When it comes to writing, punctuation usage is something that many people find difficult. The common reason behind this problem is that they only know how to use punctuation marks while writing essays and papers. But the truth is, there are some basic rules that you can keep in mind when writing structures such as the ones used in tweets and Facebook posts. Here are some of them.

Punctuation Rules For Language Used Online

Use commas with coordinating conjunctions.

Commas are important in a lot of writing that people do online because they help in separating items from one another. An example sentence would be: “We went to the store for chips, cheese, and bread.” The comma separates the three items from one another so that it does not appear like one long string of ingredients.

Do not use periods for acronyms and initialisms.

Acronyms and initialisms can be tricky because there are certain words that require periods by default such as ‘Mrs’ or ‘Mr’ and others which do not require any periods. When you are unsure about the appropriate use of period for acronyms, then you can use an abbreviation like ‘Dr’ or ‘USMC’ instead.

We all make mistakes with punctuation, and it’s an area of English where there are many “rules”, and in fact even the rules themselves have exceptions. Some people feel intimidated by punctuation, but if you can at least understand the basic rules, it will help you to write clearly.

In this blog, I’m going to look at some of the most common problems people face with grammar in the English language.

Some people love grammar, but others view it as a form of torture that they would rather avoid. The truth is that good grammar is essential for clear communication online. If you don’t follow the rules of grammar, your readers may lose interest in what you have written.

Some people use the Internet as a way to write their thoughts and ideas down on paper. Others use it to share information with other people around the world. Whatever your reason for using the Internet, one thing remains true: your grammar matters!

The Internet has created a new type of writing: one that involves more than just words on paper or a screen. It’s a type of writing where grammar is important because we’re communicating with others through our writing.

To write well online, you need to know how to use punctuation properly and consistently. You don’t have

I can say this with some degree of confidence that there are no hard and fast rules for writing online. The internet is still a relatively new medium and as such, it is still in its infancy as far as having rules or guidelines for usage goes.

With that being said, there are a few basic rules that I have learned along the way that may help when you are writing online (especially on your blog).

When writing online, you need to consider two things. Your audience, and your purpose for writing.

Purpose:

Is it to inform? Is it to sell? Is it to entertain? Is it to persuade? Is it simply just to write and share your thoughts?

Audience:

Who will be reading what you write? How can you best get your point or message across so they will understand your point? Are they a general audience of the entire world who speaks English? Or are they an academic audience who might speak english as a second language? Or will they be fellow writers and know exactly what you mean when you are using certain words or phrases.

Punctuation marks are the symbols we use in order to make written language clear and comprehensive. Punctuation marks are important because they help us to understand how a sentence should be read and make meaning clearer.

The main purposes of punctuation marks are clarify meaning of sentence, avoid misunderstanding, avoid ambiguity and grouping words and sentences to show relationships between them.

Before punctuation, written text was very difficult to read. The rhythm and cadence of speech is often lost when reading something that has not been punctuated. Therefore, punctuation helps the reader understand what is being said.

Without proper punctuation, you run the risk of confusing the reader or even changing the entire meaning of a sentence. For example, consider this sentence:

Let’s eat, Grandma! vs Lets eat Grandma!

In the first case, you are inviting your grandma to dinner; in the second case, you are suggesting eating her! Proper punctuation can literally save lives!

Punctuation is the system of symbols that we use to separate written sentences and parts of sentences, and to make their meaning clear. Punctuation marks can be divided into two main types:

1)Punctuation that is used inside a sentence. This group includes the comma, semicolon, colon, apostrophe, quotation marks and exclamation mark.

2)Punctuation that is used at the end of a sentence. This group includes the question mark, exclamation point (or exclamation mark), period (or full stop) and ellipsis.

Punctuation is a set of symbols that are used to change the meaning and structure of a sentence. While some punctuation can be ignored when writing by hand, it is considered mandatory when typing.

Punctuation Symbols:

Period (.)

A period is used at the end of a sentence. It is also used after an abbreviation.

Comma (,)

A comma indicates a short pause in a sentence. The most common use of a comma is to separate words in a list.

Colon (:)

A colon introduces something that illustrates or amplifies what has gone before it. It can be used after the salutation of a business letter, between the chapter and verse of biblical references, and to separate hours from minutes and titles from subtitles.

Semicolon (;)

A semicolon is used when you want to join together two sentences that are closely related but could stand alone as complete thoughts. You would not use a semicolon if the two sentences could be separated by a period. For example, you wouldn’t use it between items in a list, because each item already has its own ending punctuation mark (period).

Place a comma before any coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet) that links two independent clauses.

Example:

I would have finished my homework, but I had to watch my brother.

Do not place a comma before a coordinating conjunction if the subject does not appear in both clauses.

Example:

She was embarrassed that she forgot her sister’s birthday and sent her an apology letter.

Place a comma after introductory words, phrases, or clauses.

Examples:

Yes, I want to go to the movies with you tonight.

After we eat dinner, can we go to the new Star Wars movie?

If you ever see me at school again, remind me not to eat lunch with you.

No matter how many times I tell him to clean his room, he never listens to me.