A punctuation question with a term after the blank tests how that term connects to the opening. First, test whether the opening can stand alone, then look after the blank for a main verb, which says what someone or something does or is. A colon introduces an explanation after a full sentence; a semicolon joins two full sentences. Commas can set off added details. Read to the end, because verbs inside descriptions may not make the whole group a sentence.
Hints
- Hint 1
With the shared word filled in, read the opening on its own. Does it say who did something and what the panel focused on?
- Hint 2
After the blank, look for a verb that makes a full statement about the term. Do the words about translation and happiness provide one, or do they describe the term?
- Hint 3
How do the words after the blank relate to what the panel focused on? Decide whether they name it, add a separate detail, or start a new statement.
Step-by-step
Test the opening and the explanation
Step 1Test the words before the mark
Read The conference panel focused on the following, using the word all the choices share. We need punctuation that connects this opening to the words after it, so first ask: can it stand alone? Yes, because it says what the panel did and what it focused on. The opening is a full sentence, even though the following makes us expect more detail.
- Step 2
Read through the descriptions
Does the whole group after the blank make another full sentence? Let's read past the term and its translation rather than stop at the first comma. The words often translated as "human flourishing," describe the term; translated would need another verb, such as is, to make a full statement here. In a term that encompasses far more than mere happiness, the verb belongs to the description starting with that. The whole group still has no main verb saying what the term does or is, so the words after the blank can't stand alone as a sentence.
- Step 3
Introduce the promised term
What is this group doing, then? It gives the term promised by the following, so we need punctuation that can introduce that explanation without needing a full sentence after it. A colon introduces an explanation after a full sentence, and the explanation itself doesn't have to stand alone. The version following: introduces eudaimonia with its translation and description as the promised explanation. Choice B.