Charles Dickens

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Born in Portsmouth, England, Charles Dickens, often regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period, worked in a blacking factory at the age of 12, became a journalist as a young adult, and in 1842 published a travelogue about the United States after he had visited that country for the first time.

Review: Charles Dickens


Explanation

Creating a filter: When we read the prompt, we're seeing a list of verbs. Dickens "worked," he "became", and he "published." It looks good, so we will review the other answer choices in order to eliminate them.

Finding objective defects: in (B), the "while" does not fit with the intended meaning. He didn't publish the travelogue simultaneously with any of the other actions in the sentence, accorded to the intended meaning. Choice (C) has similar logical problems and also creates a run-on sentence because it eliminates the list structure and doesn't introduce a new subject for "published." Choice (D) has a disembodied phrase, "journalist as a young adult," which is neither a properly formed list item nor a properly formed modifier of anything. (E) indicates that he worked as a journalist and published the travelogue in 1842 prior to being 12. The correct answer is (A).


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