no comma. The second sentence makes it clear that crackers are their own
element of the list.
Next, here is a comma linking two independent clauses with a conjunction.
Incorrect: I went to the moon but it was already jam-packed with astronauts.
Correct: I went to the moon, but it was already jam-packed with astronauts.
The comma is by far the most commonly tested
punctuation mark on the SAT. Know your commas!Here is a comma linking a dependent clause with an independent clause.Incorrect: Hoping to make foie gras I fed my goose way more food than is
recommended.
Also incorrect: Hoping to make foie gras. I fed my goose way more food than is
recommended.
Correct: Hoping to make foie gras, I fed my goose way more food than is
recommended.
Foie gras is my mother’s favorite food. This one’s for you, Mom.
—Samantha
Do you recognize those first two errors? That’s right, those are the run-ons
and sentence fragments from Commandment 8. Why did we repeat ourselves?
Because the Serpent will test this, so it bears repeating.
BONUS PUNCTUATION MARKS: DASHES AND PARENTHESES
Congratulations! You’ve been so diligent about reading these punctuation rules
that you’ve earned two more. Dashes and parentheses are basically the same:
They both separate an aside that is even more of an aside than the asides that
commas separate. We’re talking extremely aside. Like this: