Question

Difficulty: MediumPunctuation of Nonessential Elements

During the mid-twentieth century, aerospace engineer Mary Golda Ross worked on top-secret military projects at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. Ross ______ played a pivotal role in drafting design concepts for interplanetary space travel and the Agena rocket program. Her pioneering calculations helped shape the early American space program, though much of her research remains classified.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and grammatically correct punctuation?

  1. , the first known Native American female engineer,Answer
  2. B
    —the first known Native American female engineer,
  3. C
    , the first known Native American female engineer
  4. D
    the first known Native American female engineer,

Answer

The correct option is the one that sets off the nonessential appositive phrase with matching commas: ', the first known Native American female engineer,'
The sentence contains a nonessential appositive phrase, 'the first known Native American female engineer', which provides extra information about Mary Golda Ross. Nonessential elements must be set off from the rest of the sentence using matching punctuation marks at both the beginning and the end of the phrase. The correct choice uses a comma at both the beginning and the end of the appositive phrase, maintaining grammatical symmetry.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the nonessential element in the sentence.
The phrase 'the first known Native American female engineer' is an appositive that describes Mary Golda Ross but is not essential to the main grammatical structure of the sentence.
Recognizing nonessential elements is necessary to determine if and how they should be punctuated.
2
Determine the punctuation rule for nonessential elements.
Nonessential elements must be set off by matching punctuation marks—either a pair of commas, a pair of em dashes, or a pair of parentheses.
This establishes the grammatical requirement for symmetrical punctuation.
3
Evaluate the choices for punctuation symmetry.
Only the option starting and ending with a comma successfully isolates the nonessential clause with matching punctuation marks.
This identifies the correct choice and eliminates options that use mismatched or incomplete punctuation.

Key Concept

Punctuation of Nonessential Elements
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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