The command dd if=/dev/sdc1 of=/dev/sdd1 copies the data from the input file (if) /dev/sdc1 to the output file (of) /dev/sdd1, byte by byte. This is the correct way to clone a partition. The other options are incorrect because they either compress the data (tar -cvzf), synchronize the files (rsync), or copy the files over a network (scp), which are not the same as cloning a partition. Reference: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 10: Managing Storage, page 321.