In 2010, archaeologist Noel Hidalgo Tan was visiting the twelfth-century temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia when he noticed
markings of red paint on the temple ______ the help of digital imaging techniques, he discovered the markings to be part of
an elaborate mural containing over 200 paintings.
walls, with
walls with
walls so with
walls. With
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between sentences. In this choice, the period
after “walls” is used correctly to mark the boundary between the ﬁrst sentence (“In...walls”) and the second sentence (“With…
techniques”), which starts with a supplementary phrase.
Choice A 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 B is incorrect because it results in a run-on sentence. The sentences (“In...walls” and
“with...paintings”) are fused without punctuation and/or a conjunction. Choice C is incorrect. Without a comma preceding it,
the conjunction “so” can’t be used in this way to join sentences.