Are you making these 7 common punctuation mistakes?
Comma use can be perplexing. Here’s help for knowing when and where to insert them—and when to omit them—along with tips for proper use of semicolons, dashes and other marks.
Each sentence below demonstrates a specific type of error involving internal punctuation, usually involving a comma.
Discussion and revision following each example explain and illustrate correct punctuation:
1. Misplaced punctuation
This approach requires an effective model risk governance program, and crucially, validation of the model by an independent party.
A comma is needed after program only if what follows is an independent clause. In this case, the rest of the sentence is merely the rest of an extended compound predicate. However, crucially is a parenthetical, and a comma is required before as well as after it: “This approach requires an effective model risk governance program and, crucially, validation of the model by an independent party.”
2. Missing punctuation
Specifically her portfolio did not include the required number of samples.
An adverbial introduction must be set off from the main clause by a comma: “Specifically, her portfolio did not include the required number of samples.”
3. Unpaired punctuation
The survey found increasing demand for customer experiences that are difficult, if not impossible to deliver with legacy systems.
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