The correctly punctuated sentence is b. Three major cities -- Hartford, Bridgeport, and Stamford -- make up the crucial voting blocks of Connecticut.
Explanation:
An <u>em dash</u>, also called <u>long dash</u>, is used to mark off information or ideas that are not essential to undersand the rest of the sentence. They are used in pairs, surrounding the secondary information, in this case, <em>Hartford, Bridgeport, and Stamford.</em>
The correct answer is: [B]: ________________________________________________________ "Three major cities -- Hartford, Bridgeport, and Stamford -- make up the crucial voting blocks of Connecticut." _________________________________________________________
Paraphrasing is when you read someone's idea or concept from another source and then put it into your own words. It is perfectly acceptable to paraphrase another author's research IF you cite it and give them proper credit for their ideas--even if those ideas are now in your own words.