Do you spend ages wondering whether a comma should go here, or there, and then doubt yourself straight afterwards because of all the complex rules around comma placement?

Do you frequently end up with a random mess of semicolons littering the page and distracting from your message?

Do you know how to use a dash or a colon to create dramatic tension in your writing?

When it comes to punctuation, this course will put you on a firmer footing.


From the creator of the bestselling Writing With Flair: How To Become An Exceptional Writer comes Punctuation Mastery, a non-technical guide to using commas, dashes and other punctuation marks more stylishly.
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What you'll learn

By the end of this course, you'll know:

  • How to apply punctuation stylishly

  • How to spruce up reports, essays, resumes, books and blogs

  • Write with more confidence, flair and impact

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Section 1: Why Punctuation Matters

  • 2

    Section 2: Clever Commas

  • 3

    Section 3: Comely Colons

    • Lecture 9: Colons To Introduce Lists

    • Lecture 10: Colons To Answer A Thought

    • Lecture 11: Colons To Create Anticipation

    • Lecture 12: Quiz
  • 4

    Section 4: Suave Semi-Colons

  • 5

    Section 5: Exciting Exclamations

    • Lecture 16: The Function Of Exclaimation Marks

    • Lecture 17: Quiz
  • 6

    Section 6: Killer Quote Marks

    • Lecture 18: Quote Marks (Or Inverted Commas) For Speech

    • Lecture 19: Other Uses For Quote Marks

    • Lecture 20: Dangers Of Quote Marks

    • Lecture 21: Quiz
  • 7

    Section 7: Ace Apostrophes

    • Lecture 22: How To Use Apostrophes

    • Lecture 23: Apostrophes To Sound Less Formal

    • Lecture 24: Quiz
  • 8

    Section 8: Boring Brackets

    • Lecture 25: Why Brackets Aren't So Cool

    • Lecture 26: Brackets To Aid Comprehension

    • Lecture 27: Quiz
  • 9

    Section 9: Daring Dashes

    • Lecture 28: Dashes To Add Drama

    • Lecture 29: Dashes For Definition & Significance

    • Lecture 30: Dashes To Prevent Getting Lost

    • Lecture 31: Quiz
  • 10

    Section 10: Handy Hyphens

    • Lecture 32: Hyphens Can Be Tricky

    • Lecture 33: Hyphens To Prevent Confusion

    • Lecture 34: Hyphens To Quicken Comprehension

    • Lecture 35: Quiz
  • 11

    Section 11: Summary & Conclusion

    • Lecture 36: Review Of What You've Learnt

    • Lecture 37: Punctuation Mastery Quiz (PDF)

Meet Your Instructor

SHANI RAJA

Shani Raja was an editor for The Wall Street Journal, where he also trained journalists. He has also written for The Economist, Time magazine, the FT and Bloomberg News. Today, Shani teaches students the advanced writing and storytelling techniques he learned as a news editor. His teachings have helped authors, bloggers, business writers and Tedx speakers enhance their copywriting skills.

Featured review

John C

Being someone who didn't understand where to place a comma, it has helped me make use of many writing tools I didn't have any command over. Covering differences between American, British; formal and informal writing standards, Shani Raja will break down all of those principles with ease. Not one to usually write reviews, I was completely amazed. Highly recommend to anyone who writes a lot or wishes to improve on this skill.

Are you ready to begin your journey into the world of elite writing?

Get Started Today