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I. COMMAS

1. Compound Sentence: Put a comma before coordinating conjunctions in a compound sentence. Coordinating conjunctions include for, and, nor, but, or, yet, & so. Use the mnemonic device FANBOYS to rememer which words are coordinating conjunctions.

My brother loves to play football, but I usually prefer to play baseball.

Students at this campus work extremely hard, so they deserve a great job once they graduate.

2. Introductory Element: Put a comma after introductory words, phrases, or clauses.

For the sake of argument, John played the devil's advocate.

After my mom delivered the cookies for me, my roommates ate all of them.

Note: Prepositional phrases of three words or less are not followed by a comma.

After breakfast we hiked. At the ballgame we all cheered.

3. Interrupter: Put commas around interupters unless the information is essential to the sentence. Interupters sometimes come at the end of a sentence.

The Prince of Tides, a novel by Pat Conroy, is set in Charleston, South Carolina.

A common interrupter is the appositive, a noun or phrase which explains or identifies a preceding noun, pronoun, or word group acting as a noun.

Eric Swallow, the new soccer coach, stresses academics.

Mark, a wrestler, loves working out every day of the week.

4. Series: Put a comma between items in a series.

I bought books, notepads, and pens for the upcoming semester.

I studied, ate a snack, took a nap, and watched TV after lunch.

5. Contrasting elements: Use a comma or commas to set off phrases expressing contrast.

His academic credentials, not his cadet rank, earned him a high-paying job after graduation.

II. SEMICOLONS

1. Use a semicolon (;) to join two independent clauses that are closely related.

I grew up wanting to become a Marine Corps Officer; I wanted to become the best.

2. Use a semicolon to join two independent clauses when the second clause begins with a conjunctive adverb. Place a semicolon before the conjunctive adverb and a comma after it. Conjunctive adverbs include: therefore, however, nevertheless, consequently, in fact, moreover, in addition.

I felt I had to continue the Marine tradition; therefore, I enrolled at The Citadel.

3. Use a semicolon to separate a series with internal punctuation.

During the holidays, I love to send out greeting cards; shop for my brothers, sisters, and cousins; and eat out frequently at restaurants.

III. COLONS

1. Use a colon (:) to introduce a list that comes at the end of a sentence.

I looked at my brother anew over the holidays. I noticed several things: his compassion, his sense of humor, and his outgoing personality.

2. Use a colon to introduce one or more sentences quoted from speech or writing.

In the opening of his novel Scaramouche, Raphael Sabatini describes his hero "He was born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad."

3. Use a colon to introduce a long example or explanation related to something just mentioned.

The animals have a good many of our practical skills: some insects make pretty fair architects, and beavers know a great deal about engineering.

IV. APOSTROPHES

1. To make a singular or plural noun show possession, add 's.

eye of the storm / the storm's eye

coat of the girl / the girl's coat

pay of an hour / an hour's pay

work of a week / a week's work

request of the boss / the boss's request or the boss' request

promise of Chris / Chris's promise or Chris' promise

novels of Dickens / Dickens's novels or Dickens' novels

house of James / James's house or James' house

coats of the children / the children's coats

rifles of the men / the men's rifles

flight of the geese / the geese's flight

2. However, if the noun is plural and already ends in "s," add only an apostrophe (').

coats of the parents / the parents' coats

rifles of the soldiers / the soldiers' rifles

wings of the birds / the birds wings