How Important Is Punctuation In Written English?

Those pesky commas, full-stops and semi-colons are omnipresent in written English, and to non-native speakers of the language, mastering punctuation can present itself to be a particular challenge. There are numerous rules and structures that must be followed for proper implementation, but let’s be real, are commas and colons actually necessary?

The best way to illustrate the importance of punctuation is to try and follow a text that has been written without any punctuation at all.

So, let’s dive in and unravel the importance of punctuation in written English. 

perhaps you dont always need to use full stops commas and colons etc to make sentences clear when I am in a hurry tired or lazy I often omit punctuation marks grammar is complicated and unnecessary my friend once told me I can write a perfectly decent text without it however when my friend texts me with improper language I find it difficult to understand this is why I think ill work on improving my grammar not too much though just enough to teach my friend the basics they need my help  

Perhaps you don’t always need to use full-stops, commas, and colons etc. to make sentences clear. When I am in a hurry, tired, or lazy, I often omit punctuation marks. “Grammar is complicated and unnecessary.”, my friend once told me. I can write a perfectly decent text without it. However, when my friend texts me with improper language. I find it difficult to understand. This is why I think I’ll work on improving my grammar – not too much though, just enough to teach my friend the basics. They need my help!   

As you can see from the above example, punctuation marks facilitate the understanding of a text in terms of emotion, tone and ideas, as well as identifying speech and quotes. Improper use of punctuation can alter the meaning of sentences and convey unintentional or wrong ideas.  

So, in short, punctuation is crucial because it is used to create sense, clarity and stress to sentences and paragraphs. Without it, there would be neither structure nor organisation to written text.  

Do you think it is important to master punctuation? Let us know your thoughts!