Using punctuation correctly
Transcript of Using punctuation correctly
USING PUNCTUATIO
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Read through the powerpoint and complete the tasks at the end. [This will be review for most of you].
DIRECTIONS:
PUNCTUATION
Punctuation adds clarity and injects “voice” into written language. For instance, each of the following three sentences are the SAME but have a different meaning due to punctuation.
Look what’s in the road ahead.
USING PUNCTUATION
Look! What’s in the road ahead?
USING PUNCTUATION
Look what’s in the road!! A
head!!!???
USING PUNCTUATION
Coordinating Conjunctions
Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, or, for, nor, but, yet, so) joining independent clauses in a sentence.
COMMA RULESRULE #1:
Anthony and his mother went to the store, but they didn’t find what they were looking for.
EXAMPLE:
Items in a series
Use the Oxford comma to separate items in a series, including between “and” and the last item in the series
COMMA RULE #2:
Brad’s poetry has inspired plays, films, operas, and paintings.
Brooke the Great established a system of fortified towns, reorganized the military forces, and built a fleet of warships.
EXAMPLES:
Listing Adjectives
Use a comma between coordinate adjectives (adjectives that separately modify the same noun).
COMMA RULE #3
Cam Haas praises the novel’s unaffected, unadorned style.
EXAMPLE:
* Parenthetical Expressions
Use commas to set off parenthetical phrases that tend to “interrupt” the flow of a sentence.
COMMARULE #4:
*Queen Hailey, for example, ruled for nearly a century.
*Bryson was, from a young age, a trendy dress designer before he became a famous dude rancher.
EXAMPLES:
*Nonessential phrases and clausesCommas are placed before and after nonessential or nonrestrictive modifiers. A nonrestrictive element (modifier), unlike a restrictive one, can be dropped from a sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence.
COMMA RULE #5
Nonrestrictive:The novel takes place in China, where many languages are spoken.
Restrictive:The novel takes place in a land where many languages are spoken.
NONRESTRICTIVE (OR NONESSENTIAL)VERSUS
RESTRICTIVE (OR ESSENTIAL)
Danielle Eggers, who is the special guest of tonight’s show, will appear at the podium for autographs at 7:00 pm.
EXAMPLE:
*Introductory phrase, clause, or interjection
Use a comma after a long introductory phrase or clause, or after an interjection.
COMMA RULE #6:
*After years of practice and hard work, Danielle Filla published her memoirs entitled How I Got the Best of Him.
*Although he was virtually unknown in his day, scholars have come to recognize the originality of Connor’s work.
EXAMPLES:
“Hey, isn’t that my pencil?,” thought Hannah.
EXAMPLE:
*Contrasting ideas
Use commas to set off contrasting ideas or negations.
COMMA RULE #7:
*Josie, not her mother, sets the plot in motion.
*Captain Kaylen remains a tragic figure, despite her appalling actions.
EXAMPLES:
• Conventional reasons-Between city and state [Lazy, OH]-In a letter [Dear Emily, ]-Between day and year [October 4, 1977]-Commas within numbers [2,000 or 1,000,000]
COMMA RULE #8
*With Quotations
Commas go inside quoted material when a comma is called for.
COMMA RULE #9:
“You’ve got to be kidding,” wrote Zachary Gill II about his grandmother starring as Frankenstein.
“Read the book,” Kelly told the class, “then you’ll know what happens.”
EXAMPLES:
*Direct Address
When addressing someone in a sentence, a comma follows the address.
COMMA RULE #10:
Kim, did you clean your room this morning?
We thought we told you, Maddie, about the upcoming test next week.
Ryan, how’re you doin’?
EXAMPLES:
Rule #1: Independent clauses
Use a semicolon between two independent clauses not joined by a conjunction.
SEMICOLON:
The coat is tattered beyond repair; still, Paige hopes the tailor can mend it.
Angels live in heaven; demons live in hell, or so Grant claims.
EXAMPLES:
Rule #2: Items in a series w/commas
Use semicolons between items in a series when the items contain commas.
SEMICOLON
Present at the symposium were Maggie Massengill, the art critic; Josh Morgan, the Daily Tribune reporter; and Olivia McDaries, the conceptual artist.
EXAMPLE:
In a sentence with two independent clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb or transitional adverb or phrase, put a semicolon before and a comma after the adverb.
