The following are punctuation errors—mainly with comma use but also with possessive apostrophes and semicolons. Identify the error and correct it.
Find a solution if it is unclear. Sometimes several solutions are possible, although they may change the meaning.
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Punctuation errors
- The heads of the campaigns which target the largest population, were invited to accelerate the campaign.
- All users will have their login, and password and can access the system anywhere, anytime, and all data will be stored in one server.
- All data will be stored on one server, hence all upgrades and backups can be done simultaneously.
- … mentors of adolescent girls groups …
- However, due to a lack of power, these systems had been in operation via a diesel generator which is an expensive undertaking.
- This finding is similar to the findings from another study conducted in Dhaka by Khan, S. et al in 2008 which implies that unfortunately the situation hasn’t improved in the past 14 years.
Answer key: The bold area indicates the correction
- The heads of the campaigns which target the largest population were invited to accelerate the campaign. (NB: This means only those heads that target the largest population. US writers prefer “that” not “which” in this case.)
The heads of the campaigns, which target the largest population, were invited to accelerate the campaign. (NB: This means all heads of the campaigns.) - All users will have their login and password, and can access the system anywhere, anytime, and all data will be stored on one server. (NB: As we have many “and”s in this sentence, it would be clearer to break it up.)
All users will have their login and password, and can access the system anywhere, anytime. All data will be stored on one server. - All data will be stored on one server; hence, all upgrades and backups can be done simultaneously. (We have a choice of two methods, as illustrated here, with words such as “therefore”, “moreover”, “however”, “hence” and suchlike.)
All data will be stored on one server. Hence, all upgrades and backups can be done simultaneously. - … mentors of adolescent girls’ groups … (NB: possessive apostrophe: girl’s = one girl; girls’ = plural form.)
- However, due to a lack of power, these systems had been in operation via a diesel generator, which is an expensive undertaking.
- This finding is similar to the findings from another study conducted in Dhaka by Khan, S. et al. in 2008, which implies that, unfortunately, the situation hasn’t improved in the past 14 years.
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Author: Carol Waites
Presentation/editing by Christina O’Shaughnessy
https://worldwidewriting.org/
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Carol Waites (PhD)
Email: carolswritingtips@gmail.com
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