For such a common punctuation mark, the comma is certainly complicated. But it\u2019s worth learning to use commas correctly. After all, anything important you write will be full of them!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To mark Punctuation Day 2022, let\u2019s look at five of the top comma-related issues to avoid so that you can make your work as polished and reader-friendly as possible.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s more to life than commas, but they are<\/em> important! Using punctuation accurately and thoughtfully improves the clarity and flow of your writing and this, in turn, is an act of empathy towards your readers. Whoever they are, you can assume they\u2019re busy and want to be able to understand your ideas quickly and easily.<\/p>\n Consider these two sentences, for example, and the confusion you could create without the correct commas:<\/p>\n The student said the tutor has an impressive grasp of punctuation.<\/em><\/p>\n The student, said the tutor, has an impressive grasp of punctuation.<\/em><\/p>\n Taking care over your punctuation is, of course, in your own interests as well. It shows your reader that you\u2019re a conscientious, capable writer. And when that reader is a tutor, examiner or potential employer, it\u2019s worth doing all you can to make a good impression!<\/p>\n So, with that in mind, let\u2019s look at some of the most frequent problems that arise with commas and how to fix them.<\/p>\n A 'comma splice' is the incorrect use of a comma to join two independent clauses (two clauses that could both stand alone as separate sentences).<\/p>\n The text was poorly punctuated, I found it distracting<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n This little comma might seem harmless enough, but it\u2019s sure to bother anyone who feels strongly about punctuation \u2013 and that includes many tutors and recruiters.<\/p>\n You might see commas used this way in poetry and novels, but then creative writing can, as its name implies, be more creative with punctuation. If you're writing an academic essay or a job application, the rule is simple: avoid the comma splice!<\/p>\n How to fix it<\/strong><\/p>\n Here are three ways to join independent clauses correctly:<\/p>\n The text was poorly punctuated. I found it distracting.<\/em><\/p>\n The text was poorly punctuated; I found it distracting.<\/em><\/p>\n The text was poorly punctuated and I found it distracting.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018Bracketing commas\u2019, also known as \u2018isolating commas\u2019, are used to mark off an interruption from the main clause of a sentence. (For an example, see my last sentence.)<\/p>\n When an interruption comes in the middle of a sentence, as this one does, it's usually helpful (and often necessary) to set it off with commas. And if you use one comma, don\u2019t forget the second one!<\/p>\n Notice how a sentence becomes slightly more confusing when the second comma is missing:<\/p>\n Commas, it would seem can help readers process a sentence more easily. <\/em>[incorrect]<\/p>\n Commas, it would seem, can help readers process a sentence more easily. <\/em>[correct]<\/p>\n How to fix it<\/strong><\/p>\n As you write a sentence, ask yourself these questions:<\/p>\n The main clause should make sense on its own, even with any interruptions removed.<\/p>\n Now consider where you'd add commas in this sentence:<\/p>\n Commas like brackets or dashes can be used to set off an interruption from the main clause of a sentence.<\/em><\/p>\n Take a look at the sentence below. Where's the main verb and what is its subject? How easy is this sentence to read?<\/p>\n A frequent problem that readers experience and that can stand in the way of their being able to make sense of a sentence easily, is that the sentence begins with a very long subject.<\/em><\/p>\n As you probably noticed, the main verb (\u2018is\u2019) comes late in the sentence and the subject (\u2018A frequent problem [\u2026] easily\u2019) is very long. The sentence sounds awkward and it's pretty hard work to read.<\/p>\n It\u2019s tempting to think that adding a comma will help the reader see where the subject (finally) ends \u2013 and, in fairness, it does. But it also messes up the grammar of the sentence. We\u2019d never write \u2018The cat, sat on the mat\u2019.<\/p>\n How to fix it<\/strong><\/p>\n The simple answer is to delete the comma, but this doesn\u2019t solve the original problem. A better solution? Restructure or simplify the sentence to get rid of the long subject at the beginning:<\/p>\n Sentences can be difficult to process when they begin with very long subjects.<\/em><\/p>\n Your reader will thank you!<\/p>\n Should you use a comma before a \u2018who\u2019 or \u2018which\u2019 clause? Well, it depends. Let\u2019s look at an example:<\/p>\n Bath is a city which has long attracted large numbers of visitors.<\/em><\/p>\n In this sentence, \u2018Bath is a city\u2019 isn't much use on its own. It's the bit after 'which' that we're interested in. Here, it would be wrong to add a comma because the \u2018which\u2019 clause is integral to the sentence.<\/p>\n Now consider this example:<\/p>\n Bath is famous for its Georgian buildings, which are constructed from golden-coloured stone.<\/em><\/p>\n Here, the first part of the sentence (\u2018Bath is famous for its Georgian buildings\u2019) is already informative on its own. The \u2018which\u2019 clause is simply providing extra information about the Georgian buildings. Before this kind of add-on clause, we do need a comma.<\/p>\n How to fix it<\/strong><\/p>\n A quick tip is to ask yourself this question:<\/p>\n Is the information in the relative clause (after \u2018which\u2019, \u2018who\u2019, etc.) essential to the sentence?<\/p>\n Yes? Don't use a comma.<\/p>\n No? Use a comma.<\/p>\n If you're still in doubt, read the sentence aloud. You can usually hear the comma (or lack of comma) in these types of sentences.<\/p>\n So before you submit your next essay or click \u2018send\u2019 on that job application, take a few minutes to check your commas. They may seem like small details, but they can make a big difference!<\/p>\n If you'd like to improve your English language skills for your studies and future career, the Skills Centre runs a General English course for all students and staff who use English as a second language. On the course you'll develop your grammar and vocabulary as well as your writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For such a common punctuation mark, the comma is certainly complicated. But it\u2019s worth learning to use commas correctly. After all, anything important you write will be full of them!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1636,"featured_media":878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[91,90,60,14],"tags":[150,215,168,25,28],"class_list":["post-874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-skills","category-academic-writing","category-english-language","category-essay-writing","tag-academic-style","tag-job-applications","tag-punctuation","tag-top-tips","tag-writing-skills"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2022\/09\/Comma.png","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":697,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2021\/09\/24\/pesky-punctuation-and-how-to-perfect-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":874,"position":0},"title":"Pesky punctuation and how to perfect it!","author":"Kerry Vevers","date":"September 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"24 September is Punctuation Day, an opportunity to recognise the importance of all those little marks and symbols in writing that we learnt about at school. 