Johanna Rubba We agree that punctuation is useful in writing clearer statements. I too have seen many cases of ignorance and/or laziness in puctuating sentences. There is really no redeeming feature in the above. When I insert commas, some students concede that their own writing beomes easier to read. In essence, style varies widely. Variable style however is still no reason for writing ambiguous English. Flexibly, Richard Swerdlin ([log in to unmask]) P.S. On the laziness front, many students avoid proofing. Sadly, they also avoid the dictionary.