Services
Guaranteed Higher Grade! Submit Now

Get upto 50% discount + 10% Cashback

Punctuation in Academic Writing: Common Pitfalls

Punctuation in Academic Writing: Common Pitfalls
cal LiveWebTutors cal 02 Jun, 2020

Are you the one, who loves to do writing? If yes, then we are here to make your writing perfect. What we people used to do while writing is that, we focus on the words only, which is not right. Focusing on the words is not enough to make academic writing better. There are many other aspects also, on which the writer has to pay close attention.

The most important thing other than words is “Punctuation”. Punctuation plays a vital role in making the writing better, which makes the writing look more perfect. Punctuation is a magical key factor, which can make you feel dumb and even a hero for writing. That is why it is very important to pay close attention to punctuation.

If you want to put proper punctuation marks in your writing, here we are to sort out your problem. In the forthcoming paragraphs, we are going to demonstrate punctuation in academic writing: common pitfalls, so that you will come to know, where you are mistaken. It is very important to know, where we are mistaken so that you can rectify your mistakes to make the writing perfect. So, let us get started without wasting a single minute.

Common pitfalls in punctuation while writing

Here are a few common pitfalls demonstrated by punctuation, which people used to make. So, read on to find your mistakes, and rectify them to bring perfection to your writing:

Don’t get confused between “it’s” and “its”

It basically refers to “It is” or “It Has”. If you will use it without an apostrophe sign, it will refer to a possessive noun. If in case, you get confused that what to use in the statement, then you can write “it is” or “it has” directly. If you will write “it is” or “it has” directly, then it will show the meaning directly without making any confusion. If in case, the substitute will not work in your sentence, then you can use it directly. It totally depends upon does the apostrophe will make any sense, or not.

What is the mistake? It's a very delicious apple, and its color is pure red.

Correction: It’s a very delicious apple and its color is pure red.

 Do not make use of apostrophes to pluralize the things

There are many people, who try to use apostrophes to make things pluralize. But, this is not right at all. In order to pluralize the things, you should use the word without any apostrophe. The apostrophe is used to show that, the thing belongs to that particular subject. That is why never try to use apostrophes to increase the counts of things. There is no doubt, it is a very common mistake, but the fact is that it will make you look dumb seriously.

What is the mistake? Those homes are superb in looking.

Correction: Those homes are superb in their looking.

Do not forget to use Comma

It is a very common mistake, which is done by almost every writer. If there is any professional writer, he also makes silly mistakes sometimes. The mistake is actually that they do not use commas in their sentence. People use to write sentences, and they do not use commas. They just run on with the sentences, which makes the sentence confusing. It is very important to use commas so that people can identify things separately.

What you should do with your sentences is you should link two independent clauses by using commas. Commas will connect those two independent clauses, which makes the sentence look appropriate, and it will be better for the readers also to understand it properly. Make sure to not use many commas also, otherwise, it will make the sentence look really weird. So, it is better to connect the sentences with commas, but keep them a little short also.

What is the mistake? I was leaving for my office I just got late so I booked a cab.

Correction: I was leaving for my office; I just got late; so I booked a cab.

Do not overuse the commas

It is also a very common and silly mistake, that people used to make writing. Overuse the commas. What they do is, write a short sentence, which can easily end up with an addition of “And” in the between of the sentence, but still, they add commas in it, which makes it look weird seriously. If being a writer, you will use too many commas in your sentence; it will really bring a bad impact on your reputation for being a writer also.

Now, the fact is that, if the writer will use too many commas in his sentence, then it will look grammatically wrong as well. Basically, a comma needs to connect the two independent clauses rather than using it unnecessarily with any of the connected sentences. You can use coordinating conjunction rather than using a comma in your sentence. If you want to use a comma, then use it when you need to connect the two independent clauses. In the case of dependent clauses also, the comma is used.

What is the mistake? I went to my home and ate dinner.

Correction: I went to my home and ate dinner.

Do not use commas and periods after the quotation marks

What people do is, use commas outside the quotation, which is completely wrong. The periods and commas are made to use inside the quotation. If you are working on the US writing pattern, the commas and periods will be used inside the quotation marks. If we talk about British writing patterns, commas and periods are to be used outside the quotation.

That is why, when you are going to write this, first clarify, what your styling pattern is. Place the commas and periods inside the quotation marks. Not only the periods and commas but make sure to follow this guideline with other punctuation marks also. Use all the punctuation marks inside the quotation marks.

What is the importance of punctuation in writing?

If we talk about writing, then it is not only about words. One has to pay close attention to other factors. Punctuation is a very important factor, to which the writer has to pay close attention. Punctuation is basically a key factor of writing to which the students do not pay attention, which can make them look dumb as well. Basically, what happens is, we writers only focus on writing, nothing else.

But the fact is that, if the punctuation marks are not used appropriately in the article or in any kind of writing, then the reader will get confused. Writers usually do not use commas in their articles and writings, which makes the reading confusing. Sometimes the writers used too many commas in their writing, which also makes the readers confused. That is why using the appropriate punctuation marks in the writing at the right place is very important.

How to rectify the punctuation mistakes

If you want to rectify your punctuation mistakes, then here we are for you. Read the above-demonstrated tips carefully, and then use them in your writing, so that you can make your writing better. Other than this, there are many online platforms, where one can read and understand punctuation mistakes. One can rectify his mistakes through learning. Ask your teachers also what you have done in your writing, and where you are mistaken with punctuation so that you will come to know where to rectify.

If there is any writing task available in your pipeline, and you do not have enough time to deal with it, then you can also have the online assignment help services also. With the online assignment help service, you can online assignment help service; you can get your assignment or any other writing task is done without wasting any time. The expert writers are aware of each and every factor of writing, which is why they won't let you feel regret hiring them. In addition, you can ask the export writers to share the samples as well. With the help of the samples also, the student can identify what is mistaken in his article.

Final Words

Hope that now you understood the value of punctuation in writing. Punctuation can make you're writing a star in front of people, or it can make you look dumb also. That is why; make sure that, you have made proper punctuation in your writing. The details demonstrated above will help you, and you can read other articles also to identify where you are mistaken, and how you can make it up easily.  

For your academic writing help, you can take the help of livewebtutors. We have a team of writers who are Master and Ph.D. degree holders with vast experience in their subjects. Our team of expert writers is available for you to relieve you of anxiety and stress due to your academic assignments.

Read more- How can students manage time effectively

Latest Blog Posts

Word Count

Mobile No