Is it essential?
Does this sentence need commas? "The student who wins the raffle gets free prom tickets."
No commas needed. "Who wins the raffle" is essential because it limits the prize to one specific student.
Fix this sentence: "Yesterday morning I overslept and missed my first period class."
Yesterday morning, I overslept and missed my first period class.
Is this a comma splice? "I applied to six universities, my top choice is out of state."
Yes!
Fix this sentence: The main reason I want to attend your university, is your incredible study abroad program.
Remove the comma. Never place a single comma directly between a subject and its verb!
What is the easiest way to fix this splice without changing any words? I skipped breakfast, now my stomach is growling.
Change the comma to a semicolon.
Fix this sentence: "Our principal Dr. Reynolds announced the weather delay over the loudspeaker."
Our principal, Dr. Reynolds, announced the weather delay..."
The name is nonessential context because "our principal" already identifies the person.
Fix this sentence: "To find the derivative of the function you must use the power rule."
To find the derivative of the function, you must use the power rule.
Fix this sentence using a semicolon: "The scholarship deadline is tomorrow, I haven't finished my personal statement.
The scholarship deadline is tomorrow; I haven't finished my personal statement.
OR
I haven't finished my personal statement; the scholarship deadline is tomorrow.
Is this correct? He told me that, if I didn't study for the exam I would fail.
No!
Do not place a comma immediately after the word "that" before an introductory clause.
Fix this splice using a coordinate conjunction (FANBOYS): She loves her chemistry class, she absolute hates the lab reports.
She loves her chemistry class, but she absolutely hates the lab reports.
Explain why commas change the meaning here: "The seniors, who skipped the assembly, missed the graduation announcement."
With commas, it means every single senior skipped the assembly. Without commas, it would mean only the specific subgroup of seniors who skipped missed the announcement.
Turn this sentence around so it requires an introductory comma: "I always listen to music while I study for midterms."
While I study for midterms, I always listen to music.
Fix this sentence by adding a subordinating conjunction (like because, although, or since): "I love creative writing, engineering is my intended major."
Although I love creative writing, engineering is my intended major.
OR
I love creative writing, even though engineering is my intended major.
Spot the error: The extremely long, stressful, and chaotic senior year is almost over.
There is none!
The commas are perfectly separating coordinate adjectives and elements in a series. No illegal pauses here!
Fix this sentence by turning the first clause into an introductory dependent clause: The bell rang for lunch, the hallways immediately filled with noise.
When the bell rang for lunch, the hallways immediately filled with noise.
Fix this sentence: "The book that I read for English 12 changed my worldview."
No commas needed.
Clauses starting with "that" are almost always essential to the noun they modify.
Does this sentence need a comma? "Deep in the back of the messy closet he found his lost yearbook."
Yes! Deep in the back of the messy closet, he found his lost yearbook.
Long introductory prepositional phrases require a comma!
"Therefore, I am the perfect candidate for your honors program." Is this a comma splice?
No! Why?
Fix this sentence: What I meant to say, was completely misunderstood by the group.
Remove the comma. "What I meant to say" is a noun clause acting as the subject. You cannot separate a subject from its verb (was) with a comma.
Why is this sentence correct? The weather was beautiful; however, we stayed inside to study.
It uses a semicolon to separate the two independent clauses. "However" is an introductory conjunctive adverb in the second clause, so it gets its own comma, avoiding a splice.