Try Counting Your Commas

A sentence can be correct but too intricate to follow easily when the reader is pressed for time. Here’s an example:

Chris Cosentino of Incanto, known for his nose-to-tail, whole-animal cooking, will be on hand, as well as the person who could be called his culinary opposite — chef Eric Tucker of Millennium, who eschews dairy, eggs, oil and animal products.

— Lisa Wallace, “SF Chefs 2011 offers a taste of the city,” sfgate.com, July 21, 2011

That sentence is perfectly punctuated. But the information would be much easier to digest as two sentences:

Chris Cosentino of Incanto will be on hand; he is known for his nose-to-tail, whole-animal cooking. Chef Eric Tucker of Millennium could be called his culinary opposite: Tucker eschews dairy, eggs, oil and animal products.

The original sentence has seven commas; counting commas is a great way to keep your prose streamlined.

As a rule of thumb, try recasting a sentence with three or more commas unless it includes a list of easy-to-follow items in a series.

Write It Well’s e-learning module Just Commas includes self-paced quizzes to help you test your knowledge of punctuation, and our book Essential Grammar includes a full chapter on commas.

We’ve made all the book’s exercises available as a free download here to accompany the e-book, which is now available on Amazon.com!

Do you have an important document but not enough time to double-check your punctuation or detangle long, intricate sentences? Just use Write It Well’s editing services.

We’ll make sure your prose is correct, clear, concise, and engaging so your readers will respect your voice and follow all your ideas easily.