Q: I need to know the correct punctuation in this sentence.

As there are only two punctuation marks in the sentence and one of them is the end punctuation, you obviously wish to know whether that comma before ‘as well’ is needed.

Short answer: No, not necessary.

Long answer: That comma may have been de rigueur a few years ago. However, language keeps evolving. With the net and social media, language has also been getting a bit ‘easy’ or conversational. For instance, many people have been eschewing the apostrophe, although not always accurately so. Having said that, academic writing (if this is part of an academic conversation) continues to remain formal, although some fences have been lowering here as well. Also, context may be important here. If, say, you are writing to someone who may be a linguistic purist or pedant, that too, a senior/supervisor, you may wish to include the comma. If not, you should be quite okay in dropping it.

For more help with commas, you may find the following resources helpful.

• 6 Unnecessary comma errors to avoid in your research paper: This infographic talks about, in a lighter vein, some common comma errors and how to avoid them.
• How to use punctuation correctly for academic writing in English: For help with punctuation overall in academic writing, you may find this course helpful. It covers the gamut of punctuation marks, from periods to commas to colons and more. It’s from R Upskill, a sister brand providing a suite of learning programs for researchers. So, beyond writing, there are courses on other aspects of a researcher’s work such as submission, publication, research promotion, and even career development. For a limited period, the courses are available for free. So, do check it out!