Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Conquering the Comma PowerPoint Presentation

Media File: Conquering the Comma PowerPoint Presentation

This resource is enhanced by a PowerPoint file. If you have a Microsoft Account, you can view this file with PowerPoint Online.

This presentation is designed to acquaint you or your students with the rules of comma usage, including:

placement in compound sentences
placement after introductory elements
placement with dependent phrases and clauses
placement around nonessential elements
placement in a series
placement with adjectives

This presentation will also cover methods for avoiding a common comma error—the comma splice. The twenty-six slide presentation included here is designed to aid the facilitator in an interactive presentation of the elements of comma usage. This presentation is ideal for the beginning of a composition course, the assignment of a writing project, or as a refresher presentation for grammar usage.

Navigation
Purdue OWL
General Writing
- General Writing Introduction
- The Writing Process
  - The Writing Process Introduction
  - Writing Task Resource List: What Do You Need To Write?
  - Invention: Starting the Writing Process
  - Prewriting (Invention)
  - Writer's Block
    - Symptoms and Cures for Writer's Block
    - More Writer's Block Strategies
  - Stasis Theory
  - Creating a Thesis Statement, Thesis Statement Tips
  - Developing an Outline
  - Reverse Outlining
  - Proofreading
  - Time Management: Conquering Long Assignments
- Academic Writing
  - Academic Writing Introduction
  - The Rhetorical Situation
  - Establishing Arguments
  - Logic in Argumentative Writing
  - Historical Perspectives on Argumentation
  - Paragraphs and Paragraphing
    - On Paragraphs
    - Paragraphing
  - Essay Writing
  - Conciseness
  - Paramedic Method
  - Reverse Paramedic Method
  - Adding Emphasis
  - Sentence Variety
  - Using Appropriate Language
  - Active and Passive Voice
  - Email Etiquette
  - Email Etiquette for Students
  - Using Foreign Languages in Academic Writing in English
  - Public Speaking and Presentations
- Common Writing Assignments
  - Common Writing Assignments Introduction
  - Understanding Writing Assignments
  - Argument Papers
  - Research Papers
  - Exploratory Papers
    - Exploratory Papers
    - Organizing an Exploratory Essay
  - Annotated Bibliographies
  - Book Reports
  - Definitions
  - Essays for Exams
  - Book Reviews
  - Academic Proposals
- Mechanics
  - Mechanics Introduction
  - Higher, Lower Order Concerns
  - Sentence Clarity
  - Parts of Speech Overview
  - Sentence Clarity Presentation
  - Sentence Fragments
  - Transitions and Transitional Devices
    - Transitions
    - Transitional Devices
  - Dangling Modifiers and How To Correct Them
  - Parallel Structure
  - Two-Part (Phrasal) Verbs (Idioms)
  - Capitals: Help with Capitals
  - Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives
- Grammar
  - Grammar Introduction
  - Spelling: Common Words that Sound Alike
  - Numbers: Writing Numbers
  - Adjective or Adverb
    - Adjectives and Adverbs
    - Avoiding Common Errors
  - How to Use Adjectives and Adverbs
    - Adjectives with Count and Noncount Nouns
    - Adjective or Adverb?
  - Appositives
  - Articles: A versus An
  - How to Use Articles (a/an/the)
  - Prepositions
  - Pronouns
  - Relative Pronouns
  - Count and Noncount Nouns
  - Subject/Verb Agreement
  - Verb Tenses
  - Active Verb Tenses
  - Irregular Verbs
    - Irregular Verbs
    - Commonly Confused Verbs
  - That vs. Which
- Punctuation
  - Punctuation Introduction
  - Punctuation
    - Punctuation Overview
    - Punctuation in Sentences
  - Sentence Punctuation Patterns
  - Independent and Dependent Clauses
    - Independent and Dependent Clauses
    - Run On Sentences
  - Conquering the Comma Presentation
  - Commas
  - Apostrophe Introduction
  - Hyphen Use
  - Quotation Marks
- Visual Rhetoric
  - Visual Rhetoric Introduction
  - Visual Rhetoric
  - Analyzing Visual Documents
  - Using Fonts with Purpose
  - Color Theory Presentation
  - Designing Effective PowerPoint Presentations
  - Data Visualization
