The passage below contains a blank indicating a missing punctuation mark. Read the passage and identify the punctuation mark that should fill the blank to correctly set off the nonessential element. What punctuation mark should be placed in the blank?
Answer:In his 1967 masterpiece *One Hundred Years of Solitude*, Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez introduced readers to the fictional town of Macondo. This setting, which was closely modeled on the author’s childhood home of Aracataca 【,】 served as a metaphorical microcosm of Latin American history. The novel’s success popularized the literary style known as magical realism.
Answer
A comma (,) must be placed in the blank to match the comma that opens the nonessential clause.
A comma is the correct punctuation mark because the nonessential relative clause 'which was closely modeled on the author’s childhood home of Aracataca' begins with a comma after the word 'setting'. To maintain grammatical symmetry, the clause must also end with a comma before the verb 'served'.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Punctuation of Nonessential Elements