Question

Read this sentence and answer the question.

Players often return to a game after a head injury, because they do not want their coaches or trainers to think they are over-reacting to their injury or worse, to be considered weak by their fellow athletes.

Which punctuation edit to the underlined part of this sentence clarifies its message?

A) Players often return to a game after a head injury; they
B) Players often return to a game after a head injury—they
C) Players often return to a game after a head injury . . . they
D) Players often return to a game after a head injury, they

Answer 1

Answer: I would contend that the right answer is the B) Players often return to a game after a head injury—they.

Explanation: By using a dash or specifically an "em-dash" ( — ) at the end of the sentence, the writer is clarifying or amplifying the information that he or she has already provided (that players often return to a game after a head injury). Options C and D are grammatically incorrect, so they should be discarded. Furthermore, since the two sentences ("players..." and "they do not want...") are not independent, the use of a semicolon (option A) should also be discarded.