114. Which of the following sentences best corrects a usage error in the student's writing?
Answer: B
He led us through the wilderness; it was fun and exciting.
Option B provides a corrected structure by using a semicolon to connect two independent clauses effectively, thereby eliminating the run-on sentence error present in the original writing.
A) The trail leader planned out our weekend hike, he led us through the wilderness.
Option A contains a comma splice, which incorrectly joins two independent clauses with just a comma. This structure fails to follow proper punctuation rules and creates confusion in the sentence.
B) He led us through the wilderness; it was fun and exciting.
This option is correct as it uses a semicolon to separate two closely related independent clauses. This punctuation choice clarifies the relationship between the two ideas, enhancing the readability and coherence of the sentence.
C) We made it through the hike without any problems, it was fun and exciting!
Option C also suffers from a comma splice, improperly joining two independent clauses with a comma. The exclamation point does not rectify the grammatical error, and the sentence lacks the necessary punctuation to convey the intended meaning effectively.
D) I hope to hike again really soon.
While Option D is a grammatically correct sentence, it does not address the usage error present in the student's original writing. This option does not provide a revision of the initial sentence and is therefore irrelevant to the question.
Conclusion
Option B is definitively the best choice as it correctly addresses the usage error by employing a semicolon to connect two independent clauses. All other options either contain punctuation errors or do not relate to the original sentence's context, thus failing to provide an appropriate correction.