SAT Reading & Writing · Boundaries
The expedition's final report listed everything the team had recovered ______ mineral samples, photographs, and hand-drawn maps of the…
The expedition's final report listed everything the team had recovered ______ mineral samples, photographs, and hand-drawn maps of the cave system.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Answer and explanation
Answer: B: , namely,
"Namely, mineral samples, photographs, and hand-drawn maps of the cave system" adds a specifying list to the preceding statement without being essential to its core meaning, and a comma correctly introduces this kind of appositive elaboration when "namely" is used this way. A semicolon requires an independent clause on both sides, and the list following "namely" isn't one. A colon could work in some constructions but doesn't pair as conventionally with "namely" as a comma does when introducing a specifying list like this. No option without any punctuation at all was offered, but the "namely," construction itself signals that a preceding comma sets up the specification correctly.
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