Comma usage

[Unregistered]

Hi, I am writing a paper on a book I read for school and would greatly appreciate any help. The sentence in question-"Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen, is the story of Jacob Jakowski, a college student who finds himself alone and running from his troubled life and as the veterinarian for the Benzini Brothers circus." just doesn't seem right to me and I was wondering if I need more commas or if there is a better way to word this. Also, can you help me understand when commas and semi colons should be used and when to get rid of the word 'and'? Thanks for your help!

[Pomegranite]

Hi, this is more of a continuation to my post, but since I wrote it before I registered, I can't edit it. My other question was when is it necessary to make a sentence into two sentences instead of adding a comma.

[Anglika]

Welcome, Pomegranite.

"Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is the story of Jacob Jakowski, a college student who finds himself alone and running from his troubled life, and who found work as the veterinarian for the Benzini Brothers circus."

There is a danger of overpunctuating a sentence. In this one, I would not put commas round "by Sara Gruen". The end of the sentence does not make sense without some additional information.

You could split it into two sentences. That way you avoid the double "and".

[RonBee]

It's fiction, isn't it? I mean, normally a person has to finish veterinary school before he can start practicing veterinary medicine.

All Creatures Great and Small - Google Book Search