Editing A. Capital Rules -after . ? ! 1. The pronoun I (I'm, I'll, I've, I’d) 2. The first word of every sentence -after . ? ! 3. titles of books, magazines, movies, poems, tv shows 4. proper nouns (names) of people (Aunt Sue, Ms. Wilson, Dad) places (Colonia Middle School, CMS) things (The Statue of Liberty) *Not when following, my, our, your, his, her, their… (my aunt Sue, our dad, your school, his teacher, her statue, their uncle)

Titles NO CAPITAL LIST 1. First words always have capitals 2. Words that have more than 3 letters need capitals 3. If a word has 3 or less letters check this list: NO CAPITAL LIST

Underline or “ ”? 1. Title of a book or novel=underline (If you’re typing, use italics) 2. Title of a short story, essay, poem, song, article, movie, tv show…=“quotation marks” Quick rule: If the title is on the cover of a book, underline it.

B. Punctuation 1. Period 2. Question Mark (?) At the end of a sentence When your voice stops Abbreviations Dr., Mrs., Mr., Ms. (NOT Miss!) 2. Question Mark (?) At the end of questions Who, What, Where, When, Why, How, Do, Can, Don’t, Doesn’t, Can’t, Aren’t, Is, If…

-At the end of sentences showing excitement or strong emotion. 3. Exclamation point (!) -At the end of sentences showing excitement or strong emotion. -After interjections showing strong emotion. Examples of interjections: Hey! No! Holy cow! Wow! Yikes!

4. Quotation Marks (“ ”) 5. Comma (,) When someone is saying something (dialogue) Titles that aren't novels or books 5. Comma (,) When someone is talking, use it before the quotation marks. “Hello,” said Tom. Tom said, “Hello.” In a list of 3 or more I love chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake, and chocolate cookies. After the date and before the year October 17, 2011

C. Verb Tense If your writing starts in the past, keep it in the past. Which is correct? 1. Many years ago, dinosaurs roamed the earth. Some eat plants and others eat meat. or 2. Many years ago, dinosaurs roamed the earth. Some ate plants and others ate meat.