In a review of Miles Davis’s album Kind of Blue, critic Nat Hentoff noted that the music evokes a sense of "improvisational ______ a fitting characterization given the album's reliance on modal scales and spontaneous composition.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
freedom"; and
freedom" and
freedom,"
freedom"
Correct Answer: C
Choice C is the best answer. It correctly places a comma after the closing quotation mark (or inside it, per US convention) to separate the quoted material from the nonrestrictive appositive phrase ("a fitting characterization...") that follows and describes the quote.
Choice A is incorrect because a semicolon is used to separate independent clauses, but the phrase following the quote is a dependent descriptive phrase. Choice B is incorrect because the conjunction "and" is unnecessary and disrupts the flow between the noun and its modifier. Choice D is incorrect because it omits the punctuation required to separate the quote from the modifying phrase, resulting in a run-on.