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ACT English: Punctuation Drill 3, Problem 4. Which choice best formats this list of items?
ACT English: Punctuation Drill 2, Problem 1. Which choice of punctuation best completes the sentence?
ACT English: Punctuation Drill 2, Problem 2. Where should the semi-colon be placed?
ACT English 1.1 Style 329 Views
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Description:
ACT English: Style Drill 1, Problem 1. Does the underlined portion match the style?
Transcript
- 00:03
Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the lost city of Atlantis. If found, please
- 00:08
return for one hundred dollar reward.
- 00:11
How would you correct the underlined portion below, if at all?
- 00:14
He could barely believe his eyes; he had found it at last. Right there in front of him stood
- 00:21
the lost city of Atlantis, the aquatic city of myth.
Full Transcript
- 00:33
The trick with the next section is making sure the underlined portion matches the general
- 00:38
style of the rest of the passage.
- 00:40
So the first thing to do is analyze the tone of everything that's not underlined. "The
- 00:45
aquatic city of myth" stands out as being slightly elevated.
- 00:48
Therefore, we'll punch the "penthouse" button and take that tone all the way to the top
- 00:53
floor.
- 00:55
We can eliminate choice (A) because "right there in front" is too casual to fit in with
- 00:58
the buttoned-up style of the rest of the passage.
- 01:01
Next time, maybe it should try wearing a suit.
- 01:03
Choice (B) might seem fancy enough to fit in here.
- 01:06
But the phrase "immediately present before him" is a phony.
- 01:09
Ultimately, it's redundant and convoluted because something that's "immediately present"
- 01:17
is obviously "before him."
- 01:19
It sounds like somebody trying to sound smart, but not quite pulling it off. We can show
- 01:23
choice (B) the door.
- 01:25
Now we're left with choices (C) and (D), which express the same basic idea.
- 01:29
Though either would work, (D) expresses the thought in a clearer and more concise way,
- 01:35
making it the best answer.
- 01:36
This question is now over, thank goodness. We can finally loosen our bow tie.
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ACT English: Punctuation Drill 3, Problem 4. Which choice best formats this list of items?