ParaPro Writing Study Guide: Punctuation Errors

This section of our ParaPro Study Guide focuses on detecting punctuation errors, such as with periods, semicolons, and commas. Knowing where and when to use punctuation marks is essential to doing well on the ParaPro Exam.

End Punctuation

End punctuation comes at the end of a sentence. It tells the reader how to interpret the sentence and blocks run-on sentences from occurring.

Periods are used to end a declarative sentence. If a sentence is a direct statement without great emotion or uncertainty, it should use a period.

Question marks are used to end an interrogative sentence. If the sentence is asking a question, it should use a question mark.

Exclamation marks (sometimes called exclamation points) are used to end exclamations. If something is said with excitement or intense emotion, it helps the reader to know just how excited or emotional they are through an exclamation point!

Exclamation marks are also usually used for imperative sentences, which are assertions or commands. “Wash that dish!” and “Clean that floor!” are imperative sentences. If an author wants to convey a different tone, they may choose on some occasions to end an imperative sentence with a period instead.

You may also see sentences end with a combination of question marks and exclamation marks to combine excitement and surprise or confusion and anger. You may also see sentences end with ellipses, which aren’t really the end … as ellipses are used to indicate that the sentence is trailing off or there is more to be said that is not included here.

Commas

Commas are not end punctuation because they indicate a pause in a sentence, not the end of a sentence. They can be used stylistically to indicate where an author wants a reader to pause, but they are also necessary in some sentence constructions for grammaticality.

• Commas are used to separate items in a list. The last comma in a series, called the Oxford or serial comma, is not always used; it is a matter of stylistic preference. It is safest to used the Oxford comma to avoid confusion, and the example sentences below all include it.
  • Everyone knows that red, white, and blue symbolize …
  • My mom took my sister, my cousin, and I to …
  • For dinner, I had turkey, ham, gravy, stuffing, rolls, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and green beans.
• Commas are used after a prepositional phrase. As we covered in the parts of speech section of our grammar errors unit, prepositions are words that indicate placement or relation, such as with, for, by, around, at, etc. A comma needs to follow a phrase that begins with a preposition.
  • In spite of the weather, he still …
  • At the start of the game, the team …
  • From the onset, the author …
• Commas are used after transitional words or phrases. When you are transitioning between paragraphs or ideas, you will likely use a transition. It should be followed by a comma.
  • However, it leads me …
  • Although he left, it was …
  • In conclusion, the essay …
• Commas are used to connect two independent clauses. Coordinating conjunctions (words like and, or, but, etc.) connect two independent clauses, but they need the help of commas, too.
  • My mom was sad, so I made sure to …
  • I was already hungry, but it was only 5:00.
  • I could go to the store, or I could just …
• Commas are used to set words and phrases apart. When you add extra information to a sentence before continuing, you may create an appositive or a nonrestrictive clause, which needs to be set off by commas.
  • My brother, John, is over there.
  • C.J. Stroud, who is the greatest quarterback in the world, is out with an injury.
  • It was, almost surely, the worst day for an outdoor wedding.
• Commas are used to set dialogue apart. When there is a sentence or “dialogue tag” introducing something in quotes, it should almost always be followed by a comma. Similarly, if the dialogue tag comes after the quotation, it should be preceded by a comma.
  • She said, “I can’t today.”
  • I yelled to him, “Over here!”
  • “I’m not ready to go,” he whispered.

Colons and Semicolons

A colon is used to introduce information. It sets apart independent and dependent clauses. If you are about to write a list or something that cannot stand as its own sentence, use a colon, as in the examples here:

• There was only one thing I wanted right then: an ice cold water.
• I had a lot to do: clean the house, water the garden, walk the dog, call my mom, and pick up my friend from the airport.
• The sign said it plainly: Do Not Enter.

Use semicolons when combining independent clauses without using a conjunction. When you have two related statements that you want to combine without and, or, or but, you can link the sentences with a semicolon, as in the examples below:

• There was much to say but little time; I had to bite my tongue and move on.
• I wasn’t sure what she wanted; if I picked her up, she cried, and if I set her down, she cried harder.
• It’s simple, really; if you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you.

If you can’t tell whether you should use a colon or semicolon, try replacing it with a period. If it still works, you should use a semicolon. If it creates a sentence fragment, use a colon.

Apostrophes

Apostrophes should be used for two purposes:

• Forming possessive nouns, such as Joanna’s, Hans’, it’s, the dog’s, the children’s, etc.
• Marking the omission of letters in a contraction, such as I’m (I am), can’t (cannot), or wouldn’t (would not). Some writing may omit letters outside of conventional grammar to express a certain dialect or add realism into a conversation, such as in “You got somethin’ on your mind?”

Hyphens and Dashes

Use hyphens when forming a single idea from two or more words, as in editor-in-chief, free-for-all, or clean-cut. Some compound words can be seen both hyphenated and unhyphenated depending on stylistic preference, as with e-mail and email.

Hyphens are also used to connect modifiers with words they are modifying when they need to form a unit of meaning, as in the following sentence: “The determined, challenge-loving student didn’t run from the professor’s new attempt to jeopardize her grade.”

The exception is with modifiers that end in -ly. The phrase “my sweet, highly energetic dog” does not use a hyphen, but “my sweet, high-energy dog” does.

In rare cases, hyphens may be used to avoid duplicated vowels (i.e. pre-emptive, anti-oppression) and triple-consonants (bull-like, fall-like).

Dashes are used to indicate a pause (as with commas), combine clauses (as with semicolons), or set apart extra information (as with commas around an appositive). The two types of dashes, em dashes and en dashes, are different in length but can be used for the same purpose depending on the writer or publication’s style. As the names indicate, the em dash is about as long as the letter M and the en dash is about as long as the letter N.

The following examples are all applicable uses of a dash:

• My boyfriend — wearing the shirt I gave him, with roses in hand — was waiting for me at the airport.
• I can’t imagine going through that —you must be really strong.
• There weren’t many reasons to go — but I only needed one.

Let’s try to spot punctuation errors in the following example sentences.

Now, you can apply your skills at detecting punctuation errors with our 3-question review test below. Be sure to read each passage and answer option carefully.

Punctuation Errors Review Test

Next Study Guide Unit