Question

read the passage and choose the best answer to each question. there are six underlined words or phrases in the passage to show which words or phrases may be incorrect.
language conventions
it was a time of big changes in my life. i was a new student at duncan heights middle school. my family had moved over the summer, when we were all looking forward to getting a fresh start in a new community. i always get a little nervous on the first day of school, but this year i felt more excited than nervous. one reason my parents had decided to move was that they had heard that my school had really good teachers. i had a feeling 7th grade was going to be great.
science has always been my favorite subject. this year, i decided i wanted a challenge, so i signed up for the advanced science course. to accomplish my goal, of getting an a in the course i took notes carefully and studied hard. even with all my hard work toward the end of my first semester of 7th grade i had still only earned a b+ in the course. so, one day i asked my teacher, mr. davis, if i could do anything for extra credit.
mr. davis was really nice, and he had a way of making learning really fun. i bet he is one of the teachers my parents had heard about. he gave me an assignment to do for extra credit, but he warned me that it would have to be turned in by the due date. trying to improve my grade, the assignment was not accepted by mr. davis, because i was too late. although i was disappointed, mr. davis said he was sure i could improve next semester, as long as i kept putting in the effort. i made up my mind to keep working toward my goal.
there is one blank in the sentence below. for this blank, click the phrase that is punctuated correctly.
toward the end of my first semester of 7th grade i had still only earned a b+ in the course.
options:
even with all, my hard work
even, with all my hard work
even with all my hard work,
even with all my hard work

Explanation:

To determine the correct punctuation, we analyze the phrase structure. The phrase "Even with all my hard work" is an introductory phrase, and when an introductory phrase is used, a comma should follow it to separate it from the main clause. Let's check each option:

• "Even with all, my hard work": Incorrect punctuation as it splits the phrase "all my hard work" incorrectly.
• "Even, with all my hard work": Incorrect as the comma is placed in the wrong position, splitting "Even" from the rest of the introductory phrase.
• "Even with all my hard work,": This is correct because the introductory phrase "Even with all my hard work" is followed by a comma to introduce the main clause "toward the end of my first semester of 7th grade I had still only earned a B+ in the course".
• "Even with all my hard work": This option is missing the comma after the introductory phrase, which is necessary for proper punctuation.

Answer:

Even with all my hard work,