Victory for the ACT Student Text 15e

36 • E NGLISH

LESSON 3 Punctuation

The items in this section accompany the in-class review of the punctuation skills and concepts tested by the ACT English Test. You will work through the items with your instructor in class. Answers are on page 429. DIRECTIONS: For items #1–34, identify the re-phrasing that best expresses the meaning of the underlined material. The answer choice “NO CHANGE” indicates that the underlined material is correct as written.

COMMAS

1. I think that Doré’s illustrations of Dante’s Divine Comedy are excellent; but my favorite drawing is “Don Quixote in His Library.” A. NO CHANGE B. are excellent, but my favorite drawing is “Don Quixote in His Library.” C. are excellent in that my favorite drawing is “Don Quixote in His Library.” D. are excellent even though “Don Quixote in His Library” is my favorite drawing. 2. Practically all nitrates are crystalline and readily soluble, and they are characterized by marked decrepitation when heated on charcoals by a blowpipe. F. NO CHANGE G. crystalline and readily soluble and H. crystalline, and readily soluble, and J. crystalline and readily soluble and,

The door was ajar and the house had been ransacked, but it did not seem as though any of his possessions were missing. A. NO CHANGE B. was ajar and the house, had been ransacked, but C. was ajar, and the house had been ransacked but D. was ajar, the house had been ransacked but Since many diseases and insects cause serious damage to crops, special national legislation has been passed to provide for the quarantine of imported plants. F. NO CHANGE G. crops; special H. crops. Special J. crops special

3.

Debrief Use a comma before coordinating conjunctions joining two independent clauses, unless the two clauses are very short.

4.