Academic Wiring: Punctiation

Comma

That cannot be used with comma
If it look paralel but the subjet is there, put comma before and.

Practice 1 (comma)

2. A company that wants to be successful must spend a great deal of money to advertise its products.
3. Advertising is essential to the free enterprise system, yet it can sometimes be very annoying.
4. Every minute of the day and night, people are exposed to ads on television, on billboards, in the newspapers, and in the magazines.
5. Yo cannot even avoid advertising in the privacy of your own car or your own home, for advertisers have begun selling their products in those places, too.
6. In the last few years, advertising agencies have started to hire young people to hand out circulars on street corners and in parking lots.
7. You can often find these circulars stuck on your windshield thrust, through the open windows of your car, stuffed in your mailbox, or simply scattered on your front doorstep.
8. Because Americans are exposed to so much advertising, they have become immune to it.
9. As a result, advertisers have to make louder commercials, use brighter colors, and hire sexier models to catch the public's attention.
10. Many people object to commercials that use sex as a sales strategy.
11. Sexy commercials that sell everything from toothpaste to automobiles seem to imply that you will become sexier if you buy the product.
12. Sex is use in many cigarette and liquor ads, for example.
13. The woman in such ads are often dressed in revealing clothes and are surrounded by handsome men, and the men in such ads are always extremely handsome and virile.
14. As everyone knows, smoking and drinking do not make you sexy or virile.
15. On the contrary, drinking makes you fat, and smoking makes you sick.
16. Recently, smoking was banned in most public places in the United States.
17. Many people opposed the law, but it finally passed.
18. Smoking is now prohibited in hospitals, airports, stores, offices, and restaurants.
19. In many other countries, however, smoking is still allowed.
20. Anti smoking groups want to ban smoking in those countries, too.

Semicolon

Semicolon replace fanboys. 

Semicolon is only used for well connected idea, and only to vary your style in writing

Practice 2 (Semicolon)

colon cannot be put after are.

2. Grace works for a prestigious law firm; she is their top criminal lawyer.

3. My favorite leisure-time activities are going to movies, especially musical; reading novels, especially stories of love and adventure; listening to music, both rock and classical; and participating in sports, particularly tennis and volleyball.

4. The future of our wild animals is uncertain; for example, illegal shooting and chemical poisoning threaten many birds.

5. Homework is boring; therefore, i never do it.

6. The freeways are always crowded during the busy rush hours; nevertheless, people refuse to take public transportation.

7. The Smiths' marriage should succeed; they share the same interests.

8. Hoping that he would pass the course, he stayed up all night studying for the final exam; unfortunately, he overslept and missed the test.

9. In general, I enjoy my English class; the amount of homework our teacher assigns is definitely not enjoyable, however.

10. If you are a college student, and average day is filled with challenges: you have to avoid running into Professor Jones, whose class you missed because you overslept; you have to race across the campus at high speed to reach your next class, which is always at he other side of the campus; and you have to secretly prepare your homework assignment during class, hoping all the time that the teacher will not catch you.

Practice 3 (combination of both)

1. My bus was late; therefore, I missed my first class.

2 The politician was discovered accepting bribes; as a result, his political career was ruined.

3. My father never cries; in fact, he never shows any emotion at all.

4. The restaurant was closed; consequently, we went home to eat.

5. Some people feel that grades are unnecessary; on the other hand, some people feel that grades motivate students.

6. Technology is changing our lives in harmful ways; for example, the computer is replacing human contact. 

7. The computer dehumanized business; nevertheless, it has some real advantages.

8. Writing essays is easy; it just takes a little practice.

9. North Americans love pets; every family seems to have at least one dog or cat.

10. The life expectancy of North Americans is increasing; for example, the life expectancy of a person born in 2000 was 77.2 years, which is an increase of almost 30 years since 1900.

11. Your proposal is a good one; however, I don not completely agree with your final suggestion.

Colons

To introduce ist.

not after to be (are/were/was/is). Add as follow/are the following.

Not te be used after preposition (for example "to")

Direct attention to apopsitive

before long quote

before subtitle

For time, american use colon, british fullstop.

After formal salutation, for informal use comma.

Practice 4 (Comma and friends)

1. The library offers many special services: the Student Learning Center, where students can receive individual tutoring; special classes, where they can improve their math, reading, writing, and computer skills; and group study rooms, where they can meet with classmates to discuss assignments.

2. 

Dear Dr Patterson:

Dear Jacob,

Dear Mr. Carter:

3.  To check a book out of the library, you should follow this procedure: Write down the call number of the book, find the book, take it to the circulation desk, fill out the card, and show your student I.D.

4. The principal sources of air pollution in our cities are factories airplanes and automobiles.

5. I have a dental appointment at 3:30 today. Please pick me up at 3:00.