Punctuation, part 2

In this post, I will examine three more punctuation topics from the punctuation section of Rules for Writers.

Screenshot from my computer, 10/24/15

The apostrophe

This section was a good review for apostrophe usage. I knew most of the intricacies of the apostrophe, but this section reinforced my prior knowledge. When revising, I will look at each case of apostrophe usage and make sure I used it correctly. 

Unnecessary commas

I have a tendency to be a bit of a "comma queen" when it comes to writing. Often times my sentences will be difficult to understand when they have unnecessary commas. This section helped remind me to keep a specific eye out for this cardinal sin. In the revision stages of my writing, I will be sure to pay special attention to unnecessary commas.

Quotation Marks

Historically, quotation mark usage has given me trouble. This section gave me clarification on a lot of subtleties when using quotation marks. Specifically, the portion about quoting within a quote was very helpful. I never understood how the single quotes were supposed to be used until after reading this section. I will go back into my draft and make sure all the quotes have been appropriately punctuated. 

After reviewing my draft, with these specific punctuation topics in mind, I caught some errors within my writing. I also saw correct usage of these topics.

This is an example of correct usage of quotations. 

• The only mention of his own credibility is that he has a “successful career in the tech industry”.

It was reassuring seeing the quotations had been used correctly. If I need to quote something within a quote, I will be sure to correctly use single quotes.

This is an example of unnecessary commas.

• Sparing use of firm, unsettling statistics will grab the audience’s attention, more than anything else in a piece of computer science rhetoric.

This was one of a few instances in my draft where I had unnecessary commas. I need to focus on correctly using commas next time I write. While having too many commas is not always terrible, repeated violations can seriously hurt to flow and effectiveness of your writing.