Question 81·Hard·Boundaries
Within the discipline of anthropology, the Kinship Studies ______ cohort established in 2010—focuses on integrating genetic data with traditional ethnography.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For boundaries questions, first remove any interrupting descriptive phrase to find the core subject–verb structure. Then check whether the removed words are nonessential (extra) and should be set off with paired punctuation. Finally, choose the option that both matches any existing closing punctuation and follows the rule for that mark (dashes/commas for nonessential interruptions; colon after a full clause for explanation; semicolon between two complete clauses).
Hints
Find the core sentence
Try reading the sentence while skipping over “a cohort established in 2010.” What are the main subject and verb?
Decide whether the middle phrase is extra information
Is “a cohort established in 2010” essential to identifying the Kinship Studies Group, or is it just additional detail?
Match the punctuation already present
There is already an em dash after “2010.” What punctuation before the phrase would correctly pair with that dash?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure
Read the sentence while focusing on the main clause:
“Within the discipline of anthropology, the Kinship Studies ______ cohort established in 2010—focuses on integrating genetic data with traditional ethnography.”
The phrase “a cohort established in 2010” describes the Kinship Studies Group; it is a nonessential (extra) description inserted into the main clause.
Identify the main clause and the interruption
The main clause should read smoothly as:
“Within the discipline of anthropology, the Kinship Studies Group focuses on integrating genetic data with traditional ethnography.”
So “a cohort established in 2010” interrupts the connection between the subject (“the Kinship Studies Group”) and the verb (“focuses”). Nonessential interruptions must be set off with matching punctuation (two commas, two parentheses, or two dashes). The sentence already has an em dash after “2010” to close the interruption.
Eliminate choices that don’t fit punctuation rules
- Group, a would create a comma on the left but an em dash on the right, so the punctuation would not match.
- Group: a would suggest that what follows is an explanation/list of the preceding clause, but what follows is just an inserted description.
- Group; a would suggest a break between two independent clauses, which is not the structure here.
Only the choice that opens a dash interruption will correctly pair with the existing closing dash.
Choose the option that creates a matching pair
Because the descriptive phrase is already closed with an em dash after “2010,” the blank must supply the opening em dash. The correct completion is:
“Within the discipline of anthropology, the Kinship Studies **Group—a cohort established in 2010—**focuses on integrating genetic data with traditional ethnography.”