Punctuate your writing

Comma

Examples

My uncle Harry, who was a colonel in the army, made the best martinis I've ever tasted.

Full stop

Examples

I finished my homework.

Semicolon

For what do use it?

It is used to introduce an independent clause; something that could stand alone as a sentence, but is related to the first part.

Important

You always need a verb in the second clause

Colon

For what do use it?

It used to introduce a list or items, or to give a summary.

Examples

The research team studied a number of different breeds: shorthaired, longhaired and exotic.

Apostrophe

Important

Note that it is only used for contractions and possessives, never for plurals.

Examples

The CD’s not working properly (the CD is not working properly).
I don’t know what film this is, the DVD’s label is missing (the label of the DVD is missing).

What to do and what not to do

You can’t write “the 1990’s” but you can write “the ’90s” to indicate that the 19 part has been removed.