Question 112·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Standard English Conventions
Mycologist Nan Shi meticulously catalogs each fungal specimen she encounters on her month-long expeditions, noting spore size, metabolic by-products, and DNA _____ painstaking recordkeeping, she argues, will allow future researchers to trace how climate change alters underground networks.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
On boundary questions, first verify whether each side of the blank is an independent clause. Then determine the relationship (explanation, contrast, addition). Choose punctuation that is both grammatically valid for the structure and best signals that relationship. Beware of comma splices (comma between two independent clauses) and punctuation that creates faulty structures (e.g., semicolon before a dependent clause).
Hints
Check independence
Verify whether the words before and after the blank can each stand alone as a sentence.
Decide the relationship
Is the second part explaining, contrasting, or merely adding another action? Here, it explains the purpose/result of the first.
Choose punctuation that fits
Pick punctuation that both correctly handles the clause structure and signals an explanation/result. Watch out for comma splices and capitalization issues.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify clause structure on both sides of the blank
Before the blank, the main clause is complete: "Mycologist Nan Shi meticulously catalogs each fungal specimen she encounters on her month-long expeditions," followed by the participial phrase "noting spore size, metabolic by-products, and DNA barcodes." After the blank, we have another independent clause: "this painstaking recordkeeping, she argues, will allow future researchers to trace how climate change alters underground networks."
Determine the logical relationship
The second clause explains the purpose/result of the first: keeping detailed records will enable future researchers to track climate-driven changes.
Match punctuation to structure and meaning
Because the first part is a complete clause and the next part explains its purpose/result, the punctuation should (1) correctly separate two independent clauses and (2) clearly signal that what follows is an explanation or outcome. Eliminate choices that create comma splices, faulty clause structures, or capitalization errors.
Evaluate each answer choice
- barcodes: this — Correct. A colon after a complete clause properly introduces an explanation/result clause.
- barcodes, this — Incorrect. This creates a comma splice by attempting to join two independent clauses with only a comma.
- barcodes; since this — Incorrect. A semicolon must be followed by an independent clause; "since this..." is a dependent clause, so the structure is faulty.
- barcodes. this — Incorrect. A period would require capitalizing the next word; the lowercase "this" yields a capitalization error.