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Question

Difficulty: MediumColons, Semicolons, and Dashes

Read the passage. Which punctuation mark (colon, semicolon, or dash) should be placed in the blank to properly connect the clauses according to the conventions of Standard English?

Answer:Although celestial displays of light can occur at both poles, they are distinct geographical phenomena. In the high-latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere, the colorful display known as the aurora borealis is caused by the collision of charged solar particles with gases in Earth's atmosphere【;】 in the Southern Hemisphere, a nearly identical phenomenon occurs under the name aurora australis.

Answer

A semicolon (;) is the correct punctuation mark to connect the two independent clauses.
A semicolon (;) is the correct punctuation mark to connect the two independent clauses. The clause preceding the blank ('In the high-latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere, the colorful display known as the aurora borealis is caused by the collision of charged solar particles with gases in Earth's atmosphere') and the clause following the blank ('in the Southern Hemisphere, a nearly identical phenomenon occurs under the name aurora australis') are both independent. Because they are closely related and not joined by a coordinating conjunction (like 'and' or 'but'), a semicolon is required to connect them grammatically.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the clause before the blank.
The clause 'In the high-latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere, the colorful display known as the aurora borealis is caused by the collision of charged solar particles with gases in Earth's atmosphere' is independent because it contains a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a complete sentence.
To determine correct punctuation, we must first establish whether the clauses are independent or dependent.
2
Analyze the clause after the blank.
The clause 'in the Southern Hemisphere, a nearly identical phenomenon occurs under the name aurora australis' is also independent because it contains a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a complete sentence.
Identifying the grammatical nature of the second clause tells us how they can be legally joined.
3
Select the appropriate punctuation mark to link the two independent clauses.
Since both clauses are independent and closely related, and there is no coordinating conjunction (such as 'and' or 'but'), a semicolon is the correct punctuation mark to join them without creating a run-on sentence or a comma splice.
Standard English conventions require a semicolon, a colon, or a period to join two independent clauses when no coordinating conjunction is present. A semicolon is appropriate here because the second clause provides a closely related, parallel point.

Key Concept

Using a semicolon to link two independent clauses
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Topics

Colons, Semicolons, and Dashes

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