Additional Punctuation

Good punctuation can make a document. Likewise, poor punctuation can completely lose everything you are trying to say. It is important in any type of writing, especially business writing, to use proper punctuation in order to produce effective communication. Without using correct punctuation, the entire meaning of what you are trying to say can be unclear. For example, writing without proper punctuation may look like this:

Please send the forms we need today because we are moving on to new purchases and will be phasing out the old ones therefore we need to use up those as quickly as possible.

In that example, not using proper punctuation created a run-on sentence that is hard to follow and looks unprofessional. Properly punctuated, that sentence would look like this:

Please send the forms we need today because we are moving on to new purchases and will be phasing out the old ones; therefore, we need to use up the old forms as quickly as possible.

This lesson goes over some of the most important punctuation rules that you will need to be aware of when doing any business writing. Some of them you may be more familiar with from previous lessons, others may be new to you. All of them will be beneficial to review, learn, and master for effective business writing.

So just what is punctuation?

When you look at your document, it is essentially everything that is not a letter. It includes the commas, dashes, apostrophes, colons, semicolons, question marks, and hyphens, among other things. If we just had a document filled with letters that make up words and did not have these other symbols in there, it would be a very confusing document to read. When people first started writing way back in historical times, they did not use all the punctuation that we use today.

Using Commas

As you have already learned, it is better to keep comma use to a minimum. A long sentence with many commas can be confusing. Using commas correctly, text becomes easier to read and comprehend. Commas are one area that people often have trouble with because they tend to use too many or too few and have a hard time deciphering how many are just the right amount. Once you get used to where commas are often used, it will become easier to avoid incorrect usage. Here are a few ways that commas are used:

After introductory clauses: These are sentence openers to the main idea, often beginning with the words "although," "before," "since," "though," "until," etc. An example: Until the kids clean their room, there will be no dessert for anyone.

Following introductory phrases: These are similar to introductory clauses, but they are not complete clauses. An example would be: Until the kids clean, there will be no dessert for anyone.

After introductory words: Some transition words, including "however," "furthermore," and "meanwhile," are followed by a comma. An example: However, she simply won't take the garbage out anymore.

After distinct pauses: If you read a sentence to yourself and you feel there should be a pause, it is most likely a good place for a comma.

Following each item in a series, except for the last one: She went to the store to get tacks, pins, paper, calculators, and shoes.

To set off a clause in the middle of a sentence: She wore a red dress, despite her feelings against it, to the ball last Friday night.

When writing geographical names, dates, places, etc.: She lives at 235 West Palm Ave., Deland, Fla. Her birthday is January 23, 1981.

To switch from a main sentence to a quotation:She said, "Please sit in your seat."

To avoid confusion in a sentence: To cats, dogs are overbearing.

So when should you not use commas? You should never use them to separate a subject and verb.

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