Post Test Passage  - Avoiding Comma Splices and Fused Sentences

DIRECTIONS: Repair all comma splices and fused sentences that you see in the passage below.  You may change capitalization or punctuation; you may add or delete words.  Do not change the meaning of the writing when you make your changes.

            White-water boating is a major new sport in America, it involves using canoes or kayaks.  Both canoes and kayaks have unique American histories.  Canoes are sleek boats, they were developed by Native Americans of the Northeast and Great Lakes region.  Originally canoes were made of wood their hulls  had a deep V-shape.  Later, a frame of strong wooden ribs was made, then a covering of scraped bark was laid over the frame.  Although modern canoes are made of aluminum or fiberglass, the design has never really changed.  A canoe's hull will carry mountains of equipment, but the boat itself is light enough to be carried by one or two people. Canoes are versatile, consequently, they can be used on lakes or in mountain rapids.

            Kayaks were developed by the Eskimos of northern Canada and Greenland, kayaks  are even more lightweight than canoes. The  original kayaks had  wood or bone frames with seal skin stretched over them.  Like modern canoes,  today's kayaks may be made of plastic, aluminum, or fiberglass, they are designed to hold only one or two people.  The passengers sit flat on the bottom of a kayak a watertight flap seals them into the craft.  Today's kayak is watertight and almost impossible to sink.  If it turns upside down, the pilot can turn it back upright with a twist of the hips.  This maneuver is called "the Eskimo roll" to honor its inventors.  Kayak pilots carry a single oar with two blades they can use this oar to paddle rapidly or to fend off rocks and obstacles.

            Both the Native Americans and Eskimos needed lightweight, maneuverable boats, these are the same qualities that make canoeing and kayaking popular today.