The following passage is from a novel written in the 19th century. The novel is a first-person account of a woman’s journey through the American West. The passage is written in a formal, literary style, and the speaker reflects on the difficulties of travel and the beauty of the natural world. The speaker is traveling alone, and she has come to a high point overlooking a vast expanse of prairie. "I saw a hawk circling high above the plains. It's wings beat the air in a slow, graceful rhythm. I’ve seen many hawks in my travels, but never one as large, nor as majestic. "It had a fierce beauty, a wildness that captivated me."
Which of the following revisions of the underlined portion would most effectively correct the grammatical error in the sentence?
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The original sentence uses a comma splice, which is a grammatical error. A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined together with only a comma. To correct this error, we can either add a coordinating conjunction, such as “and” or “but,” or we can replace the comma with a semicolon or a period. In this case, the most effective revision is to replace the comma with a semicolon, and to change the word “as” to the word “so.” This creates a more formal and elegant sentence. The use of the word “so” also helps to emphasize the contrast between the speaker’s previous experiences with hawks and her current experience. The other choices are incorrect because they do not correct the grammatical error in the sentence. Choice A simply repeats the original error. Choice B uses the incorrect conjunction “or” instead of “and.” Choice C uses the incorrect word “so” instead of “so.”
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