{"id":6675,"date":"2018-12-26T17:00:32","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T01:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?post_type=essay-writing-blog&p=6675"},"modified":"2018-12-07T12:23:48","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T20:23:48","slug":"punctuation-rules-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/punctuation-rules-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Punctuation Rules You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re used to texting, you might not think that things like spelling, capitalization, or punctuation even matter, but \u2026<\/p>\n

just imagine ur reading an entire news article textbook or even a blog post with no capitalization and no punctuation it would be really hard to tell where one thought ended and it would be more than a little annoying right<\/i><\/p>\n

Now think about how annoyed your professor would be if he had to read an essay<\/a> filled with all sorts of grammar and punctuation errors like those in the paragraph above. I\u2019m guessing he\u2019d start marking up your paper in a rage (because you know he has a brand new red pen, and he’s not afraid to use it). Ultimately, he\u2019d probably just give up and write in big, bold red letters: \u201cSEE ME!<\/b><\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

When you read a comment like that, you know it\u2019s serious, and you\u2019re probably thinking, “This is gonna kill my grade.\u201d Worse yet, you\u2019re likely in a panic because deep down you\u2019re also thinking, \u201cMy parents are gonna kill me if I fail this class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Punctuation is serious stuff, so if you want to save your grade (and possibly your life), keep reading to learn how to avoid these five punctuation errors.<\/p>\n

5 Punctuation Rules You Need to Know<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m guessing there are about a million rules for punctuation (give or take a few), so there\u2019s no possible way I can cover all of them here. Instead, I\u2019m going to focus on five punctuation rules that often confuse people.<\/p>\n

FYI: A few of these are also professor pet peeves<\/a>, so it\u2019s a good idea to master them in order to avoid seeing red the next time you get your paper back.<\/p>\n

Rule #1: Use a colon to introduce a list of items<\/h3>\n

Like with most punctuation marks, there are several different ways to correctly use a colon, but in order to follow this <\/i>specific rule, you need to do two things:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Include a complete sentence before the colon.<\/li>\n
  2. Include a list of related items following the colon.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Example:<\/b><\/p>\n

    When I hike, I always carry the following three items in my backpack: sunscreen, water, and snacks.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    This example uses the phrase \u201cthe following three items\u201d to correctly introduce the list. (If you\u2019d like to see another example, take a look at the sentence just before the example. It uses a colon to introduce the rules for using a colon.)<\/p>\n

    Use a colon only <\/i>if you\u2019re creating a list as in the examples above. If you incorporate the list of items into the actual sentence, you would not <\/b>use a colon.<\/p>\n

    Example:<\/b><\/p>\n

    When I hike, I always carry sunscreen, water, and snacks in my backpack.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Rule #2: Use a semicolon to separate two related complete sentences<\/h3>\n

    A semicolon is a period stacked on top of a comma. It creates a pause a little longer than a comma but not quite as long as a period. (Perhaps that\u2019s why it\u2019s both a comma and a period combined?)<\/p>\n

    One of the more common sentence-level errors (that is definitely a professor pet peeve) is incorrectly using a semicolon to join ideas.<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s an example of an <\/b>incorrect <\/i><\/b>use of a semicolon:<\/b><\/p>\n

    We hiked several trails yesterday; and were gone for over four hours.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Though the idea before the semicolon is <\/i>a complete sentence, the information that follows the semicolon is not. It’s a sentence fragment because it\u2019s missing a subject.<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s an example of the <\/b>correct <\/i><\/b>use of a semicolon:<\/b><\/p>\n

    We hiked several trails yesterday; we were gone for over four hours.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    The example above correctly uses a semicolon because the ideas both before and after the semicolon are complete sentences.<\/p>\n

    Once you\u2019ve mastered the rule of joining two complete <\/i>sentences with a semicolon, move on to the next part of the rule: the fact that the two sentences must be related.<\/p>\n

    In other words, don\u2019t write something like this: <\/b><\/p>\n

    We hiked several trails yesterday; next year we plan to vacation in Alaska.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    While these sentences might <\/i>be related because you went hiking on your vacation and you\u2019re talking about vacation plans next year, they aren\u2019t close enough in content to use a semicolon.<\/p>\n

    Rule #3: Never make words plural by adding an apostrophe<\/h3>\n

    Remember when I said earlier that punctuation is serious stuff? I mean it! Punctuation can change your life forever. As evidence, I present the sign below.<\/p>\n