Comma's are one of the most basic, yet powerful tools when it comes to writing. Unfortunately they are also one of the most misplaced, misused and forgotten. As any writer will tell you, if you know how a properly use the comma, it can greatly improve your writing skills. However, this is easier said than done. Here are some basic rules to follow that could greatly improve your writing.- Items in a series- a series is considered three or more items.
Example: My favorite flavors of ice cream are vanilla, chocolate chip cookie dough, and strawberry.
- Introductory elements- will join the first part of the sentence to the second
Example: After the Yankees won the World Series this year, I will never watch baseball again.
- Dates: essential for writing. misuse of commas here will greatly diminish a writers credibility
Example: Thanksgiving this year will be on November 26th, 2009.
- Creating compound sentences- be sure to use a conjunction along with the comma
Example: I would love to go out tonight, but I am currently blogging about comma usage.
- Parenthetical expressions- adding more information to the sentence
Example: Joe would like hotdogs, not hamburgers, at the barbeque tonight.
OR
Example: Ms. Bolduc-Simpson, our professor, is an amzaing teacher!
These are the basics of comma usage, and if you perfect these, you will be sure to see an improvement in your writing.
This is where I found most of my information.
http://iws.ccccd.edu/jmiller/a%20brief_%20no-nonsense%20guide%20to%20comma%20usage.htm
Sean,
ReplyDeleteI like the information that you presented in your blog. It is very helpful for people reading the information on commas that they see examples. You were able to present examples so that they can see what the most common mistakes are. Your blog could be a little more informative if you put more information into what each type of comma mistake you are talking about. If you were able to give multiple examples it would allow people to see what proper comma usage looks like. Overall, your blog was really good and informative. I look forward to reading your future posts.
Sean,
ReplyDeleteEven though your post was short you seem to have gotten most of the basics down. I did like the few examples that you gave, they seemed to be personalized and not just copied from a book. Next time I would give a few more examples and a little more info, but overall I think this was a great first post.
I like your cartoon though it is a tad fuzzy. More voice and proofreading needed on your next post. Perhaps you should do a post on apostrophes vs. plurals as you made one in your first sentence....(commas not comma's)l.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you need to include your first name and the first initial of your last name in the subject line.
ReplyDeleteI like your first blog sean! The cartoon was a bit blurry, but it was fun to read that over and see the examples that you used. Next time you may want to include a bit more information, but overall it was a very good first blog!
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