a punctuation mark used to separate two or more distinct but related ideas, such as in a series (e.g., “nuts, bolts, or screws”) or to enclose a word, phrase, or clause within a sentence (e.g. “Sonya, who is from Alaska, missed the snow.”) Commas are also used with transitions and in dates.

During the editing stage of the writing process, students further improve their drafts and often prepare them for publication by correcting conventions errors. Ensuring that the standard rules of the English language have been correctly applied helps readers more easily comprehend the information because they are not having to interrupt their thinking to determine what the writer intended to say.

Specific symbols, referred to as punctuation marks, are used in writing to help the reader understand the information as it was intended by the writer or author. Quotation marks are used to show or identify dialogue, or the words that a specific person has said. Commas have many uses. One important way in which commas are used is to join two grammatically complete thoughts that have been connected by a coordinating conjunction (e.g., for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). For example, in the sentence “I have a soccer game this weekend, and we have a good chance to win,” two complete thoughts are expressed, but because they are so closely related, the comma and conjunction can be used to connect them as one sentence. Without correct punctuation, written text can easily be misinterpreted.

standard rules of the English language, including written mechanics such as punctuation, capitalization, spelling, paragraphing, etc. and written/oral grammar such as parts of speech, word order, subject-verb agreement, and sentence structure