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Why\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Academic skills"","block_context":{"text":"Academic skills","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scattered hazard warning signs showing question and exclamation marks.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/09\/punctuation_blog.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/09\/punctuation_blog.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/09\/punctuation_blog.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/09\/punctuation_blog.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/09\/punctuation_blog.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":283,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2020\/03\/26\/what-does-your-feedback-mean-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":874,"position":1},"title":"What does your feedback mean?","author":"Kevin Renfrew","date":"March 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Very often at this time of year students receive feedback on what they have written, and can be puzzled by what some of the comments mean. Here are some of the most common feedback phrases, and what they mean. \u201cMore analysis needed\u201d This is very common, and suggests that you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Academic skills"","block_context":{"text":"Academic skills","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/04\/board-3700116_1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/04\/board-3700116_1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/04\/board-3700116_1920.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/04\/board-3700116_1920.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/04\/board-3700116_1920.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/04\/board-3700116_1920.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1486,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2025\/04\/03\/using-feedback-to-improve-future-assignments\/","url_meta":{"origin":874,"position":2},"title":"Using feedback to improve future assignments","author":"Justin Alam","date":"April 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"No-one is born knowing how to produce perfect academic writing. However, we can all improve, and the main way we do this is through responding to feedback. Feedback is information about what you did well and what you still need to improve on. It can be written or spoken and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Academic skills"","block_context":{"text":"Academic skills","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/02\/Blog-post-images-4.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/02\/Blog-post-images-4.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/02\/Blog-post-images-4.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/02\/Blog-post-images-4.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":576,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2021\/04\/22\/our-writing-tutorial-experience-the-benefits\/","url_meta":{"origin":874,"position":3},"title":"Our writing tutorial experience: the benefits","author":"Ciara Sherlock","date":"April 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"In this blog, two student ambassadors, Mackyla and Ciara, share their personal experiences of writing tutorials. A writing tutorial is a 50-minute session with a tutor from the Skills Centre, where you get one-to-one feedback and advice on a specific piece of writing. The piece of writing does not need\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Academic writing"","block_context":{"text":"Academic writing","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/academic-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Student taking part in a one-to-one writing tutorial with a Skills Centre writing tutor","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/04\/one2one-support-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/04\/one2one-support-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/04\/one2one-support-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/04\/one2one-support-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/04\/one2one-support-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":809,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2022\/05\/09\/top-tips-for-citing-and-referencing\/","url_meta":{"origin":874,"position":4},"title":"Top tips for citing and referencing","author":"Erifyli Vologianni","date":"May 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"My name is Erifyli and I'm a final year International Management student. Here are my tips on how to cite and reference sources in your written work, so you follow the University\u2019s academic integrity rules and avoid plagiarism. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a skills enrichment session on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Academic integrity"","block_context":{"text":"Academic integrity","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-integrity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pile of text books with coloured sticky labels attached to some pages.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2022\/05\/referencing.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2022\/05\/referencing.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2022\/05\/referencing.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2022\/05\/referencing.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2022\/05\/referencing.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":272,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2019\/08\/29\/paraphrasing-summarising-and-quoting-or-how-to-incorporate-the-ideas-of-others-in-your-writing\/","url_meta":{"origin":874,"position":5},"title":"Paraphrasing, summarising, and quoting (or how to incorporate the ideas of others in your writing)","author":"Tom Reid","date":"August 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"You will often need to include information from experts in your field in your written work. This may be to explain a point or to support claims you make. There are three ways to include this information in your writing: through paraphrase, summary and quotation. What are paraphrase, summary and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Academic integrity"","block_context":{"text":"Academic integrity","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-integrity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/03\/library-1147815_1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/03\/library-1147815_1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/03\/library-1147815_1920.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/03\/library-1147815_1920.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/03\/library-1147815_1920.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2019\/03\/library-1147815_1920.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1636"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. Using a comma splice <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
3. Forgetting the second comma in a pair<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
4. Putting a comma between a main verb and its subject<\/strong><\/h2>\n
5. Forgetting the comma before a non-essential clause<\/strong><\/h2>\n