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I am wondering whether the comma after from the students is really necessary? And if a comma is required before as I can ?

For instance, in the subject Geography, I required from the students, a scale model about the different landscapes analyzed during a field trip. Hassim surprised me with a model that was different from that of anyone else because included not only the landscapes but also each one of their soils. This additional feature allowed our class to understand the way a landscape changes according to the ground on which it develops. An exceptional outcome that made me realize her capacity to investigate beyond the expected to seek new knowledge, which is an essential quality in a researcher, as I can testify from my own experience.

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    The first comma is not required, the second one is (but do not leave a space before a comma!)
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Oct 30, 2020 at 16:40
  • "Hassim"... 'her' ... "Hassim" is always a boys name in my part of the world. Unless it is a surname.
    – James K
    Commented Oct 30, 2020 at 16:58
  • @JamesK I was going to point that out too when I suggested the edit, however decided against it. People react differently towards different comments. I do not want to end up in a controversy.
    – Dhanishtha Ghosh
    Commented Oct 30, 2020 at 17:03
  • Is it necessary to place a comma before because?: ....Hassim surprised me with a model that was different from that of anyone else , because it included not only the landscapes but also each one of their soils.
    – pepo
    Commented Oct 30, 2020 at 20:45

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The first comma is not needed and should be omitted. It splits the object "a scale model" from the verb "required". It is usually a bad idea to do this.

The second does help readability. The phrase "as I can..." stands apart from the rest of the sentence, which could be complete without it. It avoids misreading "a researcher as [something]". The sentence is not hard to parse without the comma, but the comma does help.

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  • Is it necessary to place a comma before because?: ....Hassim surprised me with a model that was different from that of anyone else , because it included not only the landscapes but also each one of their soils.
    – pepo
    Commented Oct 30, 2020 at 20:47
  • If in doubt, leave it out. Or run it through Grammarly, which will probably tell you to put it back in. Can I suggest you do run your references through Grammarly or similar. It won't catch everything, but it will tell you about commas.
    – James K
    Commented Oct 30, 2020 at 21:04
  • I did it. It suggested to put a comma. However, I wanted to ask here because I rather would prefer not to use it. I think it is better not to use so many commas in order to reduce the number of stops for the reader. As I am not a native English writer I am in doubt whether it is better to use less or more commas? how do you find a right balance?
    – pepo
    Commented Oct 30, 2020 at 21:13
  • If a comma makes it easier to understand, then use a comma. There are a set of style rules that Grammarly is programmed with that help identify good places for commas (eg to separate an initial phrase from the subject of the sentence, or to separate coordinated clauses.) If you want proofreading that is something different. You can hire a proofreader for a little money. There is a meta post about. But requests to proofread are rapidly closed on this question and answer site.
    – James K
    Commented Oct 30, 2020 at 21:23
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    It is ok. When I said not to use it, I was referring to the comma not Grammarly. After reading my comment again, I discovered it can be understood as if I was asking for proofreading. Thank you anyway.
    – pepo
    Commented Oct 30, 2020 at 21:34

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