In discussions of American labor history, the contributions of labor organizer Dolores Huerta remain foundational. A cofounder of the United...

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of this sentence. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentence as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

• In discussions of American labor history,
  • the contributions of labor organizer Dolores Huerta
    • remain foundational.

• A cofounder of the United Farm Workers union,
• a tireless advocate for immigrant rights,
• and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom,
  • [?]
    • transformed agricultural labor relations in the United States.

Understanding the Meaning

The first sentence gives us context:

• 'In discussions of American labor history, the contributions of labor organizer Dolores Huerta remain foundational.'
• This tells us we're talking about Dolores Huerta and her important contributions to labor history.

Now the second sentence starts with three descriptions:

• 'A cofounder of the United Farm Workers union'
• 'a tireless advocate for immigrant rights'
• 'and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom'

These are all describing someone - they're telling us about a person's accomplishments and roles.

This is where we have the blank.

Let's look at the choices:

• Choice A: "Huerta's activism, spanning more than six decades,"
• Choice B: "spanning more than six decades, Huerta's activism"
• Choice C: "the United Farm Workers union was established by Huerta, whose activism"
• Choice D: "Huerta, whose activism has spanned more than six decades,"

To see what works here, let's read the rest of the sentence and understand what it's saying!

The sentence ends with:

• "transformed agricultural labor relations in the United States."

So we have:

• Three phrases describing someone's accomplishments
• followed by the blank
• followed by "transformed agricultural labor relations"

What do we notice about the structure here?

• Those opening phrases - "A cofounder," "a tireless advocate," "a recipient" - are all describing a person
• They're telling us about someone's roles and achievements
• When you start a sentence with descriptive phrases like these, they need to be followed immediately by the person they're describing
• These phrases describe someone who cofounded a union, advocates for rights, and received a medal
• That person is Huerta

The key relationship: descriptive phrases at the beginning must connect directly to what they describe.

Looking at our choices:

• A and B have "Huerta's activism" after the comma
  • But "activism" can't be "a cofounder" or "a recipient of a medal"
  • A person can - these phrases describe Huerta herself, not her activism
• C has "the United Farm Workers union" after the comma
  • But the union isn't "a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom"
  • Huerta is - these phrases describe her, not the union
• D has "Huerta" immediately after the comma
  • This works! The phrases correctly describe Huerta
  • The additional phrase "whose activism has spanned more than six decades" gives us more information about her

So we need Choice D: "Huerta, whose activism has spanned more than six decades," because the opening descriptive phrases must be followed by the person they're describing - Huerta herself.

Grammar Concept Applied

Placing Modifiers: Descriptive Phrases Must Connect to What They Describe

When you start a sentence with descriptive phrases (called introductory modifiers in grammar terms), those phrases must be immediately followed by whatever they're describing. If you put something else after the comma, the description won't make logical sense.

Pattern:

• Descriptive phrases: A talented musician, a dedicated teacher, and a published author,
• Must be followed by: Maria has influenced countless students
• Why it works: The phrases describe Maria - she's the musician, teacher, and author

• Wrong version: A talented musician, a dedicated teacher, and a published author, Maria's influence has been significant
• Why it doesn't work: The phrases would be describing "influence," but influence can't be a musician or teacher - Maria can

In this question:

• Opening phrases: "A cofounder of the United Farm Workers union, a tireless advocate for immigrant rights, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom"
• Must be followed by: Huerta (the person with these accomplishments)
• Why D works: "Huerta, whose activism has spanned more than six decades," puts Huerta right after the comma, so the descriptions properly connect to her
• Why A, B, and C don't work: They place something else ("activism" or "the union") after the comma, creating an illogical connection

The key principle: Descriptive phrases at the start of a sentence must be followed immediately by the person or thing they're describing.