General Writing Punctuation, Capitalization, Spelling

Punctuation  If you have ever wondered if punctuation is truly important, try reading a passage that does not have punctuation. It in nearly impossible to correctly figure out what the writer was trying to say. Punctuation tells us when one idea stops and another starts. It tells use who owns things and who said what. Punctuation helps us to understand what we are reading.

Punctuation  If we want to write clearly, we must learn how to punctuate correctly. In fact, every mark of punctuation carries some meaning and gives hints to the readers. An incorrect punctuation mark can often change the meaning of a sentence and cause misunderstanding. Some students tend to use the full stop everywhere in their writing. For example, "The mother loved her children very much. She worked hard. And she saved money for them. But they don't quite understand. The mother is very sad. And that is too bad.? This really sounds terrible. A good writer is always careful about the punctuation. We can be good, too. Now let's start!

Capitalization  Capitalization is also important, generally we capitalize one of a kind things. We capitalize proper names like Bill and America because they refer to a particular person or place. We capitalize name brands like Band- Aid but not the product-bandages. We also capitalize nations, religions, places, languages, and unique items like the Declaration of Independence.  Abbreviations should only be used if necessary to refer to time, a person's title like Dr., or organizations that are usually referred to by their initials.

Spelling  Spelling is a learned skill not a special talent. Spelling can be mastered by learning a few basic rules about when to change the endings on words. Most spelling rules have to do with adding suffixes in some form to a base word. This chapter reviews the five most important spelling rules including when you should double the consonant at the end of a word before adding -ed or -ing and when to change a y to an i before adding an ending.  Another aspect of spelling besides endings is knowing when to join words and when to separate them. The chapter has a list of words that should always be separated like the word a lot. A lot is not a word. There is also a look at words whose spellings change depending on the meaning of the word. Spelling can be mastered through learning a few rules and getting lots of practice.

1. Punctuate the following sentences 1. Punctuate the following sentences 1 Lovers walk hand in hand in the park paying no attention to people around. 2 The worker was very tired from his work and he couldn’t go on without a good sleep. 3 Xiao Ling is a good student although he failed chemistry and barely passed mathematics. 4 Not all highly educated people enjoy traveling but many world travelers are well educated. 5 The new worker quit after a week surely the pressure was too great for him. 6 She had three articles published in three popular magazines TV Guide Reader’s Digest and Woman’s Day. 7 One of my friends asked What did they mean when they said We won’t buy the story. 8 Finish the report by Thursday said the manager If you finish early you can take Friday off.

Answer  1. Lovers walk hand in hand in the park, paying no attention to people around. 2. The worker was very tired from his work. (;) he couldn’t go on without a good sleep. 3..Xiao Ling is a good student, although he failed chemistry and barely passed mathematcs. 4. Not all highly educated people enjoy traveling, but many world travelers are well educated. 5. The new worker quit after a week; surely, the pressure was too great for him. 6. She had three articles published in three popular magazines: TV Guide, Reader’s Digest, and Woman’s Day. 7. One of my friends asked, “What did they mean?” when they said, “We won’t buy the story?” 8. “Finish the report by Thursday,” said the manager. “If you finish early, you can take Friday off.” 

2 ． Correct the mistakes in punctuation.  1. Oh Dear, what are you doing on the roof? 2. The editor told me what I wanted to hear, my article had been accepted. 3. The Smiths new house is not far from the railway station. 4. I realized at once that something was wrong I was not, however, the only person who was concerned. 5. To be or not to be, that is the question.... Hamlet 6. The bell was about to ring, the students closed their books and every one watched the clock anxiously.

Answer  1. Oh Dear! What (what) are you doing on the roof. 2. The editor told me what I wanted to hear: my article had been accepted. 3. The Smiths' new house is not far from the railway station. 4. I realized at once that something was wrong; I was not, however, the only person who was concerned. 5. "To be or not to be, that is the question." --- Hamlet 6. The bell was about to ring, the students closed their books, and every one watched the clock anxiously.

3. Punctuate the following sentences 1. It rained heavily during the afternoon but we managed to have our picnic anyway.  2. The mayor may do something to beautify the city for example he may encourage people to plant more trees.  3. Because the man was only three when he left Vienna he does not remember the city.  4. If they want to win athletes must exercise every day.  5. We are visiting Beijing and we plan to go to Qingdao three days later.  6. Who do you think should be held responsible for this traffic accident?  7. According to the dictionary the word incredible means the same as unbelievable. 8. He handed in his term paper last week but his teacher did not approve it.  9. I can assure you Ms. Green that I have finished the report we hope to start the work next week.  10. I will be happy to give you a tour of the palace the young girl said.

Answer  1. It rained heavily during the afternoon, but we managed to have our picnic anyway. 2. The mayor may do something to beautify the city, for example, he may encourage people to plant more trees. 3. Because the man was only three when he left Vienna, he does not remember the city. 4. If they want to win, athletes must exercise every day. 5. We are visiting Beijing, and we plan to go to the Great Wall tomorrow morning. 6. Who do you think should be held responsible for this traffic accident? 7. According to the dictionary, the word "incredible" means the same as "unbelievable." 8. He handed in his term paper last week, but his teacher did not approve it. 9. I can assure you, Ms. Green, that I have finished the report. We hope to start the work next week. 10. " I will be happy to give you a tour of the palace," the young girl said.

4. Correct the mistakes in punctuation  1. Tom. When are you going to tell me about the next part of the love story?  2. The average price of a PC is declining, more people are buying them for home use.  3. When he was in high school. He was known only as a keen-witted man.  4. Thirty-five passengers were injured, in a train crash last night.  5. Pop music. Baseball. And painting are all interesting to him.  6. I,usually, have time to eat breakfast before I go to work..  7. The wild grass was flourishing but the rest of the lawn unfortunately was dying.  8. Chinese, English, Hindi, Spanish, and Russian, these are the world major languages.  9. He called the telephone company to complain about his bill, and got no reply.  10. Having chosen nursing as a career the girl enrolled in many science courses.

Answer  1. Tom, when are you going to tell me about the next part of the love story? 2. The average price of a PC is declining; more people are buying them for home use. 3. When he was in high school, he was known only as a keen- witted man. 4. Thirty-five passengers were injured in a train crash last night. 5. Pop music, baseball, and painting are all interesting to him. 6. I usually have time to eat breakfast before I go to work. 7. The wild grass was flourishing, but the rest of the lawn, unfortunately, was dying. 8. Chinese, English, Hindi, Spanish, and Russian these are the world major languages. 9. He called the telephone company to complain about his bill and got no reply. 10. Having chosen nursing as a career, the girl enrolled in many science courses.

Thanks!