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Difficulty: HardIllogical and Incomplete Comparisons

Identify the option that best replaces the underlined portion of the following sentence:

'The preservation techniques utilized by modern paleontologists when uncovering fragile avian fossils are far more sophisticated <u>than early fossil hunters, who</u> often damaged specimens during excavation.'

Which of the following options best replaces the underlined portion to ensure the sentence is logically and grammatically correct?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. than those of early fossil hunters, whoAnswer
  3. C
    than those of early fossil hunters, they
  4. D
    than the methods of early fossil hunters; who

Answer

the option that states 'than those of early fossil hunters, who'
The correct option replaces the underlined portion with a phrase that compares the plural noun 'preservation techniques' to 'those' (representing the techniques) of early fossil hunters, establishing a logical comparison. It also correctly uses a comma followed by the relative pronoun 'who' to introduce a dependent relative clause modifying the hunters.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the elements compared in the original sentence.
The sentence compares 'The preservation techniques utilized by modern paleontologists' to 'early fossil hunters'.
A logical comparison must compare items of the same category (e.g., techniques to techniques, not techniques to people).
2
Identify a plural pronoun reference to correct the illogical comparison.
Since 'preservation techniques' is plural, the pronoun 'those' must be used to refer back to it, resulting in the comparison 'than those of early fossil hunters'.
This establishes a parallel and logical comparison between modern techniques and historical techniques.
3
Evaluate the grammar of the rest of the clause.
The clause 'who often damaged specimens during excavation' is a relative dependent clause modifying the hunters, requiring a relative pronoun like 'who' preceded by a comma, not a personal pronoun (which creates a comma splice) or a semicolon (which creates a fragment).
Proper punctuation and clause joining prevent structural errors such as run-on sentences or fragments.

Key Concept

Illogical and Incomplete Comparisons
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Topics

Illogical and Incomplete Comparisons

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