Put Away the Salt Shaker: Avoiding Unnecessary Commas in Writing

Monday, September 17, 2018 Expert Advice , Grammar and Mechanics , Instructor's Notebook No comments

Imagine the following scenario: You have just completed a paper you needed to write for a course. You haven’t started revising yet, but you scroll through the paper, feeling proud of your accomplishment. Suddenly, you notice that something is missing. Or that a lot of little somethings are missing. Uh, oh. Your paper is entirely free of commas. You quickly move through the paper, inserting commas where they “feel” necessary. Aren’t commas usually added where people pause in speech? Using what is commonly known as the salt-shaker method, you pepper your writing with commas intuitively, hoping for the best.

A close up of a line of salt shakers. One has fallen and spilled on the table

Does this scenario sound familiar? I used the salt-shaker method of adding commas to writing for many years. Wherever I thought I would pause in a sentence if I was reading out loud, I would add a comma. After I completed a few grammar courses, I learned all of the grammatical situations where a comma is necessary. As it turns out, comma usage is based on specific rules rather than on where a given reader would pause in reading a sentence! For a refresher on when to use commas, I recommend our blog post about the three most important rules for using commas.

With that said, even after learning the rules for using commas, I still ended up with quite a few commas in my writing that weren’t necessary. Although it takes time and practice to perfect use of commas, below I’ve provided some general situations in writing where commas are unnecessary:

1. Commas should not separate two parts of a compound construction. While you will use a comma between two independent clauses separated with a coordinating conjunction, you will not use a comma when you are listing paired elements.

Example: I like to walk, and run.

This comma is incorrect because “run” is not a complete sentence. Instead, you are pairing the elements “walk” and “run.”

Corrected: I like to walk and run.

2. Commas should not separate the subject from the verb of a sentence. Complex subjects containing source material can sometimes seem to need a comma before the action of the sentence, so you may find it helpful to shorten the subject in your head to see if you would still place a comma after it.

Example 1: The history of the No Child Left Behind Act, helps me to understand the implementation.

This comma is incorrect because it separates the subject (the history) from the action (helps) of the sentence. You could simplify the sentence in this way:

The history . . . helps me to understand the implementation.

Because you wouldn’t add a comma between “history” and “helps” in the above sentence, you wouldn’t add it in the prior sentence.

Corrected: The history of the No Child Left Behind Act helps me to understand the implementation.

Example 2: Doe (2016), found a correlation between teacher efficacy and training in writing instruction.

This comma is incorrect because it separates the subject (Doe) from the action (found). The addition of the parenthetical citation can be confusing, but the grammar rule still applies.

Corrected: Doe (2016) found a correlation between teacher efficacy and training in writing instruction.

3. A comma should not be used after although. It can be tempting to add a comma after although because the word seems to be a transition word. However, although is instead a subordinating conjunction that means “in spite of the fact that.” Although is connected to the phrase following it, so use of although doesn’t require a comma. It can be helpful to note that you will use however if you mean to say “in contrast” and although if you mean to say “in spite of the fact that.”

Example 1: Although, there are many reasons to use technology, some reasons are more important than others.

The first comma is incorrect because the writer means to say “in spite of the fact that.”

Corrected: Although there are many reasons to use technology, some reasons are more important than others.

Example 2: Although, Doe (2016) did acknowledge technology’s overall importance in teaching.

The comma and use of although are incorrect because the writer means to say “in contrast” here.

Corrected: However, Doe (2016) did acknowledge technology’s overall importance in teaching.

In sum, it is as important to know where commas don’t belong as where they do belong! The above list is not exhaustive, but it includes some of the most common unnecessary commas that I see in my work with students at the Walden University Writing Center. Learning the above rules can encourage you to feel confident as you revise your papers for comma usage and can help you put away the comma salt shaker for good. If you’re hungry for more information about using commas, I recommend testing your knowledge with one of our quizzes and letting us know in the comments how you approach adding commas to your writing!

Katherine McKinney is a writing instructor in the Walden University Writing Center. She received an M.A. in English from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Education at Walden. Katherine's goal as an instructor is to show students that the best writing results from practice, and she aims to provide feedback and resources that will guide students through the invention, composition, and revision process.