It’s awkward, sure, but other questions use commas in that way. Question 19, immediately prior: > Draw in the space below, a square with a triangle in it, and

It’s awkward, sure, but other questions use commas in that way. Question 19, immediately prior: > Draw in the space below, a square with a triangle in it, and within that same triangle draw a circle with a black dot in it. In that case, “a square with a triangle in it” is fairly unambiguously the object, which would make the sentence construction “[verb] [adverb], [object]” — exactly the same as the second interpretation of “Spell backwards, forwards”.