When to use that and when to use which came up in a recent session with a student preparing for the ACT.

I started talking about restrictive and non restrictive clauses.

This image created by Patrik Jones and licensed under CC by 2.0. See more of Patrik's photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/laprimadonna/

As his mind numbed and he slid toward unconsciousness, I resorted to blabbing on about essential versus non essential clauses.

He probably would have understood the distinction between that and which better had I pointed him to an article by Laura Brockway on Ragan.com.
Laura makes the distinction so clear that even I can understand it.

Check out her post about that versus which.

Eric is an English and history tutor in Wesley Chapel, Florida. He helps students prepare for the ACT and SAT. Call him at 813.787.8959.

I just got some great news from a parent of one of my students. He scored in the 98th percentile on the ACT! He writes well, understands grammar fully, and reads swiftly with high comprehension. I’m elated that his ACT score reflects his ability and his work.

This post written by Tampa English Tutor Eric Anderson. If your son or daughter needs help preparing for the ACT or SAT this summer, call Eric at 813.787.8959 or e-mail him at Tampatutor (at) Tampabay.rr.com.

I was helping one of my students prepare for the ACT today. We considered a sentence like this one.

The boys were going to the beach, park, and marina.

Some style books do not require the second comma.

The Associated Press Style Guide advises writers not to include the comma before the conjunction in a series of three or more.

If the McGraw Hill practice tests reflect the real ACT, the makers of the ACT want test takers to use the serial comma to separate the items on a list.

In other words, they regard “The boys went to the beach, park, and marina.” as correct. They regard leaving off the second comma as an error.

People who care about punctuation disagree about the need for the second comma in a series of three. I think that it’s better to include it.

Users of the MLA Style Manual and The Chicago Manual of Style generally include the second comma in a series of three. Users of the Associated Press Style Guide do not.

No matter who you think is right, know the makers of the ACT consider the second comma in a series of three essential.

This image created by Liz West and licensed under CC by 2.0. See more of her photos at http://www.ewestphotos.com/

Eric Anderson is a SAT and ACT tutor in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

He can help your son or daughter score higher on the reading and writing portions of both standardized admission tests.

Call 813.787.8959 to reach Eric.