Complex sentence: His ignorance of the South Pacific caused him to erroneously describe coconuts as being soft and easily opened; a stickler for accuracy, he resolved never again to write about things of which he had no personal experience.
Split into simpler sentences: His ignorance of the South Pacific caused him to erroneously describe coconuts as being soft and easily opened. A stickler for accuracy, he resolved never again to write about things of which he had no personal experience.