4.14 End-of-Sentence Punctuation, Hyphenation, and Unnecessary Punctuation

ACCUPLACER Suite Study Guide Exam

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1 Chapter 1: ACCUPLACER Suite Overview & Testing Mechanics

1.1 The ACCUPLACER Testing System & Computer-Adaptive Mechanics 1.2 Placement Policies, Score Scales & Institutional Cut Scores 1.3 Test-Taking Strategies, Tool Mechanics & Pacing

2 Chapter 2: Next-Generation Reading

2.1 The Reading Test Blueprint: Set-Based and Discrete Items 2.2 Information and Ideas: Close Reading & Central Themes 2.3 Summarizing and Understanding Relationships 2.4 Rhetoric, Text Structure & Author's Purpose 2.5 Analyzing Point of View and Authorial Purpose 2.6 Analyzing Arguments: Claims, Counterclaims, and Evidence 2.7 Synthesis & Paired Text Comparative Analysis 2.8 Vocabulary in Context & Figurative Language 2.9 Passage Genre, Content Area, Mode, and Text Complexity 2.10 Answer-Choice Traps and Evidence Discipline

3 Chapter 3: Next-Generation Writing: Expression of Ideas

3.1 The Writing Test Blueprint: Passage Sets and Content Distribution 3.2 Development: Proposition and Supporting Evidence 3.3 Focus: Adding, Retaining, and Deleting for Relevance 3.4 Organization: Logical Sequence and Paragraph Order 3.5 Introductions, Conclusions, and Transitional Cohesion 3.6 Effective Language Use: Precision and Word Choice 3.7 Concision: Eliminating Wordiness and Redundancy 3.8 Style, Tone, and Voice Consistency 3.9 Syntax: Sentence Combining for Rhetorical Purpose

4 Chapter 4: Next-Generation Writing: Standard English Conventions

4.1 Sentence Boundaries: Fragments, Run-ons, and Comma Splices 4.2 Subordination and Coordination 4.3 Parallel Structure 4.4 Modifier Placement: Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers 4.5 Inappropriate Shifts in Verb Tense 4.6 Inappropriate Shifts in Verb Voice and Mood 4.7 Inappropriate Shifts in Pronoun Person and Number 4.8 Subject-Verb Agreement, Pronoun Case, and Verb Forms 4.9 Possessive Determiners, Contractions, and Confusable Adverbs 4.10 Pronoun Clarity and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement 4.11 Frequently Confused Words, Noun Agreement, and Logical Comparison 4.12 Within-Sentence Punctuation: Semicolons, Colons, Dashes, and Apostrophes 4.13 Items in a Series and Nonrestrictive Elements 4.14 End-of-Sentence Punctuation, Hyphenation, and Unnecessary Punctuation

5 Chapter 5: Next-Generation Arithmetic

5.1 Whole Number Operations, Estimation & Multi-Step Applications 5.2 Fractions, Mixed Numbers & Operations 5.3 Decimal Operations & Place-Value Conversions 5.4 Percent Calculations, Increase, Decrease, and Applications 5.5 Number Comparisons and Equivalents Across Formats

6 Chapter 6: Next-Generation Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics (QAS)

6.1 Rational Numbers, Absolute Value, and Order of Operations 6.2 Exponents, Radicals, and Scientific Notation 6.3 Ratio, Proportional Relationships, and Unit Conversions 6.4 Creating and Evaluating Algebraic Expressions 6.5 Linear Equations, Inequalities, and Systems of Two Equations 6.6 Linear Applications, Functions, and Graphs 6.7 Probability and Sets 6.8 Descriptive Statistics: Center, Spread, and Graphical Displays 6.9 Geometry for Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1

7 Chapter 7: Next-Generation Advanced Algebra, Quadratics & Polynomials

7.1 Advanced Linear Equations, Systems, and Coordinate Geometry 7.2 Factoring Methods for Quadratics, Cubics, and Polynomials 7.3 Quadratic Equations, Vertex Form & Parabolic Functions 7.4 Polynomial Equations, Roots, and Graphs 7.5 Radical and Rational Equations and Functions 7.6 Geometry for Algebra 1 and Algebra 2

8 Chapter 8: Functions, Exponentials, Logarithms & Trigonometry

8.1 Function Notation, Transformations, Compositions & Inverses 8.2 Domain, Range, and Interpreting Functions in Context 8.3 Exponential & Logarithmic Functions, Laws & Modeling 8.4 Right-Triangle Trigonometry, the Unit Circle, and Radian Measure 8.5 Law of Sines, Law of Cosines, and Trigonometric Equations 8.6 Choosing Your Math Test: Arithmetic, QAS, or AAF

9 Chapter 9: WritePlacer & WritePlacer ESL Essays

9.1 WritePlacer Prompt Format, Planning, and the Writing Process 9.2 The WritePlacer Scoring Rubric & 6 Core Dimensions 9.3 Reading the WritePlacer Score Scale: What Each Band Demonstrates 9.4 Essay Architecture: Thesis, Evidence Integration & Structure 9.5 WritePlacer ESL Scoring Standards & Synthesis

10 Chapter 10: ACCUPLACER ESL Placement Suite

10.1 The ESL Placement Suite: Structure, Scoring, and Score Interpretation 10.2 ESL Reading Skills & Passage Comprehension 10.3 ESL Sentence Meaning & Context Clues 10.4 ESL Language Use & Grammatical Mechanics 10.5 ESL Listening Comprehension & Spoken Contexts

4.14 End-of-Sentence Punctuation, Hyphenation, and Unnecessary Punctuation

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

End-of-sentence punctuation errors involve using the wrong terminal mark when context makes the writer's intent clear.

