Question

a. eliminate the unnecessary commas in the following passage.
most canadians recognize, margaret atwood, as one of our country’s finest novelists, but she is also an acclaimed, short - story writer, essayist, and poet. born in ottawa, she began publishing her poems when she was 19. her first book, of poetry, double persephone, was published in 1961, and she won the governor general’s award in 1966 for another volume, of poetry, (the circle game). she is the author, of several critically acclaimed novels. one of the best - known novels, the handmaid’s tale, earned her a second, governor general’s award in 1986. both the handmaid’s tale, and an earlier novel, surfacing, have been made into films.

Explanation:

To eliminate unnecessary commas, we analyze each comma's purpose:

1. "recognize, Margaret Atwood" – the comma here incorrectly separates the verb and its object; remove it.
2. "acclaimed, short - story writer" – the comma here incorrectly separates an adjective and the noun it modifies; remove it.
3. "book, of poetry" – the comma here incorrectly separates the noun and its prepositional phrase modifier; remove it.
4. "1961, and she" – the comma here is unnecessary as it separates two independent clauses joined by "and" in a way that doesn't require a comma (or it's a misplacement); remove it.
5. "volume, of poetry" – the comma here incorrectly separates the noun and its prepositional phrase modifier; remove it.
6. "author, of several" – the comma here incorrectly separates the noun and its prepositional phrase modifier; remove it.
7. "second, Governor" – the comma here incorrectly separates an adjective and the noun it modifies; remove it.
8. "Tale, and an" – the comma here is unnecessary as it separates two parts of a compound subject; remove it.
9. "novel, Surfacing" – the comma here is unnecessary as "Surfacing" is an appositive and the comma before it is incorrect (or it's a misplacement); remove it.

Answer:

Most Canadians recognize Margaret Atwood as one of our country’s finest novelists, but she is also an acclaimed short - story writer, essayist, and poet. Born in Ottawa, she began publishing her poems when she was 19. Her first book of poetry, Double Persephone, was published in 1961 and she won the Governor General’s Award in 1966 for another volume of poetry, (The Circle Game). She is the author of several critically acclaimed novels. One of the best - known novels, The Handmaid’s Tale, earned her a second Governor General’s Award in 1986. Both The Handmaid’s Tale and an earlier novel Surfacing have been made into films.