Lesson One - DT

Why commas are so important? For the reader, it helps him figure out which words, phrases, or clauses go together, thus, understanding more clearly what the author is conveying. For the author, he can choose which words he wants the most focus on. The comma deems the power and you, as a writer, have the power to control it.

So, knowing the rules makes all the difference in the world. Nobody wants to be known as ignorant or careless when they write. Can you imagine a long sentence without a comma? Well, I can now after seeing Missy’s sentence and what a doozy it was! But trying to read through quite a few of these can take your breath away. So proper sentence structure is the key.

Did anybody see this sentence? “Rachael Ray finds inspiration in cooking her family and her dog.” I’m a huge Rachael Ray fan and I found this sentence with its meaning gone awry when searching the web for her delicious recipes. Commas and proper sentence structure would have helped get this idea across much clearer.

What I found most rewarding is finally understanding these comma rules. I don’t have them down to memory, but I can finally say I understand them. Well, that’s after I got pass the initial shock of scrolling down the page and seeing all those rules. It was a bit daunting to say the least!

I think mastering and relearning the proper English of what to call the different conjunctions, clauses, adjectives, and elements was the hardest for me. I felt I was in a foreign language until my memory clicked in that, yes, I did study this before. After a while, it became much clearer and I felt so relieved.

I’m not one bit sorry about taking this class. I’m learning and feeling I’m way ahead of the game than I was before I entered Winnie’s classroom. I’m no longer comma ignorant, so that makes me feel as if I’m accomplishing something.