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Punctuation marks do a lot of work in writing. They give important messages to the reader about how a sentence should be read. They are one of the resources we use to regulate the energy of written language.
Learning how to use commas, full stops, colons and semi-colons can make your writing clearer and more effective. Punctuation is not just the 'small stuff' of writing.
Remember that punctuation varies from one language to another. This is especially true of commas (for example, commas in Dutch are used differently to commas in English). So when you read good writing in English keep an eye on how writers use punctuation.
If you have questions about punctuation in English or you need to see some examples, try:The Blue Book at http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/cnt_punc.asp. This is the web site for Jane Straus' The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation. The site has a lot of free material - see the 'Punctuation Rules' if you have a specific question. Also try the quiz.
This is a US-oriented book so will not please all lovers of British English. For a more British notion of 'correct punctuation' see http://www.correctpunctuation.co.uk/.
To find out the names of punctuation marks in English see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuation.
Online Game
To test your knowledge of apostrophes and other punctuation marks play this game http://eatsshootsandleaves.com/ESLquiz.html which is based on a best-selling book by Lynne Truss.
Note: 'period' is used in US English, 'full stop' in British English. 'Parenthesis' is widely used in US English, 'brackets' in British English. There are some US/UK cultural differences in the way punctuation is used, notably regarding commas. In US English, writers are more likely to use the 'final comma' in a list of items:
The writing course included workshop activities, exercises, writing tips, and links to web sites.
In British English the final comma before 'and' is only used if there is a chance that the reader might confuse the last two items in the list. The comma would only be used for clarification.
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To get a better understanding of paragraphs, see this Australian site. Examples here of topic, supporting and concluding sentences, and how to plan paragraphs.
