Punctuation Lesson Two, Topic Two Use the arrows below or click the Slide Show button at lower right to view presentation In slide show view, click anywhere onscreen to advance to the next slide.

Importance of Punctuation Missing or incorrect punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence. Read the example on the next slide. See if you can figure out how changing the punctuation would change the meaning of the incorrect sentence.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves A panda enters a cafe, orders and devours a sandwich, draws a pistol, fires a few shots and then heads for the door. "Why?" asks the bewildered waiter. The panda tosses him a badly punctuated wildlife manual and says: "I'm a panda. Look it up." The waiter reads the relevant entry: "Panda: Large black and white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves." From Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Lynne Truss, Gotham Books, 2004

See the Difference Which of the following is correct? Eats, shoots and leaves. Eats shoots and leaves. One tiny thing (a comma, in this case) can completely change the meaning of a sentence. Eats, shoots, and leaves are all verbs in the first sentence. In the second sentence, eats is the only verb and [bamboo] shoots and leaves are now nouns.

Comma Usage Commas are often misused. People either overuse or underuse them. Knowing when and how to use commas will help you use them correctly.

Comma - Lists Use commas to separate a series of items. Health care workers need to be reliable, conscientious, competent, and courteous. The receptionist, office manager, and billing specialist met on Monday.

Comma - Phrases Use commas to separate introductory phrases As a result, the exam was rescheduled. Use commas to offset extra information The patient, who arrived late, complained about having to wait.

Comma - Link Clauses Insert a comma before a coordinating conjunction used to link independent clauses The acronym FANBOYS will help you remember the coordinating conjunctions for, and, nor, but or, yet, and so. The patient is diabetic, so she takes insulin. The sky is overcast, yet the weather is very warm.

Comma - Quotation Marks When a quote is at the beginning of a sentence, place the comma inside the quotation marks. “I am cold,” the patient said. When a quote is at the end of a sentence, place the comma before the quotation marks. The patient said, “I am cold.” Note that in the last example, the period is placed inside the quotation marks.

Sentence Enders A sentence can end with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. Period are generally used for academic writing because they are used to end statements. Question marks can be used as appropriate. Exclamation points are rarely used in academic or technical writing.

Apostrophe - Omission The apostrophe is used to replace missing letters or numbers. Letters it’s = it is don’t = do not she’ll = she will Numbers ’01 = 2001

Apostrophe - Possession The apostrophe can also be used to indicate possession or ownership Singular nouns the boy’s bicycle Plural nouns employees’ benefits Note: Do not use apostrophes with personal pronouns—your, his, her, their, its.

Capitalization Capitalize the first letter of: The first word of a sentence A proper name Nationalities, races, and languages Names of places (Chicago or Ohio) Months and days of the week Titles, such as Dr. or Mr. Note: The first letter of an occupation, such as physician, should not be capitalized.

Practice Quizzes Visit the websites below to hone your punctuation skills. To return to this page, close the windows that open with the quizzes in them. Comma placement quiz Apostrophe placement quiz Capitalization quiz

Summary Punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence Commas link clauses, separate items in a list, or set off phrases Periods are usually the most appropriate sentence-enders used for academic writing. Apostrophes can replace omitted words or show possession Capitalize the first word of a sentence and all proper nouns

Next Steps Return to Blackboard and click Topic 3 within the Lesson 2 folder to continue.