14 Steps to Using Commas Correctly in Your Writing

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14 Steps to Using Commas Correctly in Your Writing

Are you struggling with commas in your writing?  Has your instructor returned a paper to you and indicated “learn comma guidelines/rules,” or “incorrect use of commas?”  Then the pages below should help you to grasp better comprehension of the rules for comma usage in your sentences.

Set Apart Quotations [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 14)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 14)

Comma Usage Rule 14/14

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Use #14: Set Apart Quotations

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Set Apart Abbreviations [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 13)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 13)

Comma Usage Rule 13/14

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Use #13: Set Apart Abbreviations

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Separate Cities and Counties from States [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 12)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 12)

Comma Usage Rule 12/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #12: Separate Cities and Counties from States

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Separate Numbers Over 999 [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 11)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 11)

Comma Usage Rule 11/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #11: Separate Numbers Over 999

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Separate Day of Month from Year [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 10)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 10)

Comma Usage Rule 10/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #10: Separate Day of Month from Year

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Separate Interjections [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 9)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 9)

Comma Usage Rule 9/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #9: Separate Interjections

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Separate Direct Addresses [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 8)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 8)

Comma Usage Rule 8/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #8: Separate Direct Addresses

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Separate Introductory Phrases [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 7)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 7)

Comma Usage Rule 7/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #7: Separate Introductory Phrases

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Separate Appositives [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 6)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 6)

Comma Usage Rule 6/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #6: Separate Appositives

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Separate Conditional Clauses [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 5)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 5)

Comma Usage Rule 5/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #5: Separate Conditional Clauses

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Join Dependent Clauses [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 4)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 4)

Comma Usage Rule 4/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #4: Join Dependent Clauses

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Join Coordinating Conjunctions between Two Independent Clauses [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 3)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 3)

Comma Usage Rule 3/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #3: Join Coordinating Conjunctions between Two Independent Clauses

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Separate Coordinate Adjectives [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 2)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 2)

Comma Usage Rule 2/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #2: Separate Coordinate Adjectives

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!

Separate Items in a List [14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 1)]

14 Steps to Using COMMAS (page 1)

Comma Usage Rule 1/14

The content below comes from The Visual Communication Guy, and it is not my property.  Each visual rule sheet has been reposted here for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. You may not repost this content for financial gain or take credit for the content as if it was your own.

Use #1: Separate Items in a List

COMMAS OVERVIEWCommas are incredibly important for many reasons. At the most basic level, commas make reading more digestible, giving space and rhythm between ideas within a complete sentence (see my comma use in this sentence alone.) Commas break up thoughts and separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. They introduce information, set apart appositives, distinguish list items from each other, and many other things. Plus, commas clarify if ideas are meant to be combined or separated. Just read the controversy on commas and the Second Amendment to see how some would argue that the comma gave Americans the right to own guns!