Question

Which revision best combines ideas without losing out on information?

There are still ample physical reminders of the history of the Ao tribe in Meghalaya. Impressive burial mounds, dating back hundreds of years, can be found along many of the rivers, for instance.

• A. Impressive burial mounds, dating back hundreds of years, can be found along many of the rivers, for instance; there are still ample physical reminders of the history of the Ao tribe in Meghalaya.
• B. Since there are still ample physical reminders of the history of the Ao tribe in Meghalaya, impressive burial mounds, dating back hundreds of years, can be found along many of the rivers, for instance.
• C. Although impressive burial mounds, dating back hundreds of years, can be found along many of the rivers, for instance, there are still ample physical reminders of the history of the Ao tribe in Meghalaya.
• D. There are still ample physical reminders of the history of the Ao tribe in Meghalaya; impressive burial mounds, dating back hundreds of years, can be found along many of the rivers, for instance.

Hint:

Look for the option that keeps the original order and meaning and simply joins the two sentences with a semicolon, without adding a cause or contrast word.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

The original passage makes a general claim first, that there are still ample physical reminders of the Ao tribe's history, and then gives a specific example of that claim, the burial mounds, marked with the phrase "for instance". A good combination has to keep this general-then-example order and must not add any relationship between the two ideas that was not there before.

1. Option 1: This swaps the order, putting the specific example first and the general claim second. Since "for instance" only makes sense pointing forward from a general claim to its example, moving the example ahead of the claim leaves the logic backwards, even though no information is lost.
2. Option 2: This adds the word "Since", which turns the second idea into the cause of the first. The original two sentences never claimed that the reminders exist because the burial mounds exist; this changes the meaning by inventing a cause-and-effect link.
3. Option 3: This adds "Although", which sets up a contrast between the two ideas. But the burial mounds are an example of the reminders, not an exception to them, so this also misrepresents the relationship.
4. Option 4: This keeps the exact original order and exact original wording, and simply replaces the full stop with a semicolon. A semicolon is the right tool here because it joins two closely related independent sentences without claiming any cause, contrast, or condition between them.

Option 4 is the only revision that keeps both pieces of information, keeps the original general-to-example order, and does not add a logical relationship that was never stated. That makes it the best combination.

Let's summarize:

• A semicolon joins two related sentences as equals, without adding meaning.
• Words like "since" and "although" are not neutral; they add cause or contrast that must actually be true of the original ideas.
• The order general-claim-then-example must be kept for "for instance" to make sense.

The correct choice is option 4.