Problems with Commas, Sentence Structure, and a Passive Voice (woe to me)

Getting right down to business, I find it rigid to perform perfect comma placement and usage. I am extremely vexed with my understanding of using commas in my writing. Explicitly, I have trouble with when to use a comma, where, and lastly, why. Take for instance, the previous sentence, as well as the one you are reading right this instant. I most certainly applied several commas, but it was quite vexing. I am completely insecure with my comma use. Every time I use one I cringe. I constantly get paper back with red ink circles around commas. Although I do not know when and where to insert one, I can never seem to avoid the feeling that I should indeed be inserting one. Simply put, I want to understand the vocabulary, the technique, behind where and when to use a comma.

Another faucet of my writing which causes me to be vexed is my sentence variety, or structure. That is, how long is too long in regard to my sentences? If I want to say, “Research shows that influenza A accounted for 5000 deaths in year…,” what constitutes as a run on sentence if I want to pack as much information into the sentence as possible? On the other hand, how short is too short when it comes to sentence variety? Is it acceptable to write, “Morose.” Does Morose not cut it as a sentence? And why? What is the vocabulary used to describe why? How can I add variety and changes in structure throughout my writing?

Finally, I hope to improve my voice in my writing. Specifically, I want to become the master of my voice. I want to know how to avoid the passive voice. Several times a semester I am marked down in academic writing due to this passiveness which makes its way into my voice. I attempt to avoid using “you” or “he” or “she” or “they.” But my attempts are just much too passive, I guess. I write, “One may assert that X’s discussion of Southern temperatures can relate to Y’s argument regarding plant growth.” The professor grading the paper writes, “Avoid passive voice Seth. Since I know to avoid such a thing, I would love to know how.

So there are my three grammatical bugaboos. I look forward to confronting them. I look forward to learning vocabulary and technicalities involving commas and sentence variety. At the close of the semester I want to stand on top of the clock tower and scream sentences with perfect voice, comma usage, and sentence variety for all of campus to hear. Daunting. If I cant use daunting for a sentence I want to know why.