Read the following sentence. The dance committee hung (the decorations)—blue and gold streamers—on the morning of prom. Which of
these correctly edits the sentence for punctuation mistakes? The dance committee hung the decorations—blue and gold streamers—on the morning of prom. The dance committee—hung the decorations, blue and gold streamers, on the morning of prom. The dance committee hung the decorations—blue and gold streamers, on the morning of prom. The dance committee, hung the decorations blue and gold streamers, on the morning of prom.
The correct answer is The dance committee hung the decorations—blue and gold streamers—on the morning of prom.
Explanation:
The original sentence is incorrect in terms of punctuation because an essential detail that belongs to the main sentence "the decorations" has been enclosed in parentheses. This is an incorrect use of the parentheses because these and the em dashes (—) enclose additional details. In this context, to correct the punctuation the parentheses should be omitted. On the other hand, the em dashes enclosing the detail "blue and gold streamers" are correct because this an additional non-essential detail.
