1. Commas!

• Commasare a primary divider.

2. Commasare used when linking two independent clauses. 3. Acoordinating conjunction(and, but, or, nor, yet, so) links the clauses together after the comma. 4. The house approved the bill, but the senate rejected it. 5. See note for complex sentence creation chart and definitions for each coordinating conjunction.

6. Commas!

You can, however, omit it if the clauses are very short. 7. Love it or leave it. 8. Use your best judgment with longer independent clauses. 9. Commascan also be used to add a pause; sometimes, it is a judgment call.

10. Time Out!

Pause. 11. Take a breath! 12. Questions?!

13. Coordinate Elements!

Usecommaswhen you are dealing with a series of three or morecoordinate elements . 14. These are elements that are joined by acoordinating conjunction . 15. You may pay by check, with a credit card, or in cash. 16. If there is already acommain the sentence, use asemicolon ! 17. Three important criteria are; fat content, salt content, and taste.

18. Nonrestrictive Elements

Usecommasto set offnonrestrictive elements , also known asparanthetical expressions , which supply information that is not essential to the meaning of a sentence. 19. Robert Coover, who spoke at the symposium last year, has a new novel out. 20. It is supplemental information! 21. When usingnonrestrictive elements , you will also use which instead of that (see pronouns). 22. He ran for the bus, which was late as usual. 23. The house, which is blue, sold quickly. 24. Versus... 25. The house that is blue sold quickly.

26. Commas & Coordinate Adjectives

In a list ending with "and" use acommabefore and to make sure people know it is part of the list. 27. The downtown area includes a bakery, a florist, a small supermarket with an excellent butcher, and a bookstore. 28. Coordinating adjectivesneed acommaunless they are joined by a conjunction already. 29. She brushed her long, shining, hair. 30. The baby was tired and cranky and wet. (no comma needed)

31. Time Out!

Pause. 32. Take a breath! 33. Questions?!

34. Introductory Elements!

Adependent clausethat offsets the rest of a sentence is normally offset by a comma. 35. When war came to Baghdad, many victims were children. 36. If it is short, again, you may omit the comma. 37. Use your best judgment whether the sentence will still be clear. 38. When I exercise I drink plenty of war. 39. (I might keep the comma. What do you think?)

40. Transitional Words!

Transitional words or phrases will be set off by a comma. 41. However, any plan enacted must be fair. 42. During the Depression, movie attendance rose. 43. First, plan your process analysis essay.

44.

Pause. 45. Take a breath! 46. Questions?!

47. Final Thoughts...

When dealing with quotes, commas go INSIDE the quotes. 48. Jackson's work, "detailed and important, according to Hayles, is the topic of today's lecture.