SAT Punctuation plus Transition Word: Hard Question Type.

Source: College Board Official Question Bank

Subtopic: Boundaries

In discussing Mary Shelley’s 1818 epistolary novel Frankenstein, literary theorist Gayatri Spivak directs the reader’s attention to the character of Margaret Saville. As Spivak points out, Saville is not the protagonist of Shelley’s ______ as the recipient of the letters that frame the book’s narrative, she’s the “occasion” of it.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. novel

B. novel,

C. novel; rather,

D. novel, rather,

Hints

1.Check for comma splice and run-on errors to eliminate quickly

2. Apply the independent clause test

3. After choosing the syntactically correct answer, plug it in and play (to check whether the "transition word" is logically correct in its position).