Turn Your Commute into +80 Score Gains

And I'm Alex. Maya, yesterday during my practice test, I lost 30 points on Standard English Conventions just from comma splices. What's the number one rule?

Here is your golden commute mnemonic: Two independent clauses can NEVER be joined by a lone comma. If you don't see a FANBOYS coordinating conjunction—For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So—you MUST use a period, semicolon, or colon.

Wait, so if I see 'However' or 'Therefore' with a comma after the first sentence, that's an automatic trap?

Exactly! 'However' is a conjunctive adverb, not a conjunction. You must write: semicolon, however, comma. Remember: Semicolon is king for transitional adverbs.

That is gold. What about proper names? When do we use two commas versus zero commas around a name?

The Job Title Rule! If the profession comes first with no article—like 'Novelist Toni Morrison wrote Beloved'—NO commas! But if the name comes first—'Toni Morrison, a Nobel laureate, wrote Beloved'—commas are mandatory. Lock that in for your next mock exam!