GED Language Arts (RLA) : Punctuation
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Example Question #1 : Other Punctuation
In this popular car ad a pony stands against a rural prairie backdrop. He is flashing a set of gold teeth. Dark, clouds overhead indicate the arrival of a rainstorm. In the top right hand corner of the ad, the tagline reads: “Now in the Prairies. The urban-inspired, 2009 Forota Hattrick.” Created for the Canadian Prairie Forota Dealers organization by an advertising firm; this ad is one in a series of three, each of which feature farm animals sporting so-called “urban-inspired” accessories: a pony with a grill, a sheep with an afro pick, and a cow with a Band-Aid under his left eye (reminiscent of the one once regularly worn by rapper Nelly).
The urban pony ad has a dark color scheme that is more muted then saturated. The dark background emphasizes the sparkle bouncing off the pony’s grill. There’s also a strong contrast between the images’ foreground and background. While the environment is hazy and its details soft, the pony is seen up close, a bright light source illuminating texture in the individual strands of its hair and the indentations in its gold teeth. Overall, the image of the pony is highly stylized—particularly in contrast—with its visually subdued surroundings. The pony’s aestheticized or artificial qualities being at odds with its rural environment.
On the other hand, there are also visual cues indicating affinity between the animal and its surroundings. For example, the shape of its teeth are echoed in a faint yellow rectangular shape floating in the sky. The pattern of shadow and light mottling the pony’s cheek bones also mimics the pattern of dark and light in the gathering storm clouds. This might suggest that the animal is being allies with its natural, prairie setting. The storm, however, contains its own ambiguity: though it is a part of nature, it can also be read as foreboding symbol signally the arrival of the urban-inspired car. These visual details serve to simultaneously place the pony within and alienate it from its surroundings.
Select the answer that best corrects the underlined sentence.
The storm, however, contains its own ambiguity: though it is a part of nature, it can also be read as foreboding symbol signally the arrival of the urban, inspired car.
The sentence contains no error.
The storm, however, contains its own ambiguity: though it is a part of nature, it can also be read, as foreboding symbol signally the arrival of the urban-inspired car.
The storm, however, contains its own ambiguity: though it is a part of nature it can also be read as foreboding symbol signally the arrival of the urban inspired car.
The storm, however, contains its own ambiguity: though it is a part, of nature, it can also be read as foreboding symbol signally the arrival of the urban-inspired car.
The sentence contains no error.
All of the answers in which the punctuation is changed adds an error to the sentence that was not previously there. Students might be tempted to select the option that separates "urban" and "inspired" with commas. However, urban-inspired is hyphenated because it functions as a single modifier for "car." The car is not separately urban and inspired.
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