Identifying Punctuation Errors: Commas in Lists - SAT Writing

The only problem with the underlined portion of the sentence is that the list mentioned has a poorly punctuated series, or list of items. All such lists need to be separated out in some fashion, usually by commas. Thus, "in jumping, running, or leaping ability" is the correct answer choice.

Without a comma to make the "fresh bread" an item on the list, the item is unclear: is "fresh bread cereal" an item, or "fresh bread?" We need a comma to clarify.

The list "Kenya Somalia and Tanzania" contains this sentence's error because it does not use commas to separate its items. It should read "Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania."

The list of features of the event is missing a comma between "bar" and "a" that would correctly distinguish all three features.

Because the part of the sentence before the list is an independent clause, a colon is the correct punctuation mark to use to introduce the list. Because the items in the list are “simple” (in other words, they don’t contain multiple phrases and commas), commas, not semicolons, are the correct punctuation mark to use between each item. Also, since the non-underlined portion of the list already uses commas, the semicolon needs to be changed to a comma to match.

The items in this list should each be separated by a comma. (An "and" could appear between the last two items in the list, but it's not strictly necessary.) The list itself is correctly separated from the second part of the sentence by an em-dash, although a colon would also be acceptable. Therefore, the sentence is correct without any changes.

Because the part of the sentence before the list (“You have”) is not an independent clause (a complete sentence that could stand on its own), a colon should not be used to introduce the list in this sentence. Colons are only used to introduce lists that come after independent clauses.

Here, the list is punctuated correctly. There should be a comma between each item in the list and an additional comma on either side of “Leah,” which modifies “their sister.” (If “their sister, Leah,” was the first or second item in the list, a semicolon would be needed to separate the items for clarity’s sake, but in this version of the sentence it’s not necessary; the relationship of the three people is perfectly clear in this order.)

A comma is needed to separate each item in the list: “preliminary sketches,” “blueprints,” and “plans.”

This sentence is properly punctuated, since a comma is required between each item in a list and the colon is properly used to introduce the list.

A comma should never end a list. The corrected first clause of the sentence would read: "The large fish, the turtles, and the small fish all got along well." A semicolon is appropriate in this sentence to separate the two independent clauses.

Whenever you have a list of more than two items in a sentence each item in that list needs to be separated by commas. The best way to correct the sentence above is, "I really hate three chores in particular: cleaning, doing laundry, and mowing the lawn." Note that "doing laundry" and "mowing the lawn" constitute single items in the list. Also note that parallel structure must be maintained within the list.

Whenever you have a list of more than two items in a sentence, each item in the list needs to be separated by commas. An apostrophe is correctly used to indicate that the preferences are "Marco's." "In" is the correct preposition in this context. This sentence is correct as it is written.

Whenever you have a list of three or more things in a sentence, each item of the list should be separated by a comma. As such, there should be a comma between "coordination" and "athleticism" in the sentence above.

There should be no comma directly after "were." Commas are used to separate items in a list but not to introduce the list. No punctuation is necessary here.

This question tests knowledge of commas in lists. In Standard American English, it is convention to not put commas in lists if there are only two items and to put them in if there are three or more items. Since there are only two cities in the first part of the sentence (Boston and New York), there is no need for a comma. A corrected sentence would be "On her summer road trip, Kayli visited Boston and New York for a week each, and she stayed in Baltimore for three days."

Every time there is a list of three or more things in a sentence, the items in the list must be separated by commas. In the provided sentence, there is a comma missing between the first two items of the list that follows the colon.

This sentence is testing knowledge of the use of commas in lists. The standard practice is to use commas after the first and second items in a third (or more) item list. Sometimes the comma is omitted after the second item, but this omission can be confusing because it can suggest a unintended connection between the second and third items, as it does in this sentence. Presumably the father is not packing sandwiches with peanut butter as well as pickles on them, and instead he is packing sandwiches with peanut butter as well as pickles seperately. Therefore, the sentence should read: "For the Fourth of July picnic on the White House lawn, Luke's father packed salads, sandwiches with peanut butter, and pickles for the children, but unfortunately, he forgot to pack water."

Since there is a list in the sentence, there needs to be a comma after "play." Without a comma, the reader would read "play walk" as one activity.