The ﬁrst computerized spreadsheet, Dan Bricklin’s VisiCalc, improved ﬁnancial recordkeeping not only by providing users
with an easy means of adjusting data in spreadsheets but also by automatically updating all calculations that were
dependent on these ______ to VisiCalc’s release, changing a paper spreadsheet often required redoing the entire sheet by
hand, a process that could take days.
adjustments prior
adjustments, prior
adjustments. Prior
adjustments and prior
Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between sentences. In this choice, the period is
used correctly to mark the boundary between the ﬁrst sentence (“The...adjustments”) and the second sentence
(“Prior...days”). Because the adverbial phrase beginning with “prior” indicates when changing a spreadsheet required redoing
the sheet by hand, that phrase belongs with the second sentence. 
Choice A is incorrect because it results in a run-on sentence. Two sentences are fused without punctuation and/or a
conjunction. Choice B is incorrect because it results in a comma splice. A comma can’t be used in this way to mark the
boundary between sentences. Choice D is incorrect. Without a comma preceding it, the conjunction “and” can’t be used in
this way to join the sentences.