Reading and Writing: Standard English Conventions
SAT Question of the Day for November 4, 2026
The ceramicist Jun Hayashi, whose wood-fired kiln operates at temperatures exceeding 1,300 ______ routinely achieves a glaze effect that most potters consider nearly impossible to replicate outside of controlled laboratory conditions.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.degrees; routinely
- B.degrees routinely
- C.degrees, routinelyCorrect answer
- D.degrees. Routinely
Explanation
The sentence's main clause is "The ceramicist Jun Hayashi...routinely achieves a glaze effect," with the nonrestrictive clause "whose wood-fired kiln operates at temperatures exceeding 1,300 degrees" set off by commas as a parenthetical. A closing comma after "degrees" is needed to mark the end of this nonrestrictive clause and return to the main clause. "degrees, routinely" correctly provides this closing comma. "degrees; routinely" incorrectly inserts a semicolon in the middle of the main clause, severing the subject from its verb. "degrees. Routinely" places a period that splits the subject ("Jun Hayashi") from its predicate ("routinely achieves"), creating an incomplete sentence before the period and a fragment after it. "degrees routinely" omits the closing comma needed to end the nonrestrictive clause, making the sentence difficult to parse and grammatically incorrect.
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