Should I remove the comma in the sentence? [closed]

Solution 1:

The beginning of the sentence (up to "experiences"), is an introductory phrase, and therefore warrants a comma. (Rule 4a from Grammarbook - https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp).

So: "I believe that my interest, abilities, combined with my IT experience, make me an ideal candidate for this programme." (note "experience" instead of "experiences").

For what it's worth, I find that the way the sentence uses "combined" to be awkward because my mind is trying to create a relation but struggles between at least two possibilities:

• is the relation with "interest and abilities"?
• or is the relation with just "abilities"?

I don't think it is necessary, but you could consider tweaking slightly to either:

• I believe that my interest and abilities, combined with my IT experiences, make me an ideal candidate for this programme.
• I believe that my interest, abilities, and IT experience, make me an ideal candidate for this programme.

Hope this helps!