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Question

Difficulty: MediumRun-on Sentences and Comma Splices

Consider the following passage:

Satellite remote sensing has transformed space archaeology by revealing ancient silk trade outposts buried beneath sand dunes in the Taklamakan Desert. High-resolution synthetic aperture radar can penetrate hyper-arid soils to outline subterranean mud-brick foundations. These structural outlines provide crucial spatial data, however, field archaeologists must still conduct physical excavations to recover artifacts and confirm site dates. Consequently, ground-validation expeditions remain essential to verifying orbital discoveries.

Which of the following choices best corrects the underlined portion below?

"These structural outlines provide crucial spatial data, however, field archaeologists must still conduct physical excavations"

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. These structural outlines provide crucial spatial data; however, field archaeologists must still conduct physical excavationsAnswer
  3. C
    These structural outlines providing crucial spatial data; however, field archaeologists must still conduct physical excavations
  4. D
    These structural outlines provide crucial spatial data, field archaeologists must still conduct physical excavations

Answer

The correct option is the phrasing that separates the two independent clauses with a semicolon before the conjunctive adverb 'however': "These structural outlines provide crucial spatial data; however, field archaeologists must still conduct physical excavations".
The correct answer fixes the run-on error by placing a semicolon before the conjunctive adverb 'however' and a comma after it. Because both "These structural outlines provide crucial spatial data" and "field archaeologists must still conduct physical excavations" are complete independent clauses, a semicolon is required to separate them when joined by a conjunctive adverb.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the clause structure on both sides of the transition word 'however'.
The clause before 'however' ("These structural outlines provide crucial spatial data") and the clause after 'however' ("field archaeologists must still conduct physical excavations") are both complete independent clauses capable of standing alone as sentences.
Determining clause types is necessary to select appropriate punctuation.
2
Evaluate the punctuation rules governing conjunctive adverbs between independent clauses.
Conjunctive adverbs such as 'however', 'therefore', and 'furthermore' cannot join two independent clauses with merely a comma; they require a semicolon preceding them (or a period starting a new sentence) and a comma following them.
Joining two independent clauses with only a comma and a conjunctive adverb produces a comma splice error.
3
Select the choice that correctly applies punctuation rules without introducing new grammatical errors.
The option using a semicolon before 'however' successfully separates the independent clauses while preserving grammatical completeness and clear logical flow.
This fixes the comma splice while maintaining the full independent clause structure on both sides.

Key Concept

Joining Independent Clauses with Conjunctive Adverbs
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Topics

Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices

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