Capitalization Punctuation

1. Capitalize the first word of a sentence and the pronoun I in any location. The decision of the council was this: Taxes will be increased. The agency bought a computer, and I learned how to use it.

2. Capitalize the first word in a quotation. Mr. Marsh exclaimed, “Let’s do the best we can!” “Come see me soon,” requested his mom.

3. Capitalize the first word and all titles and nouns in the salutation and the first word in the complimentary close of a letter OR an e-mail Dear Miranda, Sincerely yours, Very truly yours, Thank you,

4. Capitalize the names of the days of the week, special days (holidays), months of the year, historic events, and eras. Sunday-Saturday Memorial Day, Labor Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day American Revolution, WWI, WWII Fourth of July January- December Mesozoic Era, Prohibition Triassic, Jurassic, or Cretaceous

The Wealth of Nations: A Day at the Races 5. Capitalize the first, last, and all other important words in the titles of written works (documents, books, journals, newspapers, reports) and their contents (chapters, sections, articles), works of art and music, and movies. *Note: ONLY capitalize articles (a, an, the), conjunctions, or prepositions only when they are the first or last words in a title or subtitle. The Wealth of Nations: A Day at the Races The Declaration of Independence Whitney Houston’s The Greatest Love of All

Book IX Chapter 6 Section 2 Volume III 6. Capitalize nouns and abbreviations referring to parts of a written work only when the reference is followed by a number. Book IX Chapter 6 Section 2 Volume III

7. Capitalize words referring to the Deity and a specific religion. the Creator Buddhism Christian Allah God *Note: do not capitalize god when it is not being used to directly name God.

Southwest University Ballpark Providence Memorial Hospital 8. Capitalize the names of people and words associated with the name (places, diseases, etc.) Joyce M. Wexler Influenza (Flu) Southwest University Ballpark Providence Memorial Hospital Rudolph Chevrolet Peter Piper Pizza

9. Capitalize titles associated with a person in three instances: *when immediately preceding a name Dr. Carl Maxwell Miss Dorothy Mosher Uncle Don Sergeant Jackson Mr. Edward Crane President Wilma Dorn Grandma Judy Seaman Hoover *after a name in an address of typed signature (like at the end of an e-mail) Ms. Maria Richards, Associate CEO Director of Personnel Marvin J. Feldman, Manager *used in the place of a person’s name “I understand your decision, Judge,” replied the defendant. I love you, Grandma.

10. Capitalize the specific names of the following: geographical sites & places: Rocky Mountains Lake Superior Austin, Texas regions: the Midwest the South the Middle East organizations: the United Way American Red Cross Salvation Army DO NOT CAPITALIZE flowers: lilacs tiger lily roses direction: north, south, east, west seasons: summer, fall, spring, winter buildings: Union Baptist Church Empire State Building Coronado High School works of engineering: Hoover Dam Great Wall of China Jefferson Memorial state abbreviations: TX OH CA

11. Capitalize words based on nationalities or historical background. Alaskan Canadians American Chinese New Yorker Indian El Pasoan

12. Capitalize the name brand but not the generic product’s name. Hostess Twinkies snacks Dial soap Mercedes-Benz automobiles Puma tennis shoes Wonder bread Apple personal computers Kleenex tissue

13. Capitalize the names of specific courses (usually followed by a number) but not those of general areas of study (except languages). Ms. Blink has taught a mathematics course, Algebra 1, an English course, and a political science course. She is now studying Spanish 1 and Psychology 101. math Biology II biology English history American history ( If it was American History 1665-1865, yes)

End Punctuation: Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points There are only three ways to end a sentence: with a period (.) a question mark (?) or an exclamation point (!).

Commas The most popular mark of punctuation, the comma Refer to 8 Comma Rules http://www.englishforeveryone.org/PDFs/Commas.pdf

Semicolons, Colons, and Dashes These three marks of punctuation--the semicolon (;), colon (:), and dash (--)--can be effective when used sparingly

Semicolons (;) Use a semicolon to separate two main clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction. Those who write clearly have readers; those who write obscurely have a mess. We can also use a semicolon to separate main clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb (such as however, consequently, otherwise, moreover, nevertheless ) The day began well for Shay with a hot latte and bagel; however, the night did not end well due to the expired milk from earlier in the morning.

