Question 75·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Standard English Conventions
Because the mathematician Emmy Noether’s contributions were so influential, a 1930 tribute in Nature described her algebraic theories as “revolutionary”; yet for decades many universities were hesitant to hire ______ lingering prejudice against female scholars.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For punctuation and sentence-boundary questions, always first identify whether the text before and after the punctuation is a complete sentence or just a phrase. Then recall the core rules: semicolons join two complete sentences; colons follow a complete sentence and introduce an explanation, list, or example; commas cannot simply glue together sentences or tack on unrelated phrases; conjunctions like "because" must be followed by a grammatically complete structure. Plug in each choice, check for clause completeness and clarity of meaning, and eliminate any option that breaks a rule or makes the sentence sound awkward or incomplete.
Hints
Identify the meaning connection
Ask yourself: What is the relationship between "were hesitant to hire her" and "lingering prejudice against female scholars"? Is the second part giving a result, contrast, list, or explanation?
Check clause completeness
Look at the words before the blank and the words after the blank. Is the part before the blank a complete sentence by itself? Is the part after the blank a complete sentence or just a phrase?
Match punctuation to structure
Think about how colons, semicolons, and commas are normally used: which one can connect a complete sentence to a following phrase that explains the reason? Also, consider whether "because" is being used in a grammatically complete way.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure and meaning
Read the sentence without the blank:
"Because the mathematician Emmy Noether’s contributions were so influential, a 1930 tribute in Nature described her algebraic theories as 'revolutionary'; yet for decades many universities were hesitant to hire ______ lingering prejudice against female scholars."
The meaning is: even though her work was revolutionary, many universities were still slow to hire her because of ongoing prejudice against female scholars. So the blank must smoothly link "hire her" with the explanation "lingering prejudice against female scholars."
Check what comes before and after the blank
Imagine the word her is there and focus on structure:
- Before the blank: "yet for decades many universities were hesitant to hire her" — this is a complete sentence (independent clause).
- After the blank: "lingering prejudice against female scholars" — this is not a complete sentence (it has no verb); it’s a phrase explaining the reason.
So the punctuation must connect a full sentence to an explanatory phrase that follows.
Recall punctuation rules for this situation
Key rules you need here:
- A semicolon (;) joins two independent clauses (two complete sentences).
- A colon (:) follows an independent clause and introduces an explanation, example, or detail. What follows the colon does not have to be a complete sentence.
- A comma (,) cannot simply attach a random phrase at the end unless the phrase clearly and correctly functions as an appositive or modifier.
- Because must be followed by a clause ("because she was...") or "because of" plus a noun phrase ("because of lingering prejudice"). "Because" alone directly before a noun phrase is ungrammatical in formal English.
Now, you’ll test each answer choice against these rules.
Evaluate each answer choice and choose the one that fits the rules
Try each option in the sentence:
- A) her because lingering prejudice → "were hesitant to hire her because lingering prejudice against female scholars" is missing "of" (it should be "because of lingering prejudice"), so it is grammatically incorrect.
- B) her, lingering prejudice → This creates "were hesitant to hire her, lingering prejudice against female scholars," which wrongly tacks on a noun phrase with just a comma; it does not clearly show that "lingering prejudice" is the reason for the hesitation.
- C) her; lingering prejudice → A semicolon must be followed by a complete sentence, but "lingering prejudice against female scholars" is only a phrase, not an independent clause.
- D) her: lingering prejudice → "were hesitant to hire her" is a full sentence, and the colon correctly introduces the explanation "lingering prejudice against female scholars."
Therefore, the choice that follows standard English conventions and clearly shows the relationship is D) her: lingering prejudice.