Point 6 — Semicolons
Options offering: period / colon / comma + FANBOYS; a lone comma; no punctuation; a semicolon.
Semicolons have two jobs on the SAT:
- Separating two ICs where there is no complex list — here period = semicolon.
- Separating items in a complex list (items that already contain commas) — here period ≠ semicolon.
When a semicolon is already doing list duty in the sentence, use a period — not another semicolon — to separate the ICs.
Stub error: both a period and a semicolon can look correct until you check whether a complex list is already using semicolons.
Question 1 of 4
Today, the Prix Goncourt is widely celebrated as France’s most distinguished literary honor, but when it was first awarded in 1903, it was a modest gesture. The Académie Goncourt sought to elevate forgotten voices by encouraging readers to seek out overlooked writers across France, following the prize’s recommended titles of literary fiction and essay collections along the ______ as it gained cultural weight, the prize began showcasing authors from across the Francophone world, including Mohamed Mbougar Sarr from Senegal and Mathias Énard from France.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?