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Difficulty: Very hardPunctuation of Nonessential Elements

Although the nineteenth-century poet Emily Dickinson published fewer than a dozen poems during her lifetime, her posthumously recovered manuscript books ______ contain nearly 1,800 closely guarded works that challenge the period’s conventional poetic forms. Today, literary scholars analyze these handmade booklets to understand Dickinson's intentional thematic ordering and punctuation choices.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. —which she referred to as fascicles—Answer
  2. B
    , which she referred to as fascicles—
  3. C
    —which she referred to as fascicles,
  4. D
    which she referred to as fascicles—

Answer

—which she referred to as fascicles—
The sentence contains a nonessential relative clause ('which she referred to as fascicles') that provides extra information about Dickinson's manuscript books. To conform to Standard English conventions, nonessential elements must be set off from the rest of the sentence by matching punctuation marks: either two commas, two parentheses, or two em dashes. The option that begins and ends the clause with em dashes correctly isolates the nonessential clause. The options that pair a comma with an em dash, pair an em dash with a comma, or omit the opening punctuation mark are incorrect because they create asymmetrical punctuation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the nonessential element in the sentence.
The clause 'which she referred to as fascicles' is nonessential because it provides supplementary information about the 'manuscript books' without restricting the identity of the noun it modifies.
Nonessential elements must be identified so that they can be set off from the main clause with appropriate punctuation.
2
Determine the required punctuation pattern to set off the nonessential clause.
The punctuation marks setting off a nonessential element must be symmetrical—either a pair of commas, a pair of em dashes, or a pair of parentheses.
Standard English conventions require that the opening and closing punctuation marks for parenthetical or nonessential information match.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one that maintains symmetrical punctuation.
Only the option using an em dash at both the beginning and the end of the clause provides symmetrical punctuation. The other options combine different punctuation marks or omit the opening mark, creating asymmetrical constructions.
Ensuring symmetry in punctuation is necessary to follow standard grammatical conventions.

Key Concept

Symmetrical punctuation of nonessential elements using matching punctuation marks.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Punctuation of Nonessential Elements

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