Hi,
I’ve found myself using comma’s and even ( ) inside of sentences to make a point about a point I was typing a lot lately. Also, I find myself starting sentences with I a lot.
How can I get away from writing like this, and what are some alternatives I could use to not use I so much starting off sentences.
Thanks very much for any help you can offer.
Well let’s think for a moment, what’s wrong with commas?
It’s a sign of well thought out writing. I get bored reading long strings of words. Commas are essential. IMHO
Nice comma splice, ace! But I agree; there’s nothing wrong with commas. They’re the things that we learned in 1st grade to break free from simple short sentences. Just make sure you’re not using them excessively or for things they weren’t designed to do.
Getting away from I sentences is fairly straightforward. Rather than saying “I feel” blah blah, just start with the blah blah. It’s important to distinguish when you’re stating an opinion rather than just a fact, but if you’re talking about writing a paper (as opposed to comments on the internet), the whole paper is assumed to be your view on a particular topic. So the “I” part is unnecessary.
Consider: The Romans threw Christians to lions. I feel that this was due to the gorror-porn trend that was developing at the time with films such as Saw, Saw II, and Saw IX: Chariots of Saw.
The Romans threw Christians to lions. This was likely due to the…
LOL, I am using them excessively, that was the point of my post.
Nice example on the Romans thing, but I would have just inserted a comma rather than start a new sentence, so I need work on that.
I’d worry more about extra apostrophes and incorrect punctuation at the end of sentences. 
I’m the type of person who gets irked at a misplaced comma - not comma-happy folk. I suspect others feel the same way.
How often do you use upside-down commas?
Let’s redo that.
LOL. I am using them excessively; that was the point of my post.
The above is an alternate (and better, IMO) use of punctuation. It groups your statement more appropriately. But, let it be known that I, too, use commas and parentheses too much. 
It would be perfectly fine to do that if you add a conjunction with it. Otherwise you’re joining two independant clauses in what’s called a comma splice.
Instead of: The Romans threw Christians to lions, this was likely due to the…
You need to say: The Romans threw Christians to lions, which was likely due to the…
Read up on comma use and when you use one (or want to use one), see if you can fit your usage to the rules you’ve read about. Otherwise, maybe another punctuation mark might be more appropriate, or none at all. The semi-colon, fer instance…
The Romans threw Christians to lions; this was likely due to the…
I use far too many parenthetical phrases in casual writing, as well as setting things off with dashes–like this.
Step 1: Stop thinking that you should just type a stream of consciousness & hit send when you get to the end.
Every sentence and paragraph needs to be evaluated *after *you write it to check for spelling errors, missing or wrong words, excessive commas, and any other bad writing habits you may have.
As well, each group of sentences needs to be evaluated to ensure they flow correctly from one to the next & form a coherent paragraph.
Rule of thumb: If it took 2 minutes to type, it ought to take 4 minutes to check. THEN hit save or send.
If you do that every time you write something for the next few months, you’ll discover that your original first-cut writing will become much closer to an acceptable end product.
Right now what you’re posting here is of such poor quality that a sizeable fraction of our membership will take one glance & move on without reading or replying. We’re not writing snobs, but we’re also not writing slobs.
Writing is NOT talking with your fingers. It’s a different and more precise form of communicating. Make the effort to treat it as such and you’ll be rewarded. You’ve taken the first, and hardest, step by noticing your shortcoming & wanting to improve. Practice is the only way to get better.
A first exercise might be to spend a few minutes & rewrite your original question so it looks better to you. (hint: I rewrote the prior sentence to eliminate a subordinate clause & comma which my first draft included. That’s one of my weaknesses too.)
Good luck. We’re rooting for you.
I find myself using commas too much. English is my second language, and although I feel that I write OK, I often second guess myself on grammar and make dumb mistakes. When I’m writing/editing, I say the sentence under my breath with and without the pause of commas and sometimes find that I can forgo the use of at least a couple of them. Some sentences just need the fluidity without the pause in order for them to ring better in our ears. Like the one I just typed, for instance. Who knows, perhaps I have no idea of what I’m talking about. When I learned how to speak/read/write English when I was 12 years old in Toronto, Canada, by the time I was in 8th grade (1.5 years after arriving there) I was the spelling bee of my class. I find this bizarre. I’m not attributing this to intelligence, spelling just clicked for me. My native tongue is Spanish.