The Official SAT Question of the Day™

Part of the following sentence is italics; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.

One of the most common types of mistakes that inexperienced physicians make is misreading symptoms, another that occurs about as frequently is recommending inappropriate treatment.

(A) symptoms, another that occurs
(B) symptoms; another one that occurs
(C) symptoms, the other, and it occurs
(D) symptoms; another one which is occurring
(E) symptoms and also occurring

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:
This sentence illustrates a comma splice, the incorrect use of a comma to connect two complete sentences. Choice B correctly uses a semicolon to coordinate two independent clauses and form a compound sentence (while at the same time keeping verb tenses parallel). The correct sentence reads: One of the most common types of mistakes that inexperienced physicians make is misreading symptoms; another one that occurs about as frequently is recommending inappropriate treatment.

(A) symptoms, another that occurs
(B) symptoms; another one that occurs
(C) symptoms, the other, and it occurs
(D) symptoms; another one which is occurring
(E) symptoms and also occurring