Read the following excerpt from a student essay. How can the writer best improve his or her grammar and mechanics?
Found in the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean the narwhal is a species of whale with a long tusk. Generally, only males have tusks but occasionally females may develop them. The tusks grow up to nine feet long and weigh more than twenty pounds. Researchers aren't exactly sure why narwhals grow these tusks. They might be used to fight other males, to impress females or to help the creatures detect changes in their environment.
by fixing misplaced modifiers by fixing run-on sentences by adding missing commas
During peer review, you read and respond to a fellow student's writing. While there are many methods and strategies that you can use for reviewing a text, it is generally helpful to frame your suggestions in concrete and constructive ways and to consider the following areas for revision:
Ideas and development: Does the writer express a clear idea and develop it with evidence, examples, or analysis?
Organization: Does the writer order ideas in a clear, logical way so that they build on one another and are easy to follow?
Voice: Does the writer maintain an appropriate voice, such as a formal and objective voice in an academic essay or an engaging and expressive voice in a narrative essay?
Sentence fluency: Does the writer use sentences that vary in structure and length to create a sense of rhythm and flow within and between sentences, or does the writing sound choppy, rambling, or repetitive?
Word choice: Does the writer use words accurately and precisely to create clear, effective, and engaging writing?
Grammar and mechanics: Does the writer follow appropriate conventions, using accurate spelling, punctuation, and grammar to create writing that is correct and easy to read?
The writer could best improve his or her grammar and mechanics by adding missing commas.
For example, the writer could add commas in the underlined sentences to follow an introductory phrase, to separate the clauses of a compound sentence, and to separate items in a series.
Found in the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean the narwhal is a species of whale with a long tusk. Generally, only males have tusks but occasionally females may develop them. The tusks grow up to nine feet long and weigh more than twenty pounds. Researchers aren't exactly sure why narwhals grow these tusks. They might be used to fight other males, to impress females or to help the creatures detect changes in their environment.