Question 226·Hard·Boundaries
Over the course of two decades, the investigative journalist visited overcrowded refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, and ______ compiled firsthand testimonies from displaced families; and published a series of award-winning reports exposing the roots of the crisis.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For boundaries questions, first identify the sentence structure (independent clauses vs. a list of items). If you have a series and any item contains internal commas, use semicolons to separate the main items. Finally, check for consistency with any punctuation already used to separate parallel items later in the sentence.
Hints
Identify what is being listed
Focus on the three main actions the journalist took. Where does each action begin (visited, compiled, published)?
Watch out for internal commas
The first action includes a comma-separated list of countries. When list items contain commas, what punctuation is typically used to separate the larger items in the series?
Use the existing punctuation as a clue
There is already a semicolon separating “displaced families” from “and published …”. The blank should use the same type of separator to keep the list parallel.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure
Read the whole sentence and identify the main verb phrases (actions):
- visited overcrowded refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, and Greece
- compiled firsthand testimonies from displaced families
- and published a series of award-winning reports exposing the roots of the crisis
These are three parallel actions done by the same subject, the investigative journalist.
Notice the internal commas and existing separator
The first action includes a list of countries with internal commas: Jordan, Lebanon, and Greece.
Also notice the punctuation already used between the second and third actions: after “displaced families” there is a semicolon, which separates items in this series of actions.
Decide what punctuation is needed at the blank
Because one item in the series already contains commas, using commas to separate the larger items would be confusing. Semicolons are the standard way to separate items in a list when the items themselves contain commas.
For consistency, the punctuation after the first action should match the semicolon already used after the second action.
Select the choice that correctly completes the sentence
The option that correctly finishes the country list and cleanly separates the first action from the second is Greece;.
Completed sentence:
Over the course of two decades, the investigative journalist visited overcrowded refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, and Greece; compiled firsthand testimonies from displaced families; and published a series of award-winning reports exposing the roots of the crisis.