Punctuation, Part 1

Zipnon, "Symbols" 04/15 via Pixabay, CC0 license

I pay little attention to my punctuation while writing, especially when I am quickly skimming through and editing my work, as well as the work of others. In this blog I will address the 3 main issues I have in my writing in terms of punctuation.

1. Unnecessary commas- Probably the biggest problem in my writing is unnecessary commas or comma splicing.It's just hard for me to be able to judge whether I should end a sentence or continue on with a comma. While the Rules for Writers reading mentions problems such as putting commas between a subject and verb, that is not my problem. My problem is usually either creating a run-on sentence with too many commas, or adding a comma between a dependent and independent clause, causing an awkward wording throughout my piece.

2. Quotations- Punctuation in regards to evidence and quotations is difficult, especially when you're quoting something that isn't exactly the way it was said. or putting quotes inside of quotes. The most difficult and new (in the way it was explained) concept for me when  quoting is figuring out whether punctuation should go inside or outside the quotation marks, or both. The answer is pretty much always "before the end quote". As demonstrated by that sentence, this is not ALWAYS true.

3. End Punctuation- With end punctuation my problem is my lack of variety. I basically only use periods to end my sentences, besides the occasional question mark, which gets boring. There isn't really much new to learn from this section of Rules for Writers, except that you can use question marks rhetorically, and exclamation points help give you a more upbeat tone that might help me promote my idea and make it more relatable.

Reflection: I commented on Thomas' and Chingiz' rough drafts. I realized that both of my classmates had basically the same problem as me, problems with comma placement, quotation marks, and too many periods. Maybe it is the confusing ways we were taught growing up of how to handle these problems. An example from Thomas is a comma problem, "Smith includes these downsides of the prohibition of alcohol, in order to show her readers that the ban on marijuana is having very similar effects on America that the prohibition of alcohol had" Another example issue includes quotations. Quotations must have parentheses/brackets if things are being changed in the quote. And periods go either in or out of the quote, depending. An example of this is Rachel's sentence "He establishes himself as a senator in the “about the author” section by writing “About Steve Daines is a Republican senator from Montana.”." The punctuation at the end is extra, and the quote sounds awkward in general.