On March 23, 2021, a gust of wind wreaked havoc on global trade. Ever Given, an international shipping container vessel,...

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

• On March 23, 2021,
  • a gust of wind wreaked havoc on global trade.

• Ever Given,
  • an international shipping container vessel,
    • became lodged in Egypt's Suez Canal,
      • a major shipping route between Europe and Asia.

• The vessel
  • took six days to dislodge [?] it's as heavy as two thousand blue whales
    • when fully loaded.

Understanding the Meaning

We learn that on March 23, 2021, something dramatic happened:

• A gust of wind caused major problems for global trade

Then we find out what specifically happened:

• Ever Given (a huge shipping container vessel) got stuck in Egypt's Suez Canal
  • The Suez Canal is described as a major route between Europe and Asia
  • So this blockage was a big deal for shipping

Now the third sentence tells us about the resolution:

• "The vessel took six days to dislodge..."

This is where we have the blank. Let's look at the choices:

• All include "in part due to its sheer size"
• They vary in comma placement and what punctuation comes after

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

The sentence continues: "it's as heavy as two thousand blue whales when fully loaded."

Now let's understand what we have here:

• "The vessel took six days to dislodge"
  • This is the main statement - the basic fact

• "in part due to its sheer size"
  • This phrase explains WHY it took so long
  • It's additional information we could remove and still have a complete sentence

• "it's as heavy as two thousand blue whales when fully loaded"
  • This is a complete thought (it has a subject "it" and verb "is")
  • It's providing specific evidence for what "sheer size" means
  • It's explaining and elaborating on the size claim

What do we notice about the structure here?

• The phrase "in part due to its sheer size" needs to be set off with a comma before it
  • It's extra explanatory information added to the main statement

• What comes after - "it's as heavy as two thousand blue whales when fully loaded" - is explaining what "sheer size" means
  • This is exactly what a colon does: it introduces an explanation or elaboration of what was just mentioned
  • The colon signals: "here's what I mean by that" or "let me explain"

So we need: a comma before "in part" to set off the explanatory phrase, and a colon after "size" to introduce the explanation.

The correct answer is Choice B: "dislodge, in part due to its sheer size:"

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Using Colons to Introduce Explanations

When you want to introduce an explanation, elaboration, or specific evidence for something you just mentioned, you can use a colon. The colon signals to the reader: "Here's what I mean by that" or "Let me explain further."

The pattern:

• Statement with a claim or mention: The vessel took six days to dislodge, in part due to its sheer size
• Colon to signal explanation coming: :
• The explanation/evidence: it's as heavy as two thousand blue whales when fully loaded

Other examples:

• "The decision was based on one factor: cost."
  • The colon introduces what that "one factor" is

• "She had a simple philosophy: treat others as you want to be treated."
  • The colon introduces what that philosophy is

Key principle: What comes after a colon can be a complete sentence (as in our question) or a phrase - the crucial thing is that it explains, elaborates on, or provides evidence for what came before.

In our question: The phrase "its sheer size" needs explanation - just how big is it? The colon introduces that explanation: "it's as heavy as two thousand blue whales when fully loaded." This gives us the concrete evidence for the claim about size.

Also important: The phrase "in part due to its sheer size" is additional explanatory information, so it needs to be set off from the main clause ("The vessel took six days to dislodge") with a comma before it.