Knowing how to identify an independent clause versus a dependent clause and knowing how to punctuate a compound and a complex sentence can help you get six or more ACT and SAT and PSAT questions correct. This flows right into knowing comma rules, and when you are confident in how to properly use commas, you will raise your score even higher. Commas, semi-colons, and conjunctions show up often in standardized tests. Real life examples are in the sentences in this post.