Boundaries
Where a sentence ends. More conventions questions turn on this than on anything else.
2 min read
Boundaries questions ask how to join or separate two stretches of text. They are the highest-frequency conventions questions and they are completely rule-based, which means they should be automatic and take twenty seconds.
The one thing to establish first
Is each side an independent clause? An independent clause has a subject and a verb and could stand alone as a sentence.
Everything follows from that. Before looking at a single answer choice, mark each side of the punctuation: IC or not-IC.
Case 1 — IC + IC
You have exactly four legal joins:
| Join | Example |
|---|---|
| Period | The data was clear. The team disagreed. |
| Semicolon | The data was clear; the team disagreed. |
| Comma + FANBOYS | The data was clear, but the team disagreed. |
| Colon (when the second explains the first) | The result was strange: the effect reversed. |
FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
And exactly one illegal one, which the test uses constantly:
- Comma alone — a comma splice.
The data was clear, the team disagreed.Always wrong.
Note what this means for the answer choices: if the choices are period, semicolon, and comma, and both sides are independent, then the period and semicolon are grammatically identical. The test would never offer two correct answers — so if you see both, at least one side isn't actually independent. Re-read.
Case 2 — IC + dependent, or dependent + IC
- Dependent clause first → comma.
Because the sample was small, the result was uncertain. - Dependent clause second → usually no comma.
The result was uncertain because the sample was small. - Never a semicolon between them. A semicolon needs an independent clause on both sides. This single rule kills a huge share of wrong choices instantly.
Words that look like FANBOYS and aren't
However, therefore, moreover, consequently, nevertheless, thus, indeed, instead, furthermore are adverbs, not conjunctions. They cannot join two independent clauses with a comma:
- ✗
The sample was small, however the result held. - ✓
The sample was small; however, the result held. - ✓
The sample was small. However, the result held.
This is probably the single most tested trap in the whole conventions domain.
The procedure
- Cover the choices.
- Mark each side IC or not.
- Pick the legal join from the table.
- Uncover and find it.
Twenty seconds, every time, forever.