{"id":4681,"date":"2016-10-14T19:00:03","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T13:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/?p=4681"},"modified":"2019-07-19T19:43:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-19T13:43:00","slug":"comma-usage-in-academic-writing-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/comma-usage-in-academic-writing-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Effectively Use Commas in Academic Writing (Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Comma usage remains one of the most misunderstood concepts in writing. The misconception that a comma can be arbitrarily inserted to denote a pause must be dispensed with. There are specific (and quite stringent) rules that should be adhered to in academic writing. This article will explore these specific rules in detail.<\/p>\n<h2>Use a Comma to Separate Elements in a List<\/h2>\n<p>One of the basic uses of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/importance-of-punctuation-in-research-paper-part-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comma<\/a> is to segregate items in a list. In American English, a comma (also known as serial comma or Oxford comma) is inserted before the conjunction separating the last item in the list.<\/p>\n<p>Points to remember:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Commas are used to\u00a0separate more than two elements in a list<\/li>\n<li>Use a semi-colon instead of a comma to segregate the list items that have internal commas<\/li>\n<li>The concluding conjunction may not always be \u201cand\u201d; \u201cor\u201d and \u201cas well as\u201d are also used for this purpose<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Example,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>The questionnaire was distributed to the local residents, district bodies, and the neighborhood schools.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Introductory Comma<\/h2>\n<p>An introductory comma is used after introductory words, phrases, and clauses. These elements introduce a premise which is resolved by the main (independent) clause.<\/p>\n<h3>Introductory Words<\/h3>\n<p>Introductory words convey a sense of continuity from one sentence or point of view to the one succeeding it.<\/p>\n<p>Examples of introductory words: <em>However<\/em>, <em>moreover<\/em>, <em>thus<\/em>, <em>therefore<\/em>, <em>further<\/em>, etc.<\/p>\n<p>Usage in a sentence: <em>Consequently<\/em>, the sample size had to be increased to include the observed anomalies.<\/p>\n<div id=\"om-dqx4acd1ednpm2dtmovz-holder\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.opmnstr.com\/app\/js\/api.min.js\" data-campaign=\"dqx4acd1ednpm2dtmovz\" data-user=\"41855\" async><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Introductory Phrases and Clauses<\/h3>\n<p>Introductory phrases also introduce a concept or thought that is explained\/elaborated by the main clause. Introductory phrases do not have a subject or a verb, unlike introductory clauses.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Introductory phrase<\/strong>: <em>On one hand<\/em>, grouping students by a response to positive facial expressions allows them to react at their own pace.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Introductory clause: <\/strong><em>Since zoologists have been trying to interpret how animals communicate<\/em>, a new study will attempt to interpret sounds made by various species of mammals.<\/p>\n<h2>FANBOYS Comma<\/h2>\n<p>Use a comma to separate two <em>independent<\/em> clauses when they are joined by a <em>coordinating <\/em>conjunction. To help remember these conjunctions, an acronym has been coined.<\/p>\n<p>F &#8211; for<\/p>\n<p>A &#8211; and<\/p>\n<p>N &#8211; nor<\/p>\n<p>B &#8211; but (not <em>because<\/em> &#8211; this is a subordinating conjunction)<\/p>\n<p>O &#8211; or<\/p>\n<p>Y &#8211; yet<\/p>\n<p>S &#8211; so<\/p>\n<p>Clauses that can convey complete meaning on their own are known as independent clauses. They are joined by appropriate coordinating conjunctions to convey a sense of continuity. Ideally, two independent clauses can be separated by a period and represented as separate sentences; however, transitional words and phrases as well as coordinating conjunctions are used to denote the logical flow of a sentence or an argument.<\/p>\n<p>Examples,<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<ol>\n<li><em>In this study, sensitivity to feedback in classrooms was not considered for the outcome, but it is relevant and should have been taken into account.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The supply chain of the organizations observed had been significantly affected after the Fukushima disaster, yet they resumed operation shortly after.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Each of the seven coordinating conjunctions plays a different role in a sentence and must be appropriately used to link the independent clauses.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4682 aligncenter lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/comma1.jpg\" alt=\"comma1\" width=\"742\" height=\"250\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 742px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 742\/250;\" \/><\/p>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: center\"><em>Source<\/em>: <a href=\"http:\/\/speakspeak.com\/resources\/english-grammar-rules\/conjunctions\/coordinating-so-and-but-or-yet-for-nor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"broken_link\">http:\/\/speakspeak.com\/resources\/english-grammar-rules\/conjunctions\/coordinating-so-and-but-or-yet-for-nor<\/a><\/h6>\n<h2>Comma Splice<\/h2>\n<p>A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are incorrectly separated by a comma instead of being joined by an appropriate conjunction.<\/p>\n<p>For example: <em>Local residents are complaining about a substantial increase in noise pollution when the development project began, nobody has taken this into consideration.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Such instances can be resolved by,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Using a semi-colon to punctuate and separate the two independent clauses: <em>Local residents are complaining about a substantial increase in noise pollution when the development project began; nobody has taken this into consideration.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Using a period to punctuate and separate the two independent clauses: <em>Local residents are complaining about a substantial increase in noise pollution when the development project began. Nobody has taken this into consideration.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One of the most prominent uses of a comma is with respect to parenthetical elements. Parenthetical elements are regarded as extra information, that is, a sentence would still convey a comprehensive meaning if such information is omitted. However, parenthetical elements are often best judged contextually, and this will be discussed in detail in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/comma-usage-in-academic-writing-part-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Use Commas in Academic Writing (Part 2)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"display:flex; gap:10px;justify-content:\" class=\"wps-pgfw-pdf-generate-icon__wrapper-frontend\">\n\t\t<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681?action=genpdf&amp;id=4681\" class=\"pgfw-single-pdf-download-button\" ><img data-src=\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-generator-for-wp\/admin\/src\/images\/PDF_Tray.svg\" title=\"Generate PDF\" style=\"width:auto; height:45px;\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\"><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Comma usage remains one of the most misunderstood concepts in writing. The misconception that a&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[1424],"ppma_author":[1897],"class_list":["post-4681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-language-grammar","category-academic-writing","tag-using-punctuation-marks"],"better_featured_image":null,"acf":{"faq_main_heading":"","faq_heading_one":"","faq_heading_two":"","faq_heading_three":"","faq_heading_four":"","faq_heading_five":"","faq_heading_six":"","faq_description_one":"","faq_description_two":"","faq_description_three":"","faq_description_four":"","faq_description_five":"","faq_description_six":""},"views":7780,"single_webinar_page_date":null,"single_webinar_page_time":null,"session_agenda":null,"who_should_attend_this_session":null,"about_the_speaker_field":null,"co-webinar-sec":null,"co_webinar_sec_one":null,"speaker-name":null,"webinar-date":null,"webinar-time":null,"webinar-s-image":null,"custum_webinar_category":null,"authors":[{"term_id":1897,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"admin","display_name":"Enago Academy","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d65d60a21040c13377a06062d1e6b7cc8c2864ea1bdab2ddb791840dabc77cc?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4681"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=4681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}