A punctuation question with a who clause tests whether a detail says which person you mean or adds a fact about someone already identified. Read the words before the detail and ask, Does the sentence already say who? Then cross out the detail and check that the sentence still works and keeps the same person. Essential details take no commas, while extra details in the middle need matching marks at both ends. A mark on only one side leaves that pair unfinished.
Hints
- Hint 1
Read the words on either side of the blank and find Edith's verb. That will tell you where the detail about her ends.
- Hint 2
Look at whether the person is already identified when the who clause begins. Does the clause tell you which person is meant, or add a fact about that person?
- Hint 3
If you decide the clause is extra, check the marks at both ends. Does the mark that closes it match the one that opens it?
Step-by-step
Identify, cross out, and pair
Step 1Find where the detail ends
Read show that Edith through revised the novel's ending multiple times. Every choice completes Edith's name and adds a who clause, so we're deciding the marks around that detail. Where does it end? Edith's verb is revised; had not yet achieved belongs to who. The detail ends before revised, where the sentence returns to what Edith did.
- Step 2
Test whether the detail identifies her
Does the who clause tell us which person is meant? Edith Wharton's full name already identifies her, so who had not yet achieved literary fame adds a fact rather than picking one person from a group. Cross out that clause: Edith Wharton revised the novel's ending multiple times. The remaining sentence still identifies who revised the ending and says what she did, which means the clause is extra information. Since it interrupts the sentence, rather than starting or ending it, it needs punctuation at both ends.
- Step 3
Match the marks at both ends
Which marks can open and close this extra detail? They need to be the same kind of mark. The dash before who and comma after fame don't match, while the version with only a final comma has no opening comma. The version with no commas doesn't separate the extra clause from the rest of the sentence. The commas after Wharton and fame surround the detail, closing it before revised, where the sentence returns to what Edith did. Choice D.