- Undergraduate Applications
  - Undergraduate Applications Introduction
  - Advice from Undergraduate Admissions Officers
  - Undergraduate Application Timeline and Additional Resources
- Graduate School Applications
- Personal Correspondence
- Community Engaged Writing
- Media File Index
  - Media File Index
  - Workshops and PowerPoints
  - Sample Papers
  - Sample Employment Documents
  - Purdue OWL Vidcasts
  - Purdue OWL Podcasts
  - Purdue OWL Flash Movies
- General Writing FAQs
Research and Citation
- Research and Citation Resources
- Conducting Research
  - Conducting Research Introduction
  - Research Overview
  - Conducting Primary Research
  - Evaluating Sources of Information
  - Searching Online
  - Internet References
  - Archival Research
- Using Research
  - Using Research Introduction
  - Writing with Statistics
  - Strategies for Fair Use
  - Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
  - Paraphrase Exercises
  - Avoiding Plagiarism
  - Writing Scientific Abstracts Presentation
  - ASA Style
  - Resources for Documenting Sources in the Disciplines
    - Overview
    - Complete Discipline Listing
  - Citation Style Chart
  - "Should I Cite This?" Poster
- APA Style (7th Edition)
- MLA Style
- Chicago Style
- IEEE Style
- AMA Style
- ASA Style
- APA Style (6th Edition)
- Using Citation Generators Responsibly
- Using Paper Checkers Responsibly
- Style Manual Glossary
Teacher and Tutor Resources
- Writing Instructors
  - Writing Instructors Introduction
  - Parents
  - Grades 7-12 Instructors and Students
  - Non-Purdue Users
  - Purdue Instructors and Students
  - Adult Basic Education
  - Writing Across the Curriculum: An Introduction
  - Creative Nonfiction in Writing Courses
  - Poetry in Writing Courses
  - Teaching Detailed Writing and Procedural Transitions
  - Teaching OSDDP: A Guide for Professional Writing Instructors
  - Email Etiquette for Professors
- Writing Letters of Recommendation for Students
- Writing Tutors
  - Writing Tutors Introduction
  - Purdue Writing Lab Quick Tour
  - Meeting One-on-One with Students
  - Tutoring a Résumé
  - Tutoring Cover Letters
  - Tutoring Creative Writing Students
  - Tutoring Lab Reports
  - Tutoring Grammar
  - Tutoring Deaf Clients
- Teaching Resources
- Preventing Plagiarism
- Translingual Writing
- Writing in the Engineering Classroom
Subject-Specific Writing
- Professional, Technical Writing
  - Professional, Technical Writing Introduction
  - Workplace Writers
  - Effective Workplace Writing
  - Audience Analysis
  - Prioritizing Your Concerns for Effective Business Writing
    - Higher Order Concerns
    - Lower Order Concerns
  - Parallel Structure
  - Activity and Postmortem Reports
  - Tone in Business Writing
  - HATS: A Design Procedure for Routine Business Documents
  - Basic Business Letters
    - The Basic Business Letter
    - Sample Letters
  - Accentuating the Positives
  - Memos
  - Four Point Action Closing
  - Grant Writing
  - Donation Request Letters
  - Technical Reports & Report Abstracts
    - Writing Report Abstracts
    - Reports, Proposals, and Technical Papers
  - White Papers
  - Revision in Business Writing
  - Business Writing for Administrative and Clerical Staff
- Writing in Literature
  - Writing in Literature Introduction
  - Writing About Film
    - Writing About Film: Terminology and Starting Prompts
    - Film Writing: Sample Analysis
  - Literary Terms
    - Literary Terms
  - Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism
  - Writing About Fiction
  - Writing About Literature
  - Writing in Literature (Detailed Discussion)
  - Writing About Poetry
  - Image in Poetry
  - Poetry: Close Reading
  - Writing about World Literature
    - Writing about World Literature
    - Thesis Statement PowerPoint
- Writing in the Social Sciences
  - Writing in the Social Sciences Introduction
  - Social Work Literature Review Guidelines
  - Writing in Psychology: Experimental Report Writing
- Writing in Engineering
  - Engineering Project Documentation
  - Writing in Engineering Introduction
  - Writing Engineering Reports
  - Handbook on Report Formats
    - Introduction
    - Purposes and Types