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

Question

The first draft ran to four hundred pages ____ the final version, trimmed by a ruthless editor, was barely half that.

Accepted Answer

A. pages; the final. Both halves are complete sentences, and the second contains its own commas. A semicolon marks the boundary between them clearly.

Answer

B. pages, the final — A comma alone between two complete sentences is a splice — and here it would get lost among the other commas.

Answer

C. pages the final — Nothing at the boundary leaves the sentences run together.

Answer

D. pages: and the final — A colon could introduce the second clause on its own, but 'and' after it is not allowed.

Standard English Conventions practice question