Punctuation: Part 2

Messina, Chris.  "Terms and Conditions" 06/10/2009
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Back to the "Terms and Conditions" of writing conventions.  It's surprising what you learn when you don't quickly scroll to the bottom to find the "Agree" button.

Comma

Commas are often misused in separated essential and nonessential elements of a sentence.  If the phrase is impertinent to the sentence, no commas are needed.  Commas prevent confusion when words are omitted or the author needs the reader to take a pause when reading so the correct intention comes across.

Quotations

Quotation marks can be used around words used as words, but those words can also be italicized.  This same idea can apply to titles of books and movies.

Other Punctuation

The dash sets off parentheticals and lists but does not need spaces around it.  Ellipses are used to short an omission of words in a quote.  When it indicates an omission of more than 3 sentences, the ellipsis is accompanied by a period.

Project 2 Edit

My most frequent mistake of punctuation in Project 2 was my misuse of commas.  In this sentence, “For almost 20 years, the public has argued the issue of global warming, its existence, its causes, its solutions, and its long term effects” the comma following “global warming” needs to be a dash since the list that follows uses commas.  The use of a dash will help break the sentence up correctly so that the reader understands the intention of the author.  In the sentence, “Their ability to control the reader through their command of language plays a deciding factor in whether or not their voice will be heard, and more importantly whether it will be impactful” the comma needs to be omitted as it is not followed by and independent clause.  The comma breaks the sentence in the wrong spot confusing the intention.