A GUIDE TO PUNCTUATION
There is no alternative to correct punctuation. Incorrect punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence, the results of which could be far-reaching.
Even if the meaning is not changed, bad punctuation, however inconsequential, can cause the reader to lose track of what is being said and give up reading a sentence.
The basic guideline is to use common sense.
—Punctuation is to make clear the thought being expressed.
—If punctuation does not help make clear what is being said, it should not be there.
“The Elements of Style” by E.B. White and William Strunk Jr. is a bible of writers. It states:
“Clarity, clarity, clarity. When you become hopelessly mired in a sentence, it is best to start fresh; do not try to fight your way through against terrible odds of syntax. Usually what is wrong is that the construction has become too involved at some point; the sentence needs to be broken apart and replaced by two or more shorter sentences.”
This applies to punctuation. If a sentence becomes cluttered with commas, semicolons and dashes, start over.
These two paragraphs are full of commas and clauses; all of it equals too much for the reader to grasp:
The Commonwealth Games Federation, in an apparent effort to persuade other nations to ignore the spiraling boycott, ruled Sunday that Budd, a runner who has had a storied past on and off the track, and Cowley, a swimmer who competes for the University of Texas, were ineligible under the Commonwealth Constitution to compete for England in the 10-day event to be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, beginning July 24.
The decision on Budd, who has been the object of a number of demonstrations in the past, and Cowley followed an earlier announcement Sunday by Tanzania that it was joining Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Uganda in boycotting the games because of Britain’s refusal to support economic sanctions against South Africa’s white-led government.