An indirect question is a statement and takes a period, not a question mark.

Compound modifiers before a noun are hyphenated, but the same words after the noun usually are not.

Adverbs ending in -ly are never hyphenated to the adjective that follows them.

Never separate a subject from its verb or a verb from its object with a single comma.

Last updated: August 2026

Closing Out the Conventions Cluster

Three sub-skills remain in Conventions of Punctuation:

End-of-sentence punctuation: ...inappropriate uses of ending punctuation in cases in which the context makes the intent clear.

Hyphenation conventions: ...violations of hyphenation conventions.

Unnecessary punctuation: ...cases in which unnecessary punctuation appears in a sentence.

The last of these deserves particular attention, because it is the sub-skill most likely to make NO CHANGE the correct answer.

Part One: End-of-Sentence Punctuation

Three terminal marks exist: the period, the question mark, and the exclamation point. Errors arise when context establishes the intent and the punctuation contradicts it.

Direct vs. Indirect Questions

The most tested distinction:

Direct question — asks outright, takes a question mark:

✓ When will the inspection be scheduled?

Indirect question — reports that a question was asked; it is a statement and takes a period :

✓ The supervisor asked when the inspection would be scheduled. ✗ The supervisor asked when the inspection would be scheduled?

Diagnostics for an indirect question: the word order is statement order ( when the inspection would be scheduled , not when would the inspection be scheduled ), and it is typically introduced by asked, wondered, inquired, questioned .

Polite Requests

A request phrased as a question but functioning as a directive conventionally takes a period:

✓ Would you please forward the revised figures.

Both are defensible in general usage, so this appears less often than the direct/indirect distinction.

Exclamation Points

Rare in academic and informational prose. On a test built from expository passages, an exclamation point is almost always wrong — it mismatches the register. If an underlined portion ends a neutral factual sentence with one, expect the period to be correct.

Questions Inside Statements

When a direct question is embedded and quoted, it keeps its question mark:

✓ The central issue — who authorized the expenditure? — remains unresolved.

But a statement containing an indirect question ends with a period regardless of length.

Part Two: Hyphenation
Compound Modifiers Before a Noun

Two or more words acting as a single modifier before a noun are hyphenated:

✓ a well-documented review ✓ a two-year delay ✓ a state-funded initiative ✓ a high-pressure valve

The hyphen prevents misreading. Compare:

a small-business owner (owner of a small business) a small business owner (a business owner who is short)
After the Noun: Usually No Hyphen

When the same words follow the noun, the hyphen normally disappears:

✓ The review was well documented . ✓ The delay lasted two years . ✓ The initiative is state funded .

This before/after alternation is the single most tested hyphenation point.

The -ly Exception

Adverbs ending in -ly are never hyphenated to the following adjective:

✗ a carefully-worded statement ✓ a carefully worded statement

The reasoning: -ly already signals that the word modifies what follows, so the hyphen is redundant. This rule is absolute and easy to apply — if you see -ly followed by a hyphen, it is wrong.

Note that adverbs not ending in -ly do take hyphens: a well-known researcher , a best-selling author .

Numbers and Fractions

✓ Compound numbers twenty-one through ninety-nine: thirty-seven samples ✓ Fractions used as modifiers: a two-thirds majority ✓ Number-plus-unit modifiers: a 12-foot clearance , a 40-hour week

Prefixes

Most prefixes attach without a hyphen: nonstandard, preexisting, coauthor, reevaluate . Hyphens are used:

Before a capitalized word: pre-Columbian , anti-American
To prevent ambiguity: re-cover (cover again) vs. recover (regain)
With self- and ex- : self-reporting , ex-officio
Part Three: Unnecessary Punctuation

The test plants superfluous marks as often as it omits required ones. The recurring patterns:

Comma Between Subject and Verb

✗ The engineers who reviewed the structural analysis, recommended reinforcement.

Never separate a subject from its verb with a single comma. (A pair of commas enclosing an interruption is different and correct.)

Comma Between Verb and Object

✗ The committee recommended, that the district delay the project.

Comma Before a Compound Predicate

✗ The district revised the budget, and postponed the vote.

Postponed the vote has no subject, so this is not two independent clauses. No comma. (Compare: The district revised the budget, and the board postponed the vote. ✓ — now both clauses are independent.)

This is among the most common superfluous commas on the test.

Comma With Restrictive Elements

✗ The report, that the committee commissioned, was released Tuesday.

A that clause is restrictive and takes no commas.

Comma Before the First Series Item

✗ The survey measured, density, retention, and depth.

Unnecessary Semicolon

A semicolon joins independent clauses or separates complex series items. Using it elsewhere is an error:

✗ The committee reconvened in April; after the audit concluded.

After the audit concluded is a dependent clause. A comma belongs there, or nothing.

Unnecessary Apostrophe

Plurals never take apostrophes:

✗ The lab ordered three centrifuge's . ✓ ...three centrifuges .

Decades likewise: the 1990s , not the 1990's .

The Strategic Point About NO CHANGE

Many students carry an unstated assumption that an underlined portion must contain an error. It need not. On unnecessary-punctuation items the test frequently presents a clean original alongside three choices that each add a mark — a comma before the compound predicate, a comma after the subject, a semicolon where a comma belongs.

When every alternative adds punctuation and you cannot articulate a rule requiring it, NO CHANGE is very likely correct. The operative question is not "could a mark go here?" but "does a rule require one?"