Colons (:) Use a colon to set off a summary or a series after a complete main clause: It is time for Kallie’s birthday party: a white cake, strawberry-marshmallow ice cream, and a carton of milk.

Dashes - and Parentheses ( ) Use a dash to set off a short summary after a complete main clause: At the bottom of Pandora's box lay the final gift-hope. We may also use a pair of dashes in place of a pair of commas to set off words, phrases, or clauses that interrupt a sentence with additional-but not essential-information In the great empires of antiquity-Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Persia-splendid though they were, freedom was unknown. Parentheses (which tend to de-emphasize the information contained between them), dashes are more emphatic than commas.

Apostrophe Use the apostrophe to form contractions: I'm (I am) you're (you are) she's (she is) we're (we are) they're (they are) * Don't confuse the contraction it's (meaning, "it is") with the possessive pronoun its: It's the first day of spring. Our bird has escaped from its cage.

2. Use an Apostrophe with -s for Possessives of Singular Nouns Use an apostrophe plus -s to show the possessive form of a singular noun, even if that singular noun already ends in -s: Harold's crayon my daughter's First Communion Sylvia Plath's poetry Dylan Thomas's poetry today's weather report the boss's problem Star Jones's talk show Victoria Beckham's husband

3. Use an Apostrophe Without -s for Possessives of Most Plural Nouns To form the possessive of a plural noun that already ends in -s, add an apostrophe: the girls' swing set (the swing set belonging to the girls) the students' projects (the projects belonging to the students) the Johnsons' house (the house belonging to the Johnsons) If the plural noun does not end in -s, add an apostrophe plus -s: the women's conference (the conference belonging to the women) the children's toys (the toys belonging to the children) the men's training camp (the training camp belonging to the men)

Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia Ice Cream 4. Use an Apostrophe with -s When Two or More Nouns Possess the Same Thing When two or more nouns possess the same thing, add an apostrophe plus -s to the last noun listed: Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia Ice Cream Emma and Nicole's school project (Emma and Nicole worked together on the same project) When two or more nouns separately possess something, add an apostrophe to each noun listed Tim's and Marty's ice cream (Each boy has his own ice cream.) Emma's and Nicole's school projects (Each girl has her own project.)

5. Do Not Use an Apostrophe with Possessive Pronouns Because possessive pronouns already show ownership, it's not necessary to add an apostrophe: yours his hers ours theirs its* However, we do add an apostrophe plus -s to form the possessive of some indefinite pronouns: anybody's guess one's personal responsibility somebody's wallet

6. Generally, Do Not Use an Apostrophe to Form a Plural As a general rule, use only the prefix -s (or an -es) without an apostrophe to form the plurals of nouns--including dates, acronyms, and family names: Markets were booming in the 1990s. The tax advantages offered by IRAs make them attractive investments. The Johnsons have sold all of their CDs.

1. Direct Quotations Use double quotation marks (" ") to enclose a direct quotation: "No good deed," wrote Clare Booth Luce, “Will go unpunished." Keep in mind that direct quotations repeat a speaker's exact words.

2. Titles Use double quotation marks to enclose the titles of songs, short stories, essays, poems, and articles He recited the lyrics to the song "She Made Toothpicks out of the Timber of My Heart." The first draft of my favorite E. B. White essay, "Once More to the Lake," was a letter that White wrote to his brother a week after their mother's death. WHEN TYPING, Do not put quotation marks around the titles of books, newspapers, or magazines; instead, italicize those titles.

3. Quotations Within Quotations Use a pair of single quotation marks (' ') to enclose a title, direct quotation, or piece of dialogue that appears within another quotation: Josie once said, "I have never read much poetry, but I love the sonnet 'Be Bop a Lula.'" Notice that two separate quotation marks appear at the end of the sentence: a single mark to close the title and a double mark to close the direct quotation.

4. Commas and Quotation Marks When a comma or a period appears at the end of a quotation, put it inside the quotation mark "Gluttony is an emotional disease," Peter DeVries once wrote, “A sign that something is eating us."