Question 51·Hard·Boundaries
Historians generally agree that the printer Elizabeth Glover played a crucial role in early American ______ within a year of arriving in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, she established the first printing press in British North America.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For punctuation/boundary questions, first test whether the words before and after the blank are complete sentences or fragments. Then decide the logical relationship: explanation, contrast, list, or simple continuation. Use that diagnosis to match punctuation: commas can’t join two full sentences by themselves; semicolons join related independent clauses; colons follow a complete sentence and introduce an explanation, example, or list; dashes add an interrupting or emphatic idea. Quickly eliminate any choice that creates a comma splice or doesn’t fit the meaning relationship the sentence sets up.
Hints
Check if both sides are complete sentences
Cover the words after the blank and see if the part before it can stand alone as a complete sentence. Then check whether the part after the blank is also a complete sentence.
Ask how the second part relates to the first
Does the part after the blank give a new, unrelated idea, or does it explain or give an example of the idea that she played a crucial role?
Match the relationship to punctuation rules
Think about which punctuation mark is normally used to introduce an explanation after a complete sentence, and which marks are not allowed to join two complete sentences on their own.
Eliminate clearly incorrect punctuation
Which choice would create a run-on (comma splice) or a punctuation use that doesn’t quite fit formal, standard written English in this context?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure
Read the full sentence around the blank:
"Historians generally agree that the printer Elizabeth Glover played a crucial role in early American publishing ______ within a year of arriving in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, she established the first printing press in British North America."
The part before the blank ("Historians generally agree ... publishing") is a complete sentence. The part after the blank ("within a year ... she established ...") is also a complete sentence, starting with an introductory phrase.
Identify the logical relationship between the two clauses
Ask what the second clause is doing: it tells how she played a crucial role.
So the second clause is an explanation/example of the idea in the first clause, not a contrast or an unrelated statement.
Recall what each punctuation mark is normally used for
Here are the relevant rules:
- A comma cannot correctly join two complete sentences by itself; doing so creates a comma splice.
- A semicolon joins two closely related complete sentences but does not specifically signal that the second explains the first.
- A dash can set off an interruption or added information, often with a dramatic or informal tone.
- A colon comes after a complete sentence and introduces an explanation, example, or list that follows.
We need the mark that best connects two complete sentences where the second explains the first.
Choose the punctuation that best matches the grammar and meaning
Since both sides are complete sentences and the second one explains the first, the best choice is the punctuation mark that introduces an explanation following a complete thought.
That mark is the colon, so the correct answer is D) publishing:.