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The first sentence of the passage is a run-on sentence. It does not have a proper punctuation mark at the end of the first clause. A comma should be added after "society" to separate the first clause from the second clause. The second clause needs a comma to separate the supplementary element from the rest of the sentence. The correct punctuation is as follows: "The societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire had a rich history, but the references to beliefs and customs in Spain should be attributed to a coincidental resemblance between the societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire."

SAT · English · previous-year question

  1. A.the societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire, but the references to beliefs and customs in Spain should be attributed to a coincidental resemblance between the societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire.correct
  2. B.the societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire; but the references to beliefs and customs in Spain should be attributed to a coincidental resemblance between the societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire.
  3. C.the societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire, but the references to beliefs and customs in Spain should be attributed to a coincidental resemblance between the societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire;
  4. D.the societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire, but the references to beliefs and customs in Spain should be attributed to a coincidental resemblance between the societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire—

Answer

A. the societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire, but the references to beliefs and customs in Spain should be attributed to a coincidental resemblance between the societies of Spain and the Aztec Empire.

Explanation

Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation between a main clause and a supplementary element within a sentence. The comma after "Empire" pairs with the comma after "Spain" to separate the supplementary element "but the references to beliefs and customs in Spain" from the rest of the sentence. This supplementary element functions to define the term "society," and the pair of commas indicates that this element could be removed without affecting the grammatical coherence of the sentence.

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