Summary
◦ Remember STOP, HALF-STOP, and GO punctuation.
- STOP punctuation can link only complete ideas.
- HALF-STOP punctuation must be preceded by a complete idea.
- GO punctuation can link anything except two complete ideas.
◦ When you see STOP punctuation changing in the answer choices, use the Vertical Line Test.
◦ On the SAT, there are only four reasons to use a comma:
- STOP punctuation (with one of the FANBOYS)
- GO punctuation
- after every item in a list
- to set off unnecessary information
◦ On the SAT, there are only two reasons to use an apostrophe:
- possessive nouns (NOT pronouns)
- contractions
◦ Know why you are using punctuation, whether that punctuation is STOP, HALF-STOP, GO,
commas, or apostrophes. If you can’t cite reasons to use these punctuation marks, don’t use them!
