The board of directors initially voted to expand operations into international markets through aggressive _____ pursuing a more cautious strategy...

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

• The board of directors
  • initially voted to expand operations
    • into international markets
    • through aggressive acquisition [?] rather pursuing a more cautious strategy
      • of organic growth
      • and partnership development
    • after consulting with regional experts.

Understanding the Meaning

Let's read through this sentence and understand what it's telling us:

The board of directors initially voted to expand operations into international markets through aggressive acquisition...

So the board made an initial decision:

• They voted to expand into international markets
• Their method was going to be aggressive acquisition (buying other companies)

This is where we have the blank - and the word 'rather' appears in all the choices. Let's look at what varies:

• The punctuation before and/or after 'rather'

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

...rather pursuing a more cautious strategy of organic growth and partnership development after consulting with regional experts.

Now let's understand what this is telling us:

• 'Rather pursuing a more cautious strategy'
  • The word 'rather' signals a shift or change from what was just mentioned
  • Instead of aggressive acquisition, they're now pursuing a more cautious strategy
• 'Of organic growth and partnership development'
  • This describes the cautious strategy - growing naturally and forming partnerships
  • This contrasts with the aggressive acquisition approach mentioned first
• 'After consulting with regional experts'
  • This tells us what prompted the change - they consulted experts first

So the complete picture is:

• The board initially planned one approach (aggressive acquisition)
• BUT they shifted to a different, more cautious approach (organic growth and partnerships)
• The word 'rather' signals this important shift in their decision

What do we notice about the structure here?

Let me check both parts around 'rather':

• The part before 'rather':
  • 'The board of directors initially voted to expand operations into international markets through aggressive acquisition'
  • This is a complete thought - it has a subject (board) and a verb (voted)
  • It could stand alone as a sentence
• The part after 'rather':
  • 'rather pursuing a more cautious strategy of organic growth and partnership development after consulting with regional experts'
  • This is NOT a complete thought
  • 'Pursuing' is a participle (a verb form used descriptively), not a main verb
  • This is a phrase that shows the contrasting action

Since 'rather' is introducing a contrasting phrase (not a complete sentence on its own), we need a comma before it to signal this shift. We don't need a comma after 'rather' because it flows directly into what it's introducing.

The correct answer is Choice C: acquisition, rather

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Using Commas with Transitional Words that Introduce Contrasting Phrases

When you use a transitional word like 'rather' to introduce a contrasting or corrective phrase (not a complete independent clause) within a sentence, place a comma before the transitional word. This comma signals to the reader that a shift or contrast is coming.

The pattern:

• Complete thought + comma + transitional word + contrasting phrase

Example 1:

• The company planned to open five new stores, rather focusing its resources on improving existing locations.
• 'The company planned to open five new stores' = complete thought
• 'rather' = transitional word signaling the shift
• 'focusing its resources on improving existing locations' = contrasting phrase (not a complete sentence)

Example 2:

• She initially studied biology, rather pursuing a career in environmental policy.
• Complete thought + comma + 'rather' + contrasting phrase

In our question:

• 'The board of directors initially voted to expand operations into international markets through aggressive acquisition' = complete thought
• Comma needed before 'rather'
• 'pursuing a more cautious strategy...' = contrasting phrase describing what they did instead

Important distinction: If 'rather' were introducing a complete independent clause (with its own subject and main verb), you would use a semicolon. But when it introduces just a phrase, use a comma.