Danielle McLeod is a highly qualified secondary English Language Arts Instructor who brings a diverse educational background to her classroom. With degrees in science, English, and literacy, she has worked to create cross-curricular materials to bridge learning gaps and help students focus on effective writing and speech techniques. Currently working as a dual credit technical writing instructor at a Career and Technical Education Center, her curriculum development surrounds student focus on effective communication for future career choices.
The comma is the most common punctuation mark in writing but is also the most misused. Commas are used in various ways to help combine sentences, introduce information, and offset details, but they are most notably used to separate list items to avoid confusion. When explaining commas to my students, …
Before delving too deep into punctuation and grammar exercise practice, it’s worth testing your knowledge of basic punctuation and conventions with a pre-test. This quiz provides the questions you need (with answers) to test your skills and determine if you need to review. End Marks Punctuation Inserting Commas Exercise Using …
Commas are the most common punctuation mark you can use in your writing. They indicate a brief pause and provide sentence structure and clarity to your reader. Conjunctions are linking words, the most common parts of speech to create sentence fluency and add detail to text and speech. Together they …
Rules about commas can be confusing, especially when used with pronouns and adjectives. The word which is one such example that, although not commonly used, can create some questions concerning proper punctuation. Does which need a comma? It depends on how you are using it. I find the best way …
Punctuating quotations raises many questions, and when instructing a class on proper comma placement, I am often met with blank stares unless I first break down the elements involved: 1) rules of quotation and 2) rules of commas. Once students have reviewed both uses, they can more easily combine them …
Semicolons are one of the most misunderstood and underused punctuation marks. Most of my students have never used one, nor do they recognize how it is used. I find it interesting they have never truly learned its use since it is such an easy element to include in their writing. …
Communication is a powerful tool, and if you can speak and write properly, it is much more likely you will be taken seriously. These are the tenets of my classes, and when I have a group of students in front of me, I remind them constantly that proper grammar and …
I’m an avid reader, and I never think twice about the punctuation that makes dialog so easy to read, allowing you to flow from one conversation to the next. With so much exposure to the technique, you’d think it would be easy to reproduce – but nothing could be further …
Despite how easy it is to use apostrophes properly, they are often used incorrectly. This punctuation mark is essential to show possession, and its placement provides clarity and consciousness in written materials. I personally have made mistakes with an apostrophe: placing it improperly or forgetting the basic rules of use …
The rules of commas can be slippery little rascals. I find myself undoing bad habits with my students due to poor comma rule definitions and a lack of grammar practice, almost more than teaching proper comma usage. However, one can only go so far in telling a class what not …