SEMICOLON RULE #3:
Rebecca wanted to provide students with all the semicolon rules before they left for break; however, she forgot about this one.
This is an extremely specific semicolon rule; moreover, it is one of those rules which must be followed exactly (or else Sara will kick you out of the club).
EXAMPLE:
Rule #1: Introductions
Use a colon to introduce a list, a formal elaboration, or rule or principle
COLON
Example 1 Introducing a list:
Nick’s reading list included three Latin novels: The Death of Artemio Cruz, One Hundred Years of Solitude, and The Green House.
COLON
Example 2: Elaboration:
The plot is founded on deception: the main character, Anthony Laricchiuti, has a secret identity.
COLON
Example 3 Rule or Principle:
Many books would be briefer if their authors followed the logical principle known as Occam’s razor: Explanations should not be multiplied unnecessarily.
COLON
Rule #2 : Setting off formal quotations:
Use a colon to introduce a quotation that is independent from the structure of the main sentence.
COLON:
In Ginn’s novel The Classy Bean Pickers, Mr. Rubble exhorts Cam to stop putting beans in his nose: “You are going to have weeds growing out of your ears if you don’t stop that, young man!”
EXAMPLE:
•Use dashes or parentheses to enclose a sentence element that interrupts the train of thought or diversion of the main clause.*Stronger than parenthetical expression
DASHES AND PARENTHESES
Sometimes (not always) I use dashes to emphasize the material between, before, or after the dashes:
Swift’s satire portrays the extreme prejudice of the English toward the Irish – that was his point.
DASHES
Soaring in a balloon – Kaylen first performed this feat in 1783 – is her way of spying on her friend’s peripatetic behavior.
DASHEXAMPLE:
The colors of the costume – blue, scarlet, and yellow – acquire symbolic meaning in Hannah’s story.
*Using dashes here eliminate confusion.
EXAMPLE
Sets apart material within sentence that disrupts and/or not essential to the clause:
Brooke is emphatic (or so she seems) in her opinion that applying punctuation correctly shows the mark of a mature writer.
*I use parentheses to de-emphasize the material within, spoken like an understatement.
PARENTHESES
Make sure to pay attention to the nature of your sentences: if a sentence asks a question or shows marked emotion, use the correct punctuation!!!
PAY ATTENTION!!!
OTHER WAYS TO SHOW “VOICE”
*Italics, capitalization, underlining, bolding, fonts, etc.“You misunderstood! I said Othello’s ashes are in the urn -- not a fellow’s ashes!”
(Othello is my deceased black cat.)
(…yes, I’m a “Poe” fan, but no…I wouldn’t think of it…)
Finally, use your miscellaneous marks on the number bar to suggests profanity or “off-color” language (such as Who the &*)^ is Jackson Pollock?).
ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND THE “CLUB RULES,” DON’T BE AFRAID
TO USE PUNCTUATION!!!
#1 – 10:
Compose an original sentence that exemplifies each comma rule.
TASK #1: COMMAS
# 11, 12, 13
Compose original sentences that exemplify the semicolon rules.
TASK #2: SEMICOLONS
#14, 15, 16
Compose original sentences exemplifying the correct uses of the colon – two that demonstrate introductory material and one showing how to set off a formal quotation.
TASK 3: COLONS
#18 - 19
Provide an original example using a dash in a sentence.
TASK 4: DASH
#20Provide an original example using a set of parentheses in a sentence.
TASK 5: PARENTHESES
Re-write the sentences below using punctuation to establish a specific voice.#21Rewrite the following sentence using Dracula’s voice:Excuse me I am not a vegetarian
TASK 7: ADD VOICES!
#22:Punctuate the sentence below in the voice of Barney (the purple dinosaur):
I’ve told you a million times that’s not my Aunt Mildred
ADDING VOICES…
#23 Take the sentence below and impose a regional, “Appalachian” dialect (I can ask this since I’m a native). Don’t be afraid (afeerd) to change words/spelling:
If you do not take out the trash right now I am going to give you a spanking
ADDING VOICES:
#24Your mother’s voice:
What’s that smell don’t you ever do your laundry
ADDING VOICES:
#25Your voice: Make up a sentence relaying your feelings about punctuation so that I can “feel” your emotion. (Be kind)
ADDING VOICES: