Punctuation Part 1

This blog post includes an analysis of my punctuation in my draft, based on tips from Rules for Writers. 

Smiga, George. "Punctuation Marks." 10/13/15 via Building on the Word.

Immediately when I saw that we were reading about punctuation and learning about punctuation I knew what I would be working on. I've spent a great deal of time learning about and practicing punctuation, so for the most part my mechanics are solid. However, I have always struggled with comma usage, and continue to struggle with comma usage, so I knew I would be reading chapters about this.

1. The first portion I read was on commas. The biggest thing that was new to me was the discussion on conjunctions, and how to use commas joining independent clauses. My biggest issue with commas is not thinking about the sentence structure, and where I am supposed to place commas based on rules. Instead I place them where they sound right, as if I am writing a speech with pauses.

2. The second portion I read was on unnecessary commas. The most helpful information for me is that I should not use a comma between a verb and a subject or object. I make this mistake a lot, and looking out for this situation will help me punctuate more correctly.

3. The third portion I read was on semi colons. Again, the most important and helpful portion of this section had to do with commas, and when to replace them with semi-colons. I learned that this situation has to do with independent clauses and transitional expressions, and looking for this will also help my paper flow more smoothly.



After reading Chris and Grace's project drafts I found that the issues I struggle with related to commas are not problems for most people. Overuse of commas has always been very particular to my own writing and style, and it is something I really need to work with.

1. Here is a clear example of how to use a comma in between two independent clauses. This is something I need to be looking for. The example comes from Grace's draft.

"When one is anti-vaccination, they believe that vaccinations go against natural immune defenses and can cause autism and disease."

2. An example of a subject or object that I would've put a comma between can be found in Chris' post, where he appropriately leaves out the comma.

"This, in turn, gives the author more credibility, as he shows he is passionate and inspired, and he passes that feeling off to others."

In between the, "shows" and, "he" I would've put a comma, and I need to watch for these situations in my project.

3. As I said on both Chris and Grace's drafts, there were no semi-colons in either. Semi-colons are more rare in writing. However, I did look through and found that there were no instances in either draft where a commas was used between an independent clause and transitional expression that should've been a semi-colon instead. I chose this section of the book simply because it dealt with unnecessary commas, but don't feel that this particular situation will be an issue in my own draft.