Welcome to the Mastering Punctuation Course at SA Writers College.

This two-month e-mail correspondence course will teach you how to use punctuation correctly.

The course provides definitive instruction around the use of commas, quotation marks, colons and other important punctuation required for crafting good writing.


You will learn the correct use of:

• Capital letters
• Full Stops
• The Comma
• The Semi-Colon
• The Colon
• Brackets
• The Hyphen
• The Dash
• Exclamation Marks and Question Marks
• Inverted Commas

• Modules: 3 Modules
• Duration: Two months
• Start date: At any time; applications all year round via our website

• 10 writing assignments
• Two 500-word essays
• Detailed feedback and assessments will be provided for each assignment by the tutor.

• Basic writing skills are essential
• Computer skills, e-mail and Internet access required
• No previous tertiary qualification required

Module 1 - Understanding the Basic Rules Governing the Usage of the Following Punctuation:

• The Function of Punctuation
• Capital Letters
• The Full Stop
• The Comma
• The Semi-Colon
• The Colon
• Brackets
• The Dash
• The Hyphen
• Exclamation and Question Marks
• The Apostrophe
• Inverted Commas
• Assignments: Ten exercises covering the above punctuation rules

Module 2 - Punctuation in Practice: Part One

• How to punctuate direct speech in dialogue (fiction) or quotations (non-fiction)
• How to punctuate titles
• Assignment: One 500 word essay

Module 3 - Punctuation in Practice: Part Two

• How to punctuate letters
• How to punctuate lists
• Assignment: One 500 word essay

How does the course work?

Detailed class notes covering the content of the module are e-mailed to students. At the end of the module, students will be required to complete several writing exercises. Once the writing assignment has been completed, and e-mailed to the lecturer, an assessment and feedback will be sent to the student, and the module will be considered complete.

Conditions of Certification:

Students will receive an SA Writers College Certificate upon successful completion of the course, provided they meet the following conditions:

• Students must have completed all writing assignments.
• The course must have been completed within two months of registration.
• Students are expected to attain a minimum average of 50% for the course.

Minimum Estimated Time Commitment:

• Reading time: Two hours
• Writing time: Five hours

We would love to chat to you if you have any questions about our writing courses.

If you need some advice about the best course or writing field for you, drop us a line or give Koos a call at 021 813 9224. We can tell you about going rates in the field, chance of publishing success and general writing career options both in South Africa and internationally.

• If you have questions about how we work, we have information in our FAQ section and How We Train section.
• If you want to pay off your course fee, please read the information here.
• For information on our refund policy, please read our policies here.
• To register for the course, please click here: