Question

The writer is considering deleting the underlined portion of sentence 8 (reproduced below), adjusting the punctuation as needed.

For instance, people became so attached to the Sony Aibo, a robotic dog with playful expressions and movements, that they mourned their mechanical pets after Sony discontinued the Aibo series and closed its repair center.

Should the writer keep or delete the underlined text?

A. Keep it, because it addresses information that is essential to the audience’s understanding of the history of Sony’s robotics division.

B. Keep it, because it advances the writer’s purpose of showing the appeal the Aibo had to its owners.

C. Keep it, because it provides the audience with an example of the Aibo’s resemblance to human beings.

D. Delete it, because it introduces details about robot pets that are not relevant to the writer’s main idea in the paragraph.

E. Delete it, because it contradicts a claim the writer makes earlier in the passage about advancements in robotic engineering.

Answer 1

B. Keep it, because it advances the writer’s purpose of showing the appeal the Aibo had to its owners.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer B

Correct. The underlined text is a parenthetical element that advances the writer’s purpose of explaining the appeal of robots that look like animals. The description of the Sony Aibo as a “playful” robotic dog illustrates why owners felt attached to it.