Question

which sentence punctuates an appositive phrase correctly? a the book \to kill a mockingbird,\ a classic novel by harper lee, explores themes, of racial injustice and moral growth. b the book \to kill a mockingbird,\ a classic novel by harper lee, explores themes of racial injustice and moral growth. c the book \to kill a mockingbird,\ a classic novel by harper lee explores themes of racial injustice and moral growth. d the book \to kill a mockingbird\ a classic novel by harper lee explores themes of racial injustice and moral growth.

Explanation:

An appositive phrase (here, "a classic novel by Harper Lee") renames or explains the noun it follows ("The book 'To Kill a Mockingbird'"). Correct punctuation for an appositive uses commas to set off the phrase. Let's analyze each option:

• Option A: "themes, of racial injustice" incorrectly uses a comma before "of" (unnecessary).
• Option B: "The book 'To Kill a Mockingbird', a classic novel by Harper Lee, explores themes of racial injustice and moral growth." Here, the appositive "a classic novel by Harper Lee" is properly set off with commas (before and after the phrase), and the rest of the sentence has correct punctuation (no extra commas in "themes of...").
• Option C: The title "To Kill a Mockingbird" has an incorrect apostrophe after the comma (should be inside the closing quotation mark: "To Kill a Mockingbird,").
• Option D: The title "To Kill a Mockingbird" is incorrectly punctuated with a period inside the quotation marks (should be a comma, and the period belongs at the end of the sentence). Also, the appositive is not properly set off (missing a comma after the title).

Answer:

B. The book "To Kill a Mockingbird", a classic novel by Harper Lee, explores themes of racial injustice and moral growth.