1. Separates 3 or more similar items in a series
2. Sets off introductory material
3. Isolates words or phrases that interrupt the flow of thought in a sentence
4. Joins two sentences together with a coordinating conjunction
5. Separates a direct quotation from the rest of the sentence
6. Is used for certain everyday material: dates and addresses, openings and closing of a letter
3 comments:
I sometimes tend to go comma crazy when I am writing papers. This has helped me to keep in mind what the comma rules are, and has made it more clear.
I as well tend to assassinate my essays with comma splices. When it comes to punctuation I at times get brain lock.
Most people who have punctuation difficulties just do a few things in nonstandard ways. To correct the issue can be done over the course of a few essays, but it requires an instructor or editor who corrects papers closely, and a student who looks up the punctuation rules repeatedly instead of guessing.
It makes proofing the paper take a long time and lots of effort, but after a while, the correct usage becomes automatic, and papers are easier to write than before, and the grades get a LOT better.
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