a punctuation mark used to introduce a list of items, to separate two independent clauses when the second clause explains the first, or to create emphasis; colons are also used in time, ratios, and correspondence formatting

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 publishing by correcting conventions errors. Applying standard rules of the English language correctly helps the audience to easily understand the information by not having to interrupt their thinking to decide what the writer intended to say.

details set off by commas that add extra information to the sentence with sentence meaning unchanged if omitted; nonrestrictive words (or appositives) are typically a noun/proper noun or noun phrase; nonrestrictive phrases are typically prepositional phrases; nonrestrictive clauses typically begin with a relative pronoun or adverb (who, whom, which, whose, etc.); also known as nonessential words, phrases, or clauses

a punctuation mark consisting of round brackets used around a word, clause, or sentient that is intended as additional piece of information for the sentence that if omitted allows the sentence to remain grammatically complete

During the editing stage of the writing process, students should review and edit drafts for the use of proper punctuation. In this grade, students should understand and demonstrate the use of punctuation that indicates relationships between multiple ideas within the same sentence. Students should also understand how commas in nonrestrictive phrases, semicolons, colons, and parentheses all allow a writer to interject, combine, or connect ideas to one another without creating a full stop between clauses. These tools of punctuation help the writer create richer descriptions or explanations for the reader.

a punctuation mark used chiefly to coordinate major sentence elements such as the independent clauses of a compound sentence