comma in front of 'in particular'

[xupeng66]

Hi All,

I want to know if I need a comma in front of 'in particular' in the following sentence?
'As a graduate student, I have been closely involved in oceanographic research and in particular studies on deep-sea hydrothermal vents since 2008.'

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[Rover_KE]

No comma is needed.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Xupeng:

And Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! Although it is an American holiday, I think that people in many countries have much to be thankful for.

As the moderator told us, commas are not needed.

Of course, some people (including me) would feel more comfortable with commas, but many people today would not use them. *

Actually, I was more interested in your placement of "since 2008." I think that you have been involved both in oceanographic research and on deep-sea hydrothermal vents since 2008. Am I right? I was worried that some readers might think that "since 2008" refers only to deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

So maybe it might be clearer to say something like:

"I have been closely involved since 2008 in oceanographic research and, in particular, on deep-sea hydrothermal vents."



James

* You may already know this: the "books" section of Google has digitalized thousands of books for us. I typed in "and, in particular." I found many good authors who used commas and many good authors who did not.