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Question:

Is it better to write lengthy sentences with commas or to write many short, clear sentences?

Do people often overuse commas?


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I am a teacher in a middle school and have taught kids from grades 4 through 12. There is no one conclusive answer to your question but I teach my kids to write a variety of sentences: simple, compound and complex. Writing that contains varying sentence lengths is far more interesting to read than writing of all one sentence type and length. Fiction writing lends itself well to playing around with language.

As for commas? Yes, they are over used sometimes. Some of us use commas where a period should be placed. Your comment about writing "clear sentences" is well taken. All sentences, regardless of length, need to be clear.

(Some of the stuff written on this forum is truly terrible: incomplete and even incoherent thoughts disguised as sentences; awful spelling; and ignorant comments that add nothing to the discussions and debates.)