I"m having difficulty correctly addressing the below sentences. The assignment is to fix, if needed, sentence fragments. At first and second glance, I feel these are correct:

Question

With machetes, the explorers cut their way through the tall grasses to the edge of the canyon. Then they began to lay out the tapes for the survey.

However, I've been tricked before and now I think I may need to change it as follows:

With machetes, the explorers cut their way through the tall grasses to the edge of the canyon, and then they began to lay out the tapes for the survey.

Suggestions would be appreciated! :)

Answer 1

They are both correct. I prefer the first one, though.

Answer 2

Thank you, Ms. Sue!