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Also see
comma rules,
missing commas exercise,
nonrestrictive commas,
and
FAQ punctuation.
Avoiding Common
Punctuation Errors
The
No-Excuse 12 (plus The Big 3)
Pre-Test
Pre-Test Answers
Twelve Common Punctuation Errors
The Big 3:
Relatively Harmless Punctuation Errors
Post-Test
Post-Test Answers
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The No-Excuse 12 (plus The Big 3)
By Stephen Wilbers
Author of 1,000 columns
published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune & elsewhere
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There are 12 common
punctuation errors that undermine the credibility of many on-the-job writers.
In addition, another 3 punctuation errors are common but relatively harmless –
that is, they reflect nonstandard usage, but they do not necessarily undermine
the writer’s credibility or raise questions of basic literacy.
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Pre-Test
| Can you identify all 15
errors in the following passage? Are you making any of these errors in your
own writing?
My wife works part time
registering, and placing children in the Minneapolis school system. Often her
work brings her into contact not only with children but also with parents who
have difficulty reading and writing.
Once she was helping a
mother fill out a form; when she noticed something unusual. Under ‘marital
status’ the woman had written, “Two times a week”.
Although, the woman had
misunderstood the question, by some standard’s I guess that’s not so bad. But
the mothers inability to read and understand a common term such as “marital
status,” reflects a serious problem in American society.
“Adult Literacy in
America,” a government study released in 1993 stated there are some 40 to 44
million Americans like her, adults who possess only the most rudimentary
reading and writing skills. In it’s introduction, the study revealed that
nearly half of all adult Americans read and write so poorly they have
difficulty holding a decent job.
Who gets the blame for this
shocking level of functional illiteracy in America?
You do. We do. The schools,
the parents, and the students - we all do.
You may not agree, however,
I believe we all bear some responsibility for the problem. High schools are
awarding diplomas to students who can’t read or write. Parents are spending
too little time interacting with their children. And students are devoting too
little effort to their number one responsibility in life – getting educated.
Who pays the price for
functional illiteracy in America?
We all do, and “we”
includes: the business community which for years has complained about poor
writing skills among the following groups; job applicants and new hires.
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Pre-Test Answers
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My wife works part time
registering, [#5. Unnecessary comma between compound elements that are not
independent clauses] and placing children in the Minneapolis school
system. Often her work brings her into contact not only with children
[Note: A comma is optional here; for a faster pace and less emphatic style,
omit it.] but also with parents who have difficulty reading and writing.
Once she was helping a
mother fill out a form;
[#11. Semicolon between a subordinate clause and an
independent clause] when she noticed something unusual. Under ‘marital
status’ [#13. Single quotation marks for double quotation marks]
the woman had written, “Two times a week”.
[#14. Period outside rather
than inside closing quotation marks]
Although,
[#6.
Unnecessary comma after although; in addition, commas are often used
erroneously after and, but, and such as]
the woman
had misunderstood the question, by some standard’s
[#10. Unnecessary
apostrophe in a plural word] I guess that’s not so bad. But the mothers
[#9. Missing apostrophe in a possessive] inability to read and understand
a common term such as “marital status,
[#4. Unnecessary comma between
subject and verb]” reflects a serious problem in American society.
“Adult Literacy in
America,” a government study released in 1993
[#2. Missing comma after a
set-off phrase] stated there are some 40 to 44 million Americans like her,
adults who possess only the most rudimentary reading and writing skills. In
it’s [#8. It’s for its]
introduction, the study revealed
that nearly half of all adult Americans read and write so poorly they have
difficulty holding a decent job.
Who gets the blame for this
shocking level of functional illiteracy in America?
You do. We do. The schools,
the parents, [Note: The serial comma the comma before the conjunction in a
series of three or more items may be used or omitted.] and the students -
[#15. Hyphen for a dash]
we all do.
You may not agree,
[#1.
Comma splice – a comma between two independent clauses] however, I
believe we all bear some responsibility for the problem. High schools are
awarding diplomas to students who can’t read or write. Parents are spending
too little time interacting with their children. And
[Note: In all but the
most formal writing, it is now permissible to begin a sentence with and
or but.] students are devoting too little effort to their number
one responsibility in life – getting educated.
Who pays the price for
functional illiteracy in America?
We all do, and “we”
includes: [#7. Unnecessary colon between a verb and its complement]
the
business community [#3. Missing nonrestrictive comma – a comma
setting off a nonessential element]
which for years has complained about
poor writing skills among the following groups;
[#12. Semicolon for a
colon] job applicants and new hires.
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Twelve Common Punctuation Errors
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1. Comma splices (commas
between independent or main clauses).
2. Missing commas after
set-off words or phrases.
3. Missing nonrestrictive
commas (commas setting off nonessential elements).
4. Unnecessary commas
between subjects and verbs (often after restrictive elements).
5. Unnecessary commas
between compound elements that are not independent clauses.
6. Unnecessary commas after
although, and, but, and such as.
7. Unnecessary colons
between verbs and their complements and between prepositions and their
objects.
8. It’s or its’
for its.
9. Missing apostrophes in
possessives (especially in possessives referring to time, as in a good
day’s work and two weeks’ vacation).
10. Unnecessary apostrophes
in plural words.
11. Semicolons between
subordinate clauses and independent clauses.
12. Semicolons for colons.
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The Big 3:
Relatively Harmless Punctuation Errors
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(These common errors
represent nonstandard usage, but do not necessarily undermine credibility or
raise questions of literacy.)
13. Single quotation marks
for double quotation marks.
14. Commas and periods
outside – rather than inside – closing quotation marks.
15. Hyphens for dashes.
Note: The serial
comma – the comma before the conjunction in a series of three or more items –
may be used or omitted. Both practices are correct as long as one or the other
is followed consistently.
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Post-Test
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Can you identify The
No-Excuse 12 and The Big 3 in the following passage? Are you still making any
of these punctuation errors in your own writing?
For years, Americas
employers have been saying that high school, and college graduates, even some
MBA’s lack the necessary writing skills to perform effectively on the job.
Are America’s high school
English classes and college composition courses failing to teach students how
to write? Is the educational establishment failing to do its’ job?
According to Heather
MacDonald, contributing editor of The City Journal in New York City,
the answer is a resounding yes. The reason; Composition teachers are so
preoccupied with various cultural and political trends that they are teaching
students everything but how “to compose clear, logical prose.” In fact, she
claims, “Every writing theory of the past 30 years has come up with reasons
why it’s not necessary to teach grammar and style.”
In the summer 1995 issue of
The Public Interest, MacDonald chronicles the history of misguided
efforts that have given us “an indigestible stew of 1960s liberationist zeal,
1970s deconstructivist nihilism, and 1980s multicultural proselytizing.”
She attributes the
beginning of this decline to: what she calls “the Woodstock of the composition
professions”, a 1966 conference of American and British writing teachers at
Dartmouth College. According to MacDonald, the gathering reflected the
political culture of the time: “It was anti-authoritarian and liberationist;
it celebrated inarticulateness and error as proof of authenticity.”
The Dartmouth conference,
gave rise to the “process school of composition” whose most influential
practitioner, Peter Elbow, author of Writing Without Teachers,
“emphasizes that writing is a continuous process, composed mostly of
rewriting.” Although MacDonald concedes that some of Elbow’s ideas and
techniques – such as, multiple drafting and ‘free writing’ – have merit; she
claims that “elevating process has driven out standards,” lost is the notion
that a piece of student writing can and should be judged “by an objective
measure of coherence and correctness” - an assumption few in the business
community would question.
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Post-Test Answers
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For years,
[Note: The
comma is optional.] Americas
[#9. Missing apostrophe in a possessive]
employers have been saying that high school,
[#5. Unnecessary comma
between compound elements that are not independent clauses] and college
graduates, even some MBA’s
[#10. Unnecessary apostrophe in a plural word] [#2. Missing comma after a set-off phrase] lack the necessary writing
skills to perform effectively on the job.
Are America’s high school
English classes and college composition courses failing to teach students how
to write? Is the educational establishment failing to do its’
[#8. Its’
for its]
job?
According to Heather
MacDonald, contributing editor of The City Journal in New York City,
the answer is a resounding yes. The reason;
[#12. Semicolon for a colon]
Composition teachers are so preoccupied with various cultural and political
trends that they are teaching students everything but how “to compose clear,
logical prose.” In fact, she claims, “Every writing theory of the past 30
years has come up with reasons why it’s not necessary to teach grammar and
style.”
In the summer 1995
[Note: Commas are unnecessary before and after the year when the year is used
in conjunction with a season or a month, as in fall 1998 or April
1999.] issue of The Public Interest, MacDonald chronicles the
history of misguided efforts that have given us “an indigestible stew of 1960s
[Note: An apostrophe before the s is unnecessary when figures are
used to denote decades; an apostrophe is used, however, when the century is
omitted, as in the ’60s.] liberationist zeal, 1970s
deconstructivist nihilism,
[Note: The serial comma – the comma
before the conjunction in a series of three or more items – may be used
or omitted.] and 1980s multicultural proselytizing.”
She attributes the
beginning of this decline to:
[#7. Unnecessary colon between a preposition
and its object.]
what she calls “the Woodstock of the composition
professions”,
[#14. Comma outside rather than inside closing quotation
marks]
a 1966 conference of American and British writing teachers at
Dartmouth College. According to MacDonald, the gathering reflected the
political culture of the time: “It was anti-authoritarian and liberationist;
it celebrated inarticulateness and error as proof of authenticity.”
The Dartmouth conference,
[#4. Unnecessary comma between subject and verb] gave rise to the “process
school of composition”
[#3. Missing nonrestrictive comma – a comma
setting off a nonessential element]
whose most influential practitioner,
Peter Elbow, author of Writing Without Teachers, “emphasizes that
writing is a continuous process, composed mostly of rewriting.” Although
MacDonald concedes that some of Elbow’s ideas and techniques – such as,
[#6. Unnecessary comma after such as]
multiple drafting and ‘free
writing’
[#13. Single quotation marks for double quotation marks]
–
have merit;
[#11. Semicolon between a subordinate clause and an independent
clause] she claims that “elevating process has driven out standards,”
[#1. Comma splice]
lost is the notion that a piece of student writing can
and should be judged “by an objective measure of coherence and correctness” -
[#15. Hyphen for a dash.]
an assumption few in the business community
would question.
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FAQ Punctuation
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