DeLoggio Achievement Program

Selection of and Preparation for College and Professional Programs

Writing

Bad Punctuation

"My sister, Michelle and I stayed behind and lived with my Aunty Hedy and my maternal grandmother."

This sentence says what the picture on the left portrays: three small people – my sister, Michelle, and me. I think what the author meant to represent is shown in the picture on the right: me with my sister Michelle. They are not the same thing. The difference is made by the famous punctuation mark, the Oxford comma.

Writing