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Question

Difficulty: MediumDashes

Read the passage below. The sentence contains a non-essential explanatory phrase set off by punctuation. Fill in the blank with the single punctuation mark that correctly completes the sentence and maintains punctuation consistency.

Answer:During the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, Emily Warren Roebling stepped in to manage the daily operations after her husband fell ill. For over a decade, she served as the chief liaison—communicating with engineers, monitoring materials, and managing political disputes【—】effectively directing one of the greatest engineering feats of the nineteenth century.

Answer

A dash is required to close the non-essential parenthetical phrase and match the opening dash.
The sentence includes a non-essential parenthetical phrase that clarifies the duties of the chief liaison. Because the author uses an em dash to introduce this parenthetical phrase after 'liaison,' consistency demands that the phrase be closed with another em dash before the main clause continues with 'effectively directing.'

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the parenthetical, non-essential phrase in the sentence.
The phrase 'communicating with engineers, monitoring materials, and managing political disputes' is non-essential because the sentence remains grammatically complete and retains its core meaning without it.
Non-essential elements must be set off from the rest of the sentence with consistent punctuation.
2
Identify the punctuation mark used to open the non-essential phrase.
An em dash is used immediately before the parenthetical phrase, following the word 'liaison'.
Standard punctuation rules require that the opening and closing punctuation marks enclosing a non-essential element must be of the same type.
3
Determine the matching closing punctuation mark for the blank.
Because the phrase is opened with a dash, it must be closed with a dash.
Mismatched punctuation, such as opening a parenthetical insert with a dash and closing it with a comma or parenthesis, is grammatically incorrect.

Key Concept

Dash Pair Consistency
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Dashes

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