Question

which is the best way to complete the text?
francis scott key penned the lyrics to the american national anthem, \the star - spangled banner,\ after the battle of ________ was inspired by the sight of the american flag still flying above the fort after twenty - five hours of bombardment by the british.
options:
fort mchenry; he
fort mchenry he
fort mchenry;
because he

Explanation:

The text needs proper punctuation to connect two independent clauses. The first clause states the battle location (Battle of Fort McHenry), and the second introduces who was inspired. A semicolon correctly separates these two related independent clauses, while the other options have punctuation errors: no punctuation creates a run-on, and "because" creates an incorrect dependent clause structure here.

Answer:

Fort McHenry; he