Punctuation~ I'm kind of curious about punctuation in different languages. In Russian it is very important, and there are lots of rules on where and in what occasion you should put comma or colon or something else. Sure, every language has its own special punctuation features, but I'm slightly confused about it. We have studied punctuation in Russian language for 11 years at school. It was always a significant part of the lesson. However, for the years I've been studying English, both at school and on additional courses, no one really told me anything about the rules of punctuation. Same with Japanese language. So I assumed they're not that important. Am I wrong? What role does punctuation play in different languages? If you have any interesting information or opinion to share, I will be very thankfull. And feel free to correct my mistakes!

What's better? While reading something in a foreign language (a fiction book, for example) is it better to translate all unfamiliar words with a dictionary or go on reading trying to guess some of them by the context? The thing is, when you're trying to translate every single word, that you don't understand, it will take much longer time and efforts. Although it's probably good for your vocabulary. On the other hand, guessing by the context is kind of usefull, because sometimes you don't have enough time to read carefully line by line, you just have to get the whole picture. But you might get it wrong. I know which one I prefer. But which one, do you think, is better?

Academic writing~ How to improve your academic writing skills in English? I was told several times that all of my writings are closer to literature style rather than to academic. Actually I don't really mind, I like them that way, but, apparently, my teachers do. And, although, I try really hard, I still have a huge list of problems on that :( Maybe you can suggest some writers or textbooks, from which I could learn? Or just some advises for a rookie writer, who wants to master her writing skills, but already stuck on the earliest stages? I would really appreciate that!