Using natural debris, such as dried _______ such as plastic bags; and more traditional art supplies, such as tree glue,...

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

• Using natural debris,
  • such as dried ______
  • such as plastic bags;
  • and more traditional art supplies,
    • such as tree glue,
• Ghanaian artist Ed Franklin Gavua creates his striking Yiiiiikakaii African masks,
  • which he hopes can help viewers rethink
  • how waste is used in their communities.

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start from the beginning:

The sentence tells us about what materials the artist uses:

• "Using natural debris, such as dried ______"
  • So one type of material is natural debris
  • And an example is "dried [something]"

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

• A. leaves, man-made trash:
• B. leaves; man-made trash,
• C. leaves, man-made trash,
• D. leaves; man-made trash;

All choices give us "leaves" and "man-made trash" - but with different punctuation.

To see what punctuation works here, let's read the rest and understand the full structure!

After the blank, the sentence continues:

• "such as plastic bags; and more traditional art supplies, such as tree glue"

Now let's understand what this complete structure is telling us:

• The artist uses THREE different types of materials:
  1. "natural debris" - with the example of "dried leaves"
  2. "man-made trash" - with the example of "plastic bags"
  3. "more traditional art supplies" - with the example of "tree glue"

• Each material type gets its own example introduced by "such as"

So the pattern is:

• Material 1, such as example 1;
• Material 2, such as example 2;
• and Material 3, such as example 3

What do we notice about the structure here?

• This is a list of three major items (the three material types)
• But each major item already contains a comma inside it (before "such as")
• When you have a list where the items already have commas in them,
  • you need semicolons to separate the major items
  • this prevents confusion about which commas are doing what job

• After "leaves" - we need a SEMICOLON
  • because we're ending the first major list item (natural debris + its example)
  • and starting the second major list item (man-made trash)

• After "man-made trash" - we need a COMMA
  • because we're introducing an example with "such as plastic bags"
  • just like all the other "such as" examples use commas

So we need: leaves; man-made trash,

The correct answer is Choice B.

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Using Semicolons in Complex Lists

When you're listing items and those items already contain commas within them (for examples, descriptions, or other internal elements), you need to use semicolons to separate the major list items. This prevents confusion about which commas are separating list items and which are doing other jobs within each item.

Simple list (commas only):

• The artist uses leaves, plastic, and glue.
• Each item is simple with no internal punctuation
• Regular commas separate the items

Complex list (semicolons needed):

• The artist uses natural debris, such as leaves; man-made trash, such as plastic bags; and traditional supplies, such as glue.
• Each major item contains internal commas (before "such as")
• Semicolons separate the three major items
• Commas do the internal work within each item

In our question:

• Three material types, each with its own example
• Pattern: Material 1, such as example 1; Material 2, such as example 2; and Material 3, such as example 3
• "leaves; man-made trash," follows this pattern perfectly

This punctuation structure (sometimes called a "super comma" function of the semicolon) helps readers clearly see the organization of complex information.