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Difficulty: HardEliminating Redundancy

In laboratory settings, biologists have observed New Caledonian crows fashioning hooks from twigs, this tool-making ability, which represents a capacity to create tools, allows them to extract grubs from deep tree cavities.

Which choice most clearly and concisely replaces the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    this tool-making ability, which represents a capacity to create tools,
  2. whichAnswer
  3. C
    this tool-making ability, it
  4. D
    this ability. Which

Answer

The correct answer is the option that uses 'which' to create a clear, concise, and grammatically correct sentence without redundancy or punctuation errors.
The correct choice, 'which', is the most concise and grammatically correct option. It avoids the redundancy of repeating the concept of 'tool-making' and 'capacity to create tools' in the same sentence. It also resolves the comma splice by turning the second clause into a dependent relative clause that modifies the preceding action.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined portion for redundant phrasing.
The phrase 'this tool-making ability' and 'which represents a capacity to create tools' are redundant because they express the exact same concept.
ACT English requires the elimination of unnecessary words and redundant synonyms.
2
Check the grammatical relationship between the clauses.
The sentence begins with an independent clause. The underlined portion begins a new clause. Joining them with a comma creates a comma splice.
Two independent clauses cannot be joined with just a comma; a coordinating conjunction, a semicolon, or a restructuring to make one clause dependent is required.
3
Evaluate the remaining options for conciseness and correctness.
Replacing the underlined portion with the relative pronoun 'which' connects the clauses properly, removes all redundancy, and is the most concise solution.
Using 'which' turns the second part of the sentence into a dependent relative clause, resolving both the comma splice and the redundancy.

Key Concept

Eliminating Redundancy
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Topics

Eliminating Redundancy

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