Sign up for the daily CJR newsletter. The little word “and,” we probably all know, is a conjunction. It connects things: “She is tall and thin” means she is ...

THE OXFORD COMMA is a form of punctuation - but it's become a cause of much debate over its usage. We all use commas when writing lists of things. But the Oxford comma has a very special place - it ...

Contrary to popular belief, commas don't just signify pauses in a sentence. In fact, precise rules govern when to use this punctuation mark. When followed, they lay the groundwork for clear written ...

In the first part of the series on “Understanding the conventions of academic writing”, I discussed these two common error patterns: i) Missing comma after ...

Does a missing comma in a sentence change the meaning of the sentence? Look at this sentence: The panda eats shoots and leaves. Now insert commas after the words ‘eats’ and ‘shoots’ and the meaning of ...

Clarity is essential in life. A misinterpreted sentence, whether verbal or written, may have disastrous consequences. The importance of punctuation marks is clearly demonstrated in the difference ...