Category Archives: Punc = Punctuation

Infographic: “The 69 Rules of Punctuation” from Brainpickings.org

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The infographic above offers  “69 Rules for Punctuation.”  Though 69 rules may seem overwhelming, they are organized by type, such as commas, parentheses, exclamation marks (don’t overuse these in college writing), and quotation marks.  If punctuation challenges you, print the infographic out and put it on your notebook this semester! Here it is again:

http://ebookfriendly.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-69-rules-of-punctuation-infographic.jpg

Punctuation

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https://flic.kr/p/9aZjcK

Fancy Clock 時計 of a Hairdressers Salon messed up in Traffic Signs in : City Chiba Japan by: Arjan Richter

Punctuation marks are like road signs for the reader. They tell the reader when to pause, and when to stop. They indicate when one idea ends and another one begins. Using proper punctuation in an essay can mean the difference between presenting coherent ideas and confusing your reader. So, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the proper usage of the different punctuation marks.

For basic essay writing you will have to be proficient in using periods, commas, apostrophes, and quotation marks. The period ( . ) is a dot at then end of the sentence that indicates a full stop. The comma ( , ) indicates a pause inside of the sentence.

Last night I forgot to turn on my alarm clock. So, this morning I was running late. I usually leave my house an hour before I’m scheduled to show up at my job. I got dressed quickly, hurried through breakfast, and barely had time to brush my teeth. In the end, I managed to make it to work before my boss showed up.  

(Please see a previous post for an more in depth look at the use of commas.)

Quotation marks ( “ ) indicate that someone is speaking or, that we’re using someone else’s words. Using quotation marks is especially important in essay writing if we want to use someone else’s words without plagiarizing.

My mother used a lot of aphorisms when I was little. She would say, “do as I say not as I do,“ when I wanted to join her, as she was doing grown up things. At the time, I found that very annoying. She also liked to quote the Dalai Lama whenever my sister and I got into a fight. He said, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.“ I think it’s good for me to remember that one.

Apostrophes indicate possession or, allow us to combine words like: can‘t (can not,) couldn‘t (could not,)  won‘t (will not,) wouldn‘t (would not,) and shouldn‘t (should not.) (Please see a previous apostrophe post for an in depth tutorial on the proper use of apostrophes.)

There are also semi colons ( ; ) colons ( : ) dashes  and hyphens, all of which indicate different kinds of pauses. Once you master the proper use of periods, commas, quotation marks and apostrophes, you can move on to incorporating colons, semi colons, and hyphens.

The following link contains tutorials about comas, apostrophes, quotation marks, and hyphens.

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/6/

Apostrophes

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apostrophe

 

Apostrophes can be pretty useful. They are the piece of punctuation that allows us to take a shortcut. By using an apostrophe we can shorten the number of words that we use.

Apostrophes allow us to combine two words and form contractions like can’t or won’t. Forming contractions is relatively simple. The apostrophe takes the place of the missing letters.

Another function of the apostrophe is to indicate possession (or belonging.) This is a bit more complicated than forming contractions but, once you get the hang of it, they’ll start to make sense.

To indicate possession (that something belongs to someone) add  ‘s.

Examples:

The dog that belongs to Pedro = Pedro’s dog.

The purse that belongs to my mother = my mother’s purse.

In the case of more than one person, where there is an s on the end of the word to indicate that it is plural, place the apostrophe after the s. 

Examples:

The purses that belong to our mothers = our mothers’ purses.

The house that belongs to my grandparents = my grandparents’ house.

In the case of more than one person where the word does not end in an s, simply add ‘s.

Examples:

The telescope that belongs to the women = the women’s telescope.

The locker room that belongs to the men = the men’s locker room.

Click here for a more in depth tutorial on apostrophes. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/621/01/

Watch the following you tube for a trick to knowing if you have put the apostrophes in the right places.

 

 

 

 

Using Commas for Effective Sentence Structure

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Fancy Clock 時計 of a Hairdressers Salon messed up in Traffic Signs in Kashiwa City Chiba Japan by: Arjan Richter

Think of punctuation as the traffic signs that guide your reader through your writing.

Without punctuation the reader has no idea when to stop and when to pause and if you’re about to change the subject from punctuation to grammar also the reader will get tired when reading great swaths of text without a chance to pause and breathe and contemplate what they’ve just read do you see what I mean?

Periods tell your reader when to stop, and commas let the reader know when it’s time to pause. There are other forms of punctuation like semi-colons, dashes, parenthesis, and brackets that can be useful too. But, let’s start with commas. If you work on using commas appropriately you will see an improvement in the clarity of your writing.

Click here for a link to a tutorial on commas from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University.

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/692/01/

 

Capitalizing Words in Titles (= = Capitalize)

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From Flickr Creative Commons

From Flickr Creative Commons

In academic writing, ideas are constantly being exchanged.  Writers credit intellectual sources to show both the path and development of their ideas and to avoid plagiarism.  Academic writers also identify sources because sharing ideas and making connections between your ideas and the ideas of others is a means of entering the academic playground.  You must become fluent in crediting sources and showing clearly which ideas are yours and which ideas belong to others.

There are many factors involved in crediting sources.  One factor is properly capitalizing titles of essays and articles.

STRATEGY:

Most words should be capitalized in titles including:

  • The first and last words
  • Words of four letters or more
  • All words of titles of three words or fewer

Words that SHOULD NOT be capitalized in titles are:

  • Articles (a, an, the) that do not appear at the beginning or end of the title
  • Coordinating Conjunctions
  • Prepositions of 3 letters or fewer
  • “To” when part of a verb phrase that is not at the beginning of the title

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