between the naming word and the name. Choice C.