12.2 Punctuation, Part 1

Unnecessary Commas

I learned a lot about unnecessary commas. After reading this chapter about unnecessary commas, I learned to "not use a comma between cumulative adjectives, between an adjective and a noun, or between an adverb and an adjective." (Hacker, 2014) I already knew that we are not suppose to add a comma to separate a verb from its object/subject and between compound elements that are not independent clauses. But what I did not know is that we are not suppose to "use a comma to set of a concluding adverb clause that is essential to the meaning of the sentence. Adverb clauses beginning with after, as soon as, because, before, if, since, unless, until, and when are usually essential." (Hacker, 2014) 


The Comma 

I learned a lot about when and when not to use a comma in a specific sentence. I already knew that we are suppose to "Use a comma after an introductory class or phrase. Such word groups usually tell when, where, how, why, or under what conditions the main actions of the sentence occurred." (Hacker, 2014) I also already knew that we are suppose to use a comma "When a coordinating conjunction connects two or more independent clauses- word groups that could stand alone as separate sentences-a comma must precede it." (Hacker, 2014) But there were some that I did not know such as this example: "Nonrestrictive adjective clauses are set off with commas; restrictive adjectives are not." Same thing goes for adjective phrases and appositives." (Hacker, 2014)




The Colon

I learned a lot about the colon in this chapter. I already knew that we are not suppose to use a colon after words including "such as," "including," or "for example."Also, I knew that we are not suppose to "Use a colon between a adverb and it's object or complement or between a preposition and its object." (Hacker, 2014) But what I didn't know is that we are suppose to "Use a colon after an independent clause, to direct attention to a list, an appositive, a quotation, or a summary or an explanation." (Hacker, 2014)





Reflection

I learned a lot more about the three topics (Colon, Comma, Unnecessary Comma) after reading two of my classmate's drafts. When reading their drafts, I noticed that some sentences were not grammatically correct. Some sentences lacked commas, had unnecessary commas, and used the colon incorrectly. The examples below are great examples since the colon and commas are used correctly.


"There are currently seven states that prohibit open carry; California, Texas, Illinois, Florida, South Carolina, New York, and Washington D.C." (Gentry, 2015) 

*He used commas correctly in this sentence since he added a comma after every listed item (The states). 

"However, I believe conventional medicine is manipulated by the economy, big business, and politics, even though many believe it is not, and the media leads consumers to believe that the greatness of scientific discovery in medicine is the brainchild of our country, even with its obvious faults." (Acosta, 2015)  

*He used commas correctly since he included a comma after "However" and used a commas after every listed item (economy, big business, and politics).