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CAHSEE ELA 1.5 Writing Revision 213 Views


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CAHSEE ELA: Writing Revision Drill 1, Problem 5. How should this sentence be changed, if at all?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the Great Depression. Treatable with a

00:08

prescription of the Great Cymbalta.

00:17

What is the BEST way to revise the underlined part of sentence 3?

00:27

Something definitely seems a little wonky about sentence three, so we'll break out our

00:31

grammar toolbox to figure out what it is.

00:33

Answer (B) is the most obviously wrong. We know we're never suppose to start a sentence

00:37

with a conjunction like "and."

00:39

So we take (B) out of consideration.

00:41

But what about choice (C)?

00:43

Nah, this one is undeniably wrong because it uses a semicolon incorrectly.

00:48

Semicolons can only be used to connect two independent clauses--independent clauses being

00:52

ones that could stand alone as their own sentences.

00:55

"And a crafty wheeler and dealer who knew how to pull the strings of Washington politics,"

01:00

wouldn't make sense on its own, since it has no predicate.

01:03

Therefore we can nix choice (C) for sure.

01:05

Choice (A) looks pretty good to us. "Who inspired millions with his words" is what's called

01:10

an "appositive phrase."

01:14

This means it's a phrase that isn't absolutely necessary to the understanding of the sentence

01:18

as a whole, so it should be surrounded by commas.

01:21

(A) is the correct answer.

01:23

By the way, if you ever find YOURSELF surrounded by commas... may the Lord have mercy on your soul...

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