Question in-195
In 1959, the film industry debuted Smell-O-Vision. Theaters were fitted with specialized vents that emitted odors at specific points in a blank as the scent of roses when roses appeared in a scene. Smell-O-Vision failed to impress, however, with one reviewer declaring it “briefly weird and not very interesting.”
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
movie such
movie; such
movie. Such
movie, such
In 1959, the film industry debuted Smell-O-Vision. Theaters were fitted with specialized vents that emitted odors
Medium-difficulty · SAT Reading & Writing · Boundaries — Parenthetical punctuation: commas, dashes, parentheses. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice D is the best answer. The comma appropriately separates the nonessential descriptive aside "such as…scene" from the independent clause "Theaters were…movie." Since the descriptive example of roses isn’t necessary for the sentence to function, it needs to be set off with punctuation.
Choice A is incorrect. This choice results in a run-on sentence. Since the example of roses isn’t necessary for the sentence to function, the descriptive aside "such as…scene" needs to be separated from the preceding independent clause with some sort of punctuation. Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a punctuation error. A semicolon can only be used to separate two independent clauses, but "such…scene" is not an independent clause and couldn’t stand on its own as a sentence. Choice C is incorrect. This choice results in a sentence fragment. The descriptive aside "Such…scene" is not an independent clause and can’t stand on its own as a sentence.
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