Hegra is an archaeological site in present-day Saudi Arabia and was the second largest city of the Nabataean Kingdom
(fourth century BCE to ﬁrst century CE). Archaeologist Laila Nehmé recently traveled to Hegra to study its ancient ______ into
the rocky outcrops of a vast desert, these burial chambers seem to blend seamlessly with nature.
tombs. Built
tombs, built
tombs and built
tombs built
Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between sentences. In this choice, the period
after “tombs” is used correctly to mark the boundary between one sentence (“Archaeologist...tombs”) and another
(“Built...nature”).
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 C is incorrect. Without a comma preceding it, the conjunction “and” can’t be used in this way to join the
two sentences. Choice D is incorrect because it results in a run-on sentence. The sentences (“Archaeologist...tombs” and
“Built...nature”) are fused without punctuation and/or a conjunction.