Punctuation & Proofreading Lesson # 1

The Period Use a period [. ] at the end of a sentence that makes a statement. There is no space between the last letter and the period. Use one space between the period and the first letter of the next sentence.

The Comma 1)Use a comma to separate the elements in a series (three or more things), including the last two. "He hit the ball, dropped the bat, and ran to first base." 2) Use a comma + a little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so) to connect two independent clauses, as in "He hit the ball well, but he ran toward third base." independent clauses 3)Use a comma to set off introductory elements, as in " Running toward third base, he suddenly realized how stupid he looked." 4)Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements, as in "The Founders Bridge, which spans the Connecticut River, is falling down." By "parenthetical element," we mean a part of a sentence that can be removed without changing the essential meaning of that sentence. 5)Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives. You could think of this as "That tall, distinguished, good looking fellow" rule (as opposed to "the little old lady"). If you can put an and or a but between the adjectives, a comma will probably belong there. For instance, you could say, "He is a tall and distinguished fellow" or "I live in a very old and run-down house." So you would write, "He is a tall, distinguished man" and "I live in a very old, run-down house."

Use commas to punctuate these sentences. Steven his head still spinning walked out of the office for the last time. "I advise you" said the teacher "not to cross me again today." We go to Blackpool for the cuisine not the weather. The thief was wearing impractical high heels so she could not run fast. As the sun began to sink over the sea Karen got ready to go out. Paulina his wife of many years had decided to go and live in Greece. "Look at this" he whispered. The recipe needed jam flour sugar fruit eggs ketchup and baking powder. After a hard day at the office I like to relax with a large gin.

The Colon Use a colon [ : ] before a list or an explanation that is preceded by a clause that can stand by itself. Think of the colon as a gate, inviting one to go on: Ex) “There is only one thing left to do now: confess while you still have time."

Which of these is correct? a) The potion contained: fruit, biscuits and glue. b) The potion contained fruit, biscuits and glue. c) The potion: contained fruit, biscuits and glue.

Which of these is correct? a) I can see only one thing: the old lighthouse. b) I can see only one thing the old lighthouse. c) I can see: only one thing the old lighthouse.

Which of these is correct? a) In the bag were: scissors, a hairbrush and her address book. b) In the bag were the following: scissors, a hairbrush and her address book. c) In the bag there were: scissors, a hairbrush and her address book.

The Semicolon Use a semicolon [ ; ] to help sort out a monster list: There were citizens from Bangor, Maine; Hartford, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts; and Newport, Rhode Island. OR We had four professors on our committee: Peter Wursthorn, Professor of Mathematics; Ronald Pepin, Professor of English; Cynthia Greenblatt, Professor of Education; and Nada Light, Professor of Nursing. to separate closely related independent clauses: My grandmother seldom goes to bed this early; she's afraid she'll miss out on something.

Which can/should be connected with a semi-colon? a) I hate rice pudding _____ dairy products don't agree with me. b) Spain is lovely _____ hot weather and friendly people. c) Spain _____ lovely beaches, endless blue sea and great weather. d) Spain is a lovely country _____ the beaches are endless and the weather is always good.

Which can/should be connected with a semi-colon? a) Paris is a beautiful city ______ wide streets and sunshine. b) Havana is a lovely city ______ rice pudding is one of my favourite foods. c) I would love to go to France ______ Paris is a lovely city. d) I would love to go to Greece ______ I love ancient history.

Which can/should be connected with a semi-colon? a) Understanding grammar is very important ______ despite its complexity. b) Understanding grammar is very important ______ clear communication is an essential skill. c) Understanding grammar is very important ______ most high level jobs require good writing skills. d) Understanding grammar is very important ______ although it is not always the most fascinating subject on the planet.

Which can/should be connected with a semi-colon? a) I'm not going on holiday this year ______ I am very short of money. b) I'm not going on holiday this year ______ no time!! c) I'm not going on holiday this year ______ too expensive! d) I'm not going on holiday this year ______ hot weather doesn't agree with me.

