My mother-in-law asked me proof-read a writing assignment for her English class. She claims that writing isn't her thing, but what she sent me was good stuff. She has a writing gene in there somewhere.
I decided to investigate semicolon usage, of which I haven't been as sure, and brush up on my comma usage.
Semicolons have four main functions, and
commas have many.
I'm glad I learned a thing or two about semicolons, and I chuckled when I read this sentence about commas: "Some essays look as though the student loaded a shotgun with commas and blasted away." According to that person, commas are highly overused.
So many unnecessary commas! They are everywhere. You should read the book "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" by Lynne Truss. It's about punctuation, but it's surprisingly entertaining.
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