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Difficulty: EasyEstablishing Introductions and Thesis Statements

Consider the following paragraph:

[1] __________________________________________________ Before its development, early bicycles like the 'penny-farthing' featured a massive front wheel and a tiny rear wheel, making them extremely difficult to mount and prone to dangerous forward crashes. In 1885, John Kemp Starley introduced the safety bicycle, which featured two wheels of equal size, a chain drive, and a steerable front wheel. This new design made bicycling accessible and safe for the general public, triggering a cycling craze in the late nineteenth century.

The writer wants to begin the paragraph with a sentence that establishes the main topic. Which of the following choices best accomplishes this goal?

  1. A
    Because John Kemp Starley wanted to design a vehicle that would be accessible and safe for everyone.
  2. B
    Although early high-wheel bicycles were popular; they were incredibly dangerous and difficult for most people to ride.
  3. The development of the safety bicycle transformed personal transport by offering a much safer alternative to early, unstable bicycle designs.Answer
  4. D
    The safety bicycle, with its equal-sized wheels and chain drive, were a major improvement over the penny-farthing.

Answer

The development of the safety bicycle transformed personal transport by offering a much safer alternative to early, unstable bicycle designs.
The correct option introducing the safety bicycle as a safer alternative to early designs is grammatically correct and establishes the topic of the paragraph. It provides a logical antecedent for the pronoun 'its' in the subsequent sentence ('Before its development...').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the purpose of the sentence to be inserted in the blank.
The sentence must introduce the paragraph's main focus (the transition from early dangerous bicycles to the safety bicycle) and provide a proper grammatical transition to the next sentence.
The writer wants to establish the topic and introduce the paragraph effectively.
2
Evaluate the grammatical correctness of each option.
Three options contain clear grammatical errors: one is a sentence fragment, one has a semicolon error, and one has a subject-verb agreement error. Only one option is grammatically correct.
Standard English conventions must be followed on the ACT.
3
Confirm that the grammatically correct option fits the topic development goal.
The option describing the development of the safety bicycle as a safer alternative to early designs introduces the paragraph's subject and sets up the pronoun reference 'its' in the next sentence.
This ensures logical coherence and topic development.

Key Concept

Establishing paragraph introductions and thesis statements while maintaining grammatical correctness.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Establishing Introductions and Thesis Statements

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