1. INTRODUCTORY ELEMENTS
AAAWWUBBIS

2. When a sentence STARTs with:
SUBORDINATING
CONJUNCTIONS
After
Although As
When
While
Until
Because
Before If
Since
Then you need a comma after the introductory phrase that starts with the AAAWWUBBIS

3. EXAMPLES:
When we got to the fairgrounds, the sun was just starting to set. Wonder

4. As the candy cools, the pressurized gas is released and shatters the candy.

5. After reading twelve pages, she looked to the end to see how many more pages there were to go: more than two hundred.

6. Since it rained for the rest of the day, we spent most of the afternoon goofing off in the rec room.

7. Since the ink wasn’t waterproof, it turned his teeth blue.

8. While he eats lunch, he talks about what he will eat for dinner.

9. REMEMBER:
Remember that the AAAWWUBBIS has to be the FIRST word of a sentence to cause a comma after the phrase.

10. You don’t need a comma here: WHY?
He talks about what he will eat for dinner while he eats lunch.
Or here:
It turned his teeth blue since the ink wasn’t waterproof.

11. When I came back out, Scarhead was in the burn area
When I came back out, Scarhead was in the burn area. Gary Paulsen Woodsong

12. Because of my father’s job, my family moved a great deal
Because of my father’s job, my family moved a great deal. Lois Lowry Who’s the New Kid?

13. WHY USE an AAAWWUBBIS as a sentence starter?
TO MAKE YOUR WRITING MORE INTERESTING AND TO ADD SENTENCE VARIETY AND PIZZAZZ!
SO YOU WON’T BORE YOUR READER!