Comma Help: 8 Simple Rules for Writers

Originally posted on Harper A. Brooks:

Commas are tricky things. Through my years of teaching English to middle and high school students and writing romance, I’ve found that there are eight comma rules that writers may come across while writing. Keep in mind that these are the basics. Of course commas can get much more complicated than this. There are always exceptions to the rules, but hopefully this will help those who are struggling!

Whatever make us better writers, right?

8 Simple Comma Rules for Writers

1. Before a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) with two independent clauses

Examples:
Right: He left home, and he went to work.
Before and after the conjunction can be separated into two proper sentences that can stand on their own.

Wrong: He left home, and went to work.
Wrong: He left home, he went to work.
This is called a comma splice. The comma is in place of a period…

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