When Should You Use a Comma?

Consider these two guidelines from Michelle Carey’s book. Developing Quality Technical Information: A Handbook for Writers and Editors (IBM Press):

1. When two or more sentences are joined by a coordinate conjunction, use a comma before the conjunction:

Wrong
The task was completed yet some data can’t be processed.

Right
The task was completed, yet some data can’t be processed.

2. If the second half of the sentence doesn’t have a subject and complete verb, don’t use a comma:

Wrong
The configuration manager deploys the application, and removes cookies.

Right
The configuration manager deploys the application and removes cookies.

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