When joining two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction, what is required?

• A. A comma before the conjunction.
• B. A semicolon before the conjunction.
• C. No punctuation is needed.
• D. A colon before the conjunction.

Answer: (A)

Joining two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction creates a compound sentence, and a comma is placed before the conjunction to mark the pause between the two complete thoughts. This comma helps readers clearly see where one clause ends and the next begins, preventing a run-on feeling and improving readability. For example: "She checked the map, and she started walking again." Using a semicolon before the conjunction isn’t correct here, because the semicolon serves to join two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction. A colon isn’t used in this context to connect two clauses with a conjunction, and leaving out punctuation would make the sentence harder to parse.