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Difficulty: MediumRun-on Sentences and Comma Splices

The following passage is an excerpt from an article about behavioral psychology.

The spotlight effect is a psychological phenomenon in which people tend to believe they are being noticed more than they actually are. During social interactions, individuals often overestimate the prominence of their mistakes or appearance, they assume that everyone's attention is focused on them. In reality, most people are focused on their own anxieties and pay very little attention to the minor flaws of others.

Which of the following options is the best replacement for the underlined portion to ensure the sentence is grammatically correct?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. appearance; they assume that everyone's attention is focused on themAnswer
  3. C
    appearance; because they assume that everyone's attention is focused on them
  4. D
    appearance, they assume, that everyone's attention is focused on them

Answer

The correct option is 'appearance; they assume that everyone's attention is focused on them' because it uses a semicolon to correctly separate two independent clauses, resolving the comma splice error.
The correct option resolves the comma splice by replacing the comma with a semicolon. A semicolon is the appropriate punctuation mark to join two independent clauses ('During social interactions, individuals often overestimate the prominence of their mistakes or appearance' and 'they assume that everyone's attention is focused on them') without a coordinating conjunction.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structure of the original sentence to identify the clause types.
The sentence consists of two independent clauses: 'During social interactions, individuals often overestimate the prominence of their mistakes or appearance' and 'they assume that everyone's attention is focused on them'.
Identifying the clause boundaries and types is necessary to determine the correct punctuation and conjunction requirements.
2
Evaluate the relationship and punctuation between the two clauses.
The clauses are joined by only a comma, which creates a comma splice.
Two independent clauses cannot be joined by a comma alone; they require a semicolon, a period, or a comma with a coordinating conjunction.
3
Compare the options to find the one that correctly resolves the comma splice without creating new errors.
The option using a semicolon to separate the two independent clauses is grammatically correct, whereas the others either retain the comma splice, create a fragment, or introduce incorrect comma placement.
A semicolon is a standard and grammatically correct way to join two closely related independent clauses.

Key Concept

Connecting Independent Clauses and Avoiding Comma Splices
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Topics

Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices

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