Which sentence requires semicolons instead in commas?

Question

A well balanced diet includes health foods such as carrots, broccoli, berries, apples, and oatmeal

A well balanced diet includes a nourishing assortment of vegetables, a colorful mix of fruits and whole grains

A well-balanced diet includes vegetables fruits, and whole grains

A well-balanced diet includes root vegetables such as carrots dark red fruits, such as strawberries, and whole grains, such as brown rice

Answer 1

The sentence that requires semicolons instead of commas is:

"A well-balanced diet includes root vegetables such as carrots, dark red fruits, such as strawberries, and whole grains, such as brown rice."

This sentence includes items in a list that contain internal commas, making it difficult to discern where each item begins and ends. Correctly punctuating this sentence with semicolons would clarify the list:

"A well-balanced diet includes root vegetables, such as carrots; dark red fruits, such as strawberries; and whole grains, such as brown rice."