The Dash Use a dash [ — ] (or two hyphens [ -- ] on old- fashioned typewriters) or dashes as a super-comma or set of super-commas to set off parenthetical elements, especially when those elements contain internal forms of punctuation: "All four of them—Bob, Jeffrey, Jason, and Brett—did well in college.” In writing dialogue, the dash is used to show breaks in thought and shifts in tone: "How many times have I asked you not to —" Jason suddenly stopped talking and looked out the window. "Not to do what?" I prompted. "Not to — Oh heck, I forget!"

The Ellipses 1)An ellipsis [ … ] proves to be a handy device when you're quoting material and you want to omit some words. The ellipsis consists of three evenly spaced dots (periods) with spaces between the ellipsis and surrounding letters or other marks. Let's take the sentence, "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes from the Caribbean who were visiting the U.S." and leave out "from the Caribbean who were": "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes … visiting the U.S.” If the omission comes after the end of a sentence, the ellipsis will be placed after the period, making a total of four dots. … See how that works? Notice that there is no space between the period and the last character of the sentence. 2)The ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in the flow of a sentence and is especially useful in quoted speech: "Juan thought and thought … and then thought some more." I'm wondering …" Juan said, bemused. 3)If words are left off at the end of a sentence, and that is all that is omitted, indicate the omission with ellipsis marks (preceded and followed by a space) and then indicate the end of the sentence with a period …. If one or more sentences are omitted, end the sentence before the ellipsis with a period and then insert your ellipsis marks with a space on both sides. … As in this example. A coded ellipsis (used in the construction of this page) will appear tighter (with less of a space between the dots) than the use of period-space-period-space-period.

The Apostrophe 1)We use an apostrophe [ ’ ] to create possessive forms, contractions, and some plurals (see below). The apostrophe shows where a letter or letters have been left out of a contracted verb: below I am = I'm you are = you're she is = she's it is = it's do not = don't she would = she'd he would have = he would've let us = let's who is = who's she will = she'll they had = they'd 2) In possessives, the placement of the apostrophe depends on whether the noun that shows possession is singular or plural. Generally, if the noun is singular, the apostrophe goes before the s. The witch's broom. If the noun is plural, the apostrophe goes after the s : The witches' brooms. However, if the word is pluralized without an s, the apostrophe comes before the s: He entered the men's room with an armload of children's clothing.

Choose the correct sentence: a) My parent's apartment is in one of the city's finest areas. b) My parents' apartment is in one of the citys finest areas'. c) My parents' apartment is in one of the citys' finest areas. d) My parents' apartment is in one of the city's finest areas.

Choose the correct sentence: a) The two buildings doors' and windows' were damaged in the blast. b) The two buildings door's and window's were damaged in the blast. c) The two buildings' doors and windows were damaged in the blast. d) The two building's doors and windows were damaged in the blast.

Choose the correct sentence: a) The world's experts were quick to praise the two girls' courage. b) The world's experts were quick to praise the two girl's courage. c) The worlds expert's were quick to praise the two girls' courage. d) The worlds' experts were quick to praise the two girls' courage.

The Hyphen Hyphens have many uses: creating compound words, particularly modifiers before nouns (the well-known actor, my six-year-old daughter, the out-of-date curriculum writing numbers twenty-one to ninety-nine and fractions (five-eighths, one-fourth) creating compounds on-the-fly for fly-by-night organizations adding certain prefixes to words: When a prefix comes before a capitalized word or the prefix is capitalized, use a hyphen (non-English, A-frame, I-formation). The prefixes self-, all-, and ex- nearly always require a hyphen (ex-husband, all- inclusive, self-control), and when the prefix ends with the same letter that begins the word, you will often use a hyphen (anti-intellectual, de-emphasize), but not always (unnatural, coordinate, cooperate).

Proofreading Proofreading (also proof-reading) traditionally means reading a proof copy of a text in order to detect and correct any errors.

Exercise: Take out a piece of paper and write a paragraph on: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “People should sometimes do things that they do not enjoy doing.” Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. 15 Minutes

Proofreading Now, switch papers with a partner. Use the proofreader marks you’ve learned.

Homework: 1) Write two blog entries. 2 Write an essay on the following topic: “Describe some customs from your country that you would like people from other countries to adopt. Explain your choices, using specific reasons and examples.”