Just one more day until 2016’s National Punctuation Day arrives! I’ve been doing a three-day countdown with posts on semicolons and punctuating dialogue, so be sure to take a peek if either of those topics trip you up.
Today, I want to address commas, but I’m not going to be doing so in my own words. Purdue University’s OWL (Online Writing Lab) has done a great job of laying out comma usage rules, and I don’t want to reinvent the wheel when I can give them credit for a helpful resource. While their site is designed for university students, their examples are clear, mature, and constructive for all writers.
You can find the basic list of comma usage rules here: Purdue OWL: Commas: Quick Rules
You can find a more detailed list of rules with examples here. Purdue OWL: Extended Rules for Using Commas
I hope you find these resources helpful! I share them with my high school writing students this year, and I’m excited to hear if you learn as much as they do. Leave a comment letting me know which rules surprised you the most, and I’ll be taking notes for future resources.
Otherwise, happy comma-using, and I’ll see you tomorrow for the big day!