Extract:
What punctuation is needed in the following sentence to make it correct?
Follow my lead I have been performing this procedure for years.
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A
Period
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B
Comma
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C
Exclamation point
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D
Semicolon
A semicolon is needed to connect two closely related independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
A) Period
A period would create a comma splice fragment if used alone, but actually using a period would correctly separate the clauses into two sentences. However, the question asks for punctuation within the single sentence shown, making period inappropriate as internal punctuation.
B) Comma
A comma alone creates a comma splice, joining two independent clauses ("Follow my lead" and "I have been performing...") without a coordinating conjunction. This violates standard punctuation rules.
C) Exclamation point
An exclamation point could terminate the first clause but wouldn't connect the two independent clauses grammatically. It would create two separate sentences with inappropriate terminal punctuation on the first.
D) Semicolon
Semicolon correctly joins two closely related independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction. Both "Follow my lead" and "I have been performing this procedure for years" can stand alone as complete sentences, making semicolon the appropriate connector.
Conclusion
Semicolons properly join independent clauses that are closely related in thought but lack coordinating conjunctions. This sentence contains two complete thoughts requiring either semicolon connection or period separation, making semicolon the correct internal punctuation choice.