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Welcome to the Purdue OWL News!
This is a weekly newsletter written by the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) staff that offers writing help and advice, and updates on what's new at Purdue's OWL and in the Purdue Writing Lab. We've relocated from Listbot to Topica, and we'd like to welcome all of our new and returning members.
After last week's question, there was some debate about the use of a comma after a coordinating conjunction. Several of our readers wondered whether one must always put a comma before a coordinating conjunction or if there are exceptions. We did some research and found that there is some disagreement, but several reputable sources agree that occasionally a comma before a coordinating conjunction is not necessary.
Some grammar and style handbooks give the rule as always using a comma. For example, both the Modern Language Association (MLA) and American Psychological Association (APA) handbooks (2nd and 5th editions, respectively) say to use a comma before a coordinating conjunction.
However, other style manuals, such as the Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage (4th Ed.), say the following:
"Exception: A comma may be omitted if the two independent clauses are short and there is no danger of misreading" (p. 128).
The Chicago Manual of Style (13th Ed.) says the following:
"When the clauses of a compound sentence are joined by a conjunction, a comma should be placed before the conjunction unless the clauses are short and closely related: 'The two men quickly bolted the door, but the intruder had already entered through the window.' 'Charles played the guitar and Betty sang'" (p. 137).
Writing on the Job: A Norton Pocket Guide, says the following: "Use comas before coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor, so, and yet) to separate independent statements that could stand on their own as complete sentences. [...] NOTE: With short independent statements that are parallel in form, you can omit the comma" (pp. 164-165).
The Professional Secretaries International Complete Office Handbook says the following: "Use a comma (if there are no other commas in the sentence) to separate two independent clauses of a compound sentence connected by the conjunctions 'and,' 'but,' 'nor,' 'for,' 'or,' 'so,' and 'yet.' Use a comma only when the material on both sides of the conjunction can stand alone; each side must contain a subject and a predicate" (p. 529).
So, while no handbook claims that the comma can be omitted in all cases, four out of the six surveyed claim that it is acceptable to omit the comma under certain circumstances, such as when the clauses are brief and/or closely related, as well as if there is no danger of misreading the sentence without a comma.
It would seem, therefore, that the best advice that we could give to anyone looking for a "rule" on this would be for them to follow the instructions in the style manual for their discipline or profession, since the varying manuals seem to disagree on how closely the rule must be applied and in what cases it must always be applied.
Many of our readers write to us with questions or requests for help with their writing. Readers also write to us with suggestions about how to help people learn more about writing. In this section of the newsletter, wešll try to bring together both the people looking for help and the people who can help them.
Each week we'll publish a request for advice or information. If you have information or advice about this topic, please write to us at owlnews@owl.english.purdue.edu. Please let us know if you want us to include your name and/or your email address when we publish your information or advice. The following week, wešll publish the best information and advice that we receive in the newsletter.
Several readers wrote in with their favorite search engines such as google.com and yahoo.com. We also have compiled some helpful suggestions for Internet research and tips on how to be a savvy Internet user.
Conducting a Productive Web Searchhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_websearch.html Searching the World Wide Web http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_websearch2.html Evaluating Sources of Information http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_evalsource.html
Thanks to everyone who wrote in with your suggestions! Here˙s our next request from some of our readers. I want to be a better proofreader of my own work. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to improve my own proofreading skills?
Got some help for our readers? Send it to owlnews@owl.english.purdue.edu. Your advice and information about this will appear in next week's newsletter. If you have a general request for help and information, you can send it to us at owlnews@owl.english.purdue.edu and we'll try to include it in the newsletter as soon as possible.
We have recently updated our archive of past OWL Newsletters. If you've missed some past issues or want to re-visit some of the information from previous newsletters, you can find it all here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/lab/owl/owlnews/index.html
A revised version of our Using THOR Powerpoint presentation, which covers searching the Purdue Library System catalogs and indexes, is now available. The presentation has been updated to reflect changes in the THOR interface and search methods. If you were using the old presentation, download a copy of the new one to see what's changed. If you're looking to learn (or teach) the THOR system, check it out! You can find it here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/index.html#research
School starts again on August 20th. We will therefore resume our regular school schedule here in the Lab. The Lab will be open Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. till 6 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. till 1 p.m.
If you'd like to meet with a tutor or have any questions, come by or give us a call at 494-3723.
Thanks for reading our newsletter, and please email us any suggestions you might have! We really enjoy hearing from our readers. You can mail us at any time at owlnews@owl.english.purdue.edu. You can also email the OWL coordinator, Geoff Stacks, at coordinator@owl.english.purdue.edu and the webmaster, Erin Karper, at webmaster@owl.english.purdue.edu. (Erin and Geoff take turns writing the newsletter.)
Tell your friends about the Purdue OWL News! They can sign up to receive this newsletter by visiting http://purdueowlnews.listbot.com and entering their email address.
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This newsletter is copyright (c) 2001 the Purdue University Writing Lab and Purdue University.
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