13 tragically common punctuation mistakes to avoid

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Page 1: 13 Tragically Common Punctuation Mistakes to Avoid

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13 Tragically Common Punctuation Mistakes to Avoid!! English is never an easy language. Regardless of your mastery on it, it will remain to be tricky, most importantly in the writing aspect. While oral communication is not deemed to be that hard, writing is a totally different matter. In writing, words are the most powerful thing and these words will lose power when they are not used properly and when they are not paired with the right punctuations. There are rules in punctuations that are to be followed to make your message understandable. Although these are simple rules, they are imperative to be remembered. You may have been making mistakes before due to forgetting the proper usage of punctuations, but by being smart and careful, you can correct yourself from committing the same mistakes again. Here are some of the errors in punctuations that you have to take notice of in writing and fix with proper punctuation check.!

Common Punctuation Mistakes to Avoid!1. Comma or period "outside of a quote” is a no-no: Most people almost always get this

one wrong. When using a quotation mark for any purpose, may it be for emphasis or quoting a statement from a person, do not put the comma or the period outside the quote. There are available comma checker that can correct this kind of comma error so you need not worry anymore. !

2. The Comma as Connector: There are times that the sentences are too long and so you may tend to cut it down by putting a comma in the middle. This should not be the case always. If the sentence can be separated as two independent clauses you can make use of period instead of a comma. A free comma checker checks clauses that are awkwardly separated. !

3. Not Using Comma after Transition Signals: Transition signals are words that you use as introductory element. Some examples of these are furthermore, moreover, somehow and others. These signals maybe just words, phrases, and sometimes as long as sentences. It is important to remember that after using the transition signals,

Page 2: 13 Tragically Common Punctuation Mistakes to Avoid

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you should make use of commas. To avoid making this, you can make use of an online comma checker to know for sure that you have placed that comma where it is meant to be placed. !

4. Using Semicolons as Replacement for Comma: Comma checker free and available online would tell you that you are doing it wrong. Semicolons and commas are two different punctuation marks. When you are separating two independent clauses, you will have to make use of a semicolon. If they are not independent clauses, then you make use of the comma. !

5. Using Semicolon and Colon for the same purpose: The semicolon and colon are often interchangeably used by many writers. This is an error that is usually taken for granted but an error nonetheless. To avoid this mistake, you will need to remember that when you are enumerating or setting off a list of items, you are going to use a colon. But when you want to separate two related or connected idea but are distinct in thoughts, then you will need to use a semicolon. !

6. Putting apostrophes in plural forms: Some people like to go overboard but apostrophes should not be one of the things you overly use. If you are having this error in your writing, there are ways to avoid it. You can have free punctuation checker that is available online. You can also avoid this by just adding ‘-s’ to the word you want to pluralize. The apostrophe is used for showing possession or ownership. For example, ‘The boy’s bag was stolen.’ –meaning that the bag owned by the boy was stolen. !

7. Making use of so many exclamation points (!): Exclamation points are of many uses. They can be used in expressing something forceful for a statement to sound powerful and come out strong. It is what you use to express a surge of emotion, when you are angry or extremely happy. Remember, you need not use many marks to show how happy you are. Just one is enough. A simple grammar and punctuation check will tell you that one mark will do the job just right. !

8. No, Hyphen and Dash Are Not Twins: You may think that they are both lines and so they can be used for the same purpose. If so, consult a punctuation checker free online. You can stop committing this by using a hyphen when you are joining two ideas in one sentence. You can also use a hyphen when you have a sentence and you want to use the lines of either side of the sentence. As for the usage of dash, you can use this when you are moving from one idea to another. Also, you are to use a hyphen when the idea is just within the sentence. !

9. Quotation Marks for Emphasis: It is a trend to insert a quotation mark in the air while speaking in order to emphasize a word of a point. That is not true in written form. The quotation marks function in quoting speeches or denoting ironies in sentences and phrases. This means that is you are not quoting somebody or something; do not use single or double quotation marks. If you want to emphasize a word, there are free punctuation check applications available. Also, instead of making use of quotation marks, you can use a boldface type. You can italicize it or make the font bigger. !

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10.Not using commas when highlighting a series of items or actions: In English writing, there are a number of formats to follow. It is important that you make friends with these formats. Remember that your readers may be familiar with proper comma rules and so you might lose their attention into your writing if you don’t give proper attention to the use of commas in your sentences. One of example of the errors is not using a comma when listing a series of items, for instance. When you are enumerating two or more things, you are going to use commas. Example, “She loves apples, pears and oranges.” Another is, “My mother cooks, waters the plants and does the laundry every day.”!

11. There are too many Commas! The next error that is usually done is the use of too many commas. You might have been doing it subconsciously. There are check punctuation that you can use. Also, there are no rules in the number of comma to be used in an article but then you would not want to burden your readers with so many commas. You can replace your commas with periods.!

12.Quotation Marks in all places: In the previous error, commas are often placed outside the marks instead of inside of it. That error is similar to this one, the misplacement of quotation marks. Truth be told, the punctuation mark is part of the statement that you are quoting. Thinking of it that way will help you remember to out the quotation mark inside or before the period. Although, it is good to note as well that American English and British English have a difference in this rule. !

13.Not using a period when needed: A period or a full stop is required to emphasis the end of a sentence. In today’s world, some people disregard its use, or they become careless or perhaps unaware of this error, especially when posting on social media. To get rid of this mistake, you should make use of a period when required to highlight the end of a sentence. Otherwise, your message is more likely to be taken as an incomplete sentence (with an incomplete thought).!

Use Proper Punctuation Checker to Put an End to Your Errors!!Perfecting English is a difficult task. You would need constant practice and studying of the simple rules in the English language. In this modern time, there are a number of help that are available online in order for you to improve your writing. There are various proper punctuation checker tools that you can have so that you can develop a better article. These tools can ensure that your paper will come out error-free, ensuring that your readers will absorb your message in the most accurate manner. Mistakes will remain to be mistakes if you do not correct them but if you have the proper mindset and the proper helping tools with you, then these errors will never be one of your problems in writing any more. !

Use this guide to learn of the common punctuation mistakes to avoid today!!

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