In her analysis of Amina Dary's epistolary novel, critic Lena Cho observes that most of the letters reinforce the narrator's account. Only three letters finally expose inconsistencies in that _____ a voyage date that conflicts with the narrator's chronology, a key remark attributed to another speaker, and a meeting described despite the narrator's denial that it occurred.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For punctuation questions involving an interruption followed by a list, first remove the interruption and check whether the main clause is complete. Then determine what punctuation sets off the interruption and what punctuation expresses the relationship between the complete clause and the material that follows.
Hints
Remove the interruption
Temporarily omit “it should be noted” and determine whether the remaining statement before the examples is complete.
Classify the added clause
Decide whether “it should be noted” is essential to the sentence's basic meaning or is a supplementary comment.
Examine what follows
Consider how the three noun phrases after the blank relate to the statement that precedes them.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the main clause
The sentence remains complete if the supplementary comment and examples are removed: “Only three letters finally expose inconsistencies in that account.”
Set off the comment
The clause “it should be noted” is supplementary, so a comma is needed before it.
Introduce the explanatory list
The three noun phrases after the blank provide examples of the inconsistencies. Because this list follows a complete statement, a colon should introduce it.