Question 93·Hard·Boundaries
She finally assembled the material into a publicly accessible _____ nearly 2,000 digitized tracks, performers' biographies, and interactive maps that link each song to its place of origin.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For boundary questions, first determine whether the text before the blank is an independent clause. Then decide what the text after the blank is: another independent clause (use a semicolon or comma+coordinator) or a list/explanation of the first clause (use a colon). Read the full sentence to confirm the punctuation creates a standard, complete structure.
Hints
Is the first part a complete sentence?
Read everything before the blank with the word "archive" in place. Does it form a complete sentence on its own?
What is the function of the words after the blank?
Do the words after the blank form a full sentence, or are they a list of things related to the archive?
Match punctuation to purpose
Which punctuation mark is conventionally used to introduce a list after a complete sentence?
Step-by-step Explanation
Check the text before the blank
Read the sentence up to the blank: "She finally assembled the material into a publicly accessible archive". This is a complete independent clause (a complete sentence).
Identify what comes after the blank
The words after the blank—"nearly 2,000 digitized tracks, performers' biographies, and interactive maps..."—are not a complete sentence; they are a list of items that explains/elaborates on the archive.
Choose punctuation that introduces a list
A colon can follow a complete sentence to introduce a list that explains it. Therefore, the best completion is archive:.