The Regents ELA Exam: Punctuation Tips

Comma Use
There is one general guideline to keep in mind for comma use: The primary function of the comma is to prevent confusion for your reader.

The comma shows how separate parts of sentences are related to one another.

Introductory clauses and phrases need a comma. This makes it clear where the introduction ends and the main clause begins.

Note the following examples:
“Though I have traveled all over the world, it is the smell of the tides and marshes of Beaufort County that identifies and shapes me.”
“Because I came to Beaufort County when I was a boy, my novels all smell of seawater.”
—Pat Conroy

Use the comma in compound sentences with coordinating conjunctions and, but, yet, so, or, for. A compound sentence joins two or more independent clauses that could be expressed separately as simple sentences.

Note that the comma precedes the conjunction:
“I walked slowly, for the detail on the beach was infinite.”
—Ernie Pyle

“The luncheon hour was long past, and the two had their end of the vast terrace to themselves.”
—Edith Wharton

A final suggestion: Use a comma only where you hear a clear need for one. 

The Apostrophe
Remember, the most common use of the apostrophe is to show possession.

The novel’s major themes = The major themes of the novel
Fiction reveals characters’ motives and actions = The motives of the characters
Shakespeare dramatizes Macbeth’s struggle with his conscience and ambition.

Avoid the increasingly common error of using the apostrophe to show the plural.
Mark Twain wrote several novels; he did not write “novel’s.”
Holden Caulfield spends several days (not day’s) in New York before going home.
Students in New York State are expected to read at least 25 books (not book’s) per year.