16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsVery hardColon before a list with internal semicolons

Standard English Conventions practice question

The archive holds three kinds of ____ letters, which are catalogued by writer; ledgers, which are catalogued by year; and maps, which are not catalogued at all.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. A. document:Correct
  2. B. document;
  3. C. document,
  4. D. document

Answer: A. document:

A colon introduces the list, whose items are separated by semicolons.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. document;
A semicolon would make the first kind look like another item.
C. document,
A comma cannot introduce a list punctuated with semicolons.
D. document
Nothing marks where the list begins.

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