Introduction

Do you know where to insert commas correctly? Using appropriate punctuation is important in writing because it clarifies for the reader your meaning as well as your tone.

Read the joke below.

A panda walks into a bar. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

A panda.

A panda eating shoots and leaves.

"Why? Why are you behaving in this strange, un-panda-like fashion?" asks the confused waiter as the panda walks towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

Do you understand the joke? A misplaced comma is a powerful thing. Listen to an NPR interview (6:54) with Lynne Truss, the author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation.

 

Lesson Objectives

Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to...

  • Correct comma and apostrophe errors.
  • Place commas correctly in sentences.
  • Explain rules applying to commas.

The above objectives correspond with the Creative Writing Course Standards.

    Next Page