As the cost of higher education continues to rise, prospective student

Hello Foreheadson,

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To answer your query, putting a semicolon in Option B would actually be incorrect.

Option B correctly uses the "comma + conjunction ("yet" in this sentence)" construction to join the independent clauses "prospective students from middle-income backgrounds are especially hard-hit" and "the increasingly stringent education-related...significant student loans"; further, Option B conveys the needed sense of contrast through the conjunction "yet".

Replacing the comma with a semicolon would produce an incorrect construction, and replacing the entire construction with a comma would omit the necessary sense of contrast between the idea that the students cannot afford to attend college, but the expectations of most employers force them to take out loans to do so.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Thanks for responding.

I actually answered D on this one. So as I understand "for" plays the same role as "because" in this case, creating a cause and effect relationship in the sentence. Can you please also explain why "and" connection not is not acceptable in this case? Is this about abovementioned cause and effect relationship or something else?

Experts' Global Official Explanation:

Meaning + Grammatical Construction

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the rising cost of higher education has hit prospective students from middle-income backgrounds especially hard because these students can no longer afford to attend college, yet the increasingly stringent, education-related expectations of most employers force the students to take on significant student loans to do so.

• Semicolon or "comma + conjunction" is used for joining two independent clauses.

A. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrases “and these students can no longer…” and “and the increasingly stringent…”; the use of “and” in these phrases incorrectly implies that prospective students from middle-income backgrounds being especially hard-hit, them no longer qualifying to attend college, and them being forced to take on significant student loans are three independent events; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the rising cost of higher education has hit prospective students from middle-income backgrounds especially hard because these students can no longer afford to attend college, yet the increasingly stringent education-related expectations of most employers force the students to take on significant student loans to do so.

B. Correct. This answer choice uses the phrases “for these students can no longer…” and “yet, the increasingly stringent education-related expectations…”, introducing a sense of contrast through the conjunction “yet” and conveying the intended meaning of the sentence- that the rising cost of higher education has hit prospective students from middle-income backgrounds especially hard because these students can no longer afford to attend college, yet the increasingly stringent education-related expectations of most employers force the students to take on significant student loans to do so. Further, Option B correctly uses the “comma + conjunction (“yet” in this sentence)” construction to introduce the independent clause “the increasingly stringent education-related expectations…”.

C. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “furthermore, the increasing education-related expectations…”; the use of “furthermore” fails to convey the needed sense of contrast and incorrectly implies that middle-income, prospective students being unable to afford to attend college and them being forced by the education-related expectations of most employers to take out loans to do so are two separate factors; the intended meaning is that despite being unable to afford to attend college, prospective, middle-income students are forced to take out loans to do so, due to the education-related expectations of most employers. Further, Option C incorrectly uses a comma to introduce the independent clause “furthermore, the increasingly stringent education-related expectations…”; please remember, a semicolon or "comma + conjunction" is used for joining two independent clauses.

D. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “and these students can no longer…”; the use of “and” incorrectly implies that prospective students from middle-income backgrounds being especially hard-hit and them no longer being able to afford to attend college are independent events; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the rising cost of higher education has hit prospective students from middle-income backgrounds especially hard because these students can no longer afford to attend college.

E. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “and these students can no longer…”; the use of “and” incorrectly implies that prospective students from middle-income backgrounds being especially hard-hit and them no longer being able to afford to attend college are independent events; the intended meaning is that the rising cost of higher education has hit prospective students from middle-income backgrounds especially hard because these students can no longer afford to attend college. Moreover, Option E further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “for, the increasingly stringent…”; the use of “for” fails to provide the needed sense of contrast and incorrectly implies that the students can no longer afford to attend college because the expectations of most employers force the students to take on significant student loans to do so; the intended meaning is that the students can no longer afford to attend college yet the increasingly stringent education-related expectations of most employers force the students to take on significant student loans to do so.

B is the best answer choice.

Experts' Global Video Explanation: