I really benefited from the reading this week. The following
quote from our book stood out to me the most: “Good writers use commas for
clarity and meter. If your sentences contain a clutter of commas, take heed.
Perhaps the sentences are too long and too busy. There is grace and order in
simplicity and
conciseness.”
conciseness.”
I admit my sentences are usually cluttered with commas.
That’s probably why I appreciated this chapter so much. Reading the section
about commas revealed to me just how much I misuse commas.
An important thing I learned about commas was that when
listing items, you don’t put a comma before and. This was something I was
taught in every English class I took; I’m hoping it’s a habit I can easily
break.
I thought it was interesting that not many people use the
semicolon in their writing. I also tend to opt for two separate sentences
rather than using a semi colon, mostly because I didn’t know the correct way to
use it. It’s definitely something I want to work on more.
After reading this, I went through a few of my work emails
and noticed all the errors I had made. It’s pretty sad if I noticed too many to
pick one to share. Adding a comma before and when listing items was a mistake
I made repeatedly.
I have read this chapter twice and I still feel like I
haven’t retained enough of the information. Proper use of punctuation is
something I’m going to have to work on daily.
Not using the Oxford comma is definitely a change that takes some getting used to with AP Style. The hardest part is when you are not writing in AP Style and actually do need to use it again. Using a serial comma is unique to this writing style and may not be appropriate for other classes. That's the joy of having so many different writing styles, such as MLA, APA and AP.
ReplyDeleteI tend to leave out the comma before and in series due to some work with newspapers. However, I have had it edited back in for other classes using different styles. In my every day writing I leave it out. I also over use commas though, usually in situations where there is meter or flow. For AP style they are usually unnecessary and incorrect. I love the quote you started with. It's great!
ReplyDeleteI too have had issues with an excess of commas. It could be a reflection of my usual pattern of speech, which is often rambling and rarely divided into clean, separate pieces. After all, speech is everyone's first and most frequently used form of creative use of language.
ReplyDeleteI too have had issues with an excess of commas. It could be a reflection of my usual pattern of speech, which is often rambling and rarely divided into clean, separate pieces. After all, speech is everyone's first and most frequently used form of creative use of language.
ReplyDelete