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Ryan Long
Jessie Carty
English 1101-042
October 28,2013
The Mystery of the Use of a Comma
Why is it that after so many years of schooling and practice that people still do not know
the proper way to use commas? They are so often over used and thrown into academic writings
very carelessly.The question to ask here is, why do people use them so frequently and
improperly? If you think that you are the only one that struggles with the proper use of commas
then you are sadly mistaken because the proper use of a comma is one that eludes us all.
The thing that causes most people to use commas incorrectly is that they think that every
time a pause is needed, that they will just throw in a comma. The use of commas also comes into
play when writers end up writing run on sentences and feel that if they throw a comma into the
sentence that it will make everything better. In reality all this does is lead to papers that are very
poorly written; which contain an extreme over use of commas. Most writers know that they are
most likely using commas in the wrong fashion, but they do not feel like looking up the correct
way. The English language is one that becomes very difficult and very fuzzy to say the least
when it comes down to the structure of our sentences. There are too many exceptions, and even
what some people may call contradictions in our grammar to name them all. However, proper
comma usage can be done and is not completely impossible. Regardless of what you may think
at this very moment there is hope.
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It seems to be that the source of the majority of all comma problems originate it in the
fact that there are not purely just rules to follow when it comes to commas. Along with having
rules to follow there are also guidelines that are generally recommended for writers to follow
when it comes to using commas (Grammar Girl). This causes writers to doubt and even become
confused with the proper placement of a comma in a composition. Guidelines are just meant as
recommendations and are usually just a good rule of thumb to go by. However, commas are
already tricky to begin with so it is easy to get guidelines confused with rules.
Commas have many proper uses however that are necessary to produce grammatically
correct sentences and papers. One of the correct uses of a comma is to separate items in a series
such as water, ice, or water vapor for example. The comma before or in this case, also known
as the Oxford comma, could be left out but when it comes to other items that could be actually
put together, a comma is necessary. However, without the use of the second comma the second
two items in the series will seem to run together to a reader. The use of this comma will always
help the reader to avoid confusion and is usually a good rule of thumb to go by.
Commas are also used to connect two independent clauses with the help of a small
conjunction. Conjunctions are words such as, and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so. These words usually
tend to have a comma that precedes them to show the start of the independent clause. The
comma can also sometimes come after a conjunction; however, this is very rare.
Introductory elements can also be followed by commas to create a pause in the reading.
An example of this would be, While driving down the road, I noticed I was driving 10 mph over
the speed limit. This comma is used to separate the introduction statement and the rest of
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sentence. This comma is one that can also be removed it does not bring confusion to the sentence
or hesitation to the reader. For the most part commas can often be done without; however, their
main purpose is to allow the writing to have a better flow or clarity.
Another area that a lot of people struggle with is when to use commas around quotes.
With the rules MLA format and other formats require, writers tend to forget their basic
knowledge regarding commas. If you introduce a quote such as, Tommy said, I dont feel too
good, then there will be a comma that goes before the quote. The problem seems to be when
the quote opens the sentence and deciding whether the comma goes after the quotation marks or
inside the quotation marks. The correct answer to this situation is inside. People tend to get
confused because if they were embedding a quote into their paper then they would cite the quote
by putting the punctuation after the page number such as this (p.98). However this is not the case
when it comes to quotes in the beginning of a sentence. The correct way to do this would be, I
dont feel toogood,Tommy said. Before MLA came along writers seemed to never make this
mistake, but now it seems to be the one thing that happens to be tripping them up.
Most of the errors with the proper use of commas come from the lack of knowledge in
the subject. However, if writers get out and do some research the proper uses of commas; they
can effectively cut down on at least half of their careless improper comma errors. The resources
are out there to help you understand the concepts; it will just take a small amount of time that
may not look that appealing to an average student or writer. I know that learning about commas
does not appeal to anyone, and if it does then chances are you are kind of weird, but I can tell
you that it will benefit your writing in all kinds of ways.
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As I was writing this paper I was worried about my usage of commas because I was
writing a paper about the proper use of them. After doing the research on commas I seem to have
a better understanding of when and how to use them. However, when it comes to sitting down in
front of a computer and writing a paper I forget all the rules and only see my long run on
sentences. Commas are a very difficult topic that requires a very high level of research and time
devoted to mastering them. I believe that even writers and even professors struggle with the
correct use of commas because the correct placement of a comma can be so vague at times. I can
say that my knowledge of commas has grown but I can also say that I do not feel at all
comfortable when I use them. For some reason the inventors of the English language created its
grammar in such a way that I do not believe that they even know how to use commas properly.
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Works Cited
"Rules for Comma Usage."Rules for Comma Usage. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
.
Strumpf, Michael. The Grammar Bible.New York, NY: Henry Holt and, LLC, 2004. Print.
"Where Do I Use Commas?" Quick and Dirty Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
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