English Punctuations and Mechanics

1. Punctuation and mechanics

5.1. commas

5.2. Semicolons

You can choose whether to use a semicolon to replace a period, but do so only between two closely related independent clauses; using a semicolon creates one sentence.

NO After she walked out the door; I never saw her again.

YES She walked out the door; I never saw her again.

YES She walked out the door; later, I never saw her again.

A semicolon replaces a comma when you use a coordinating conjunction to link independent clauses that already contain commas.

Because Death Valley is the hottest place in North America, some people think that no animals live there; but visitors, especially, are amazed to see many tiny and a few larger animals emerge at night, when the temperature drop, to find food.

In addition, when individual items in a series contain commas, use a semicolon instead of a comma to separate the items.

The animals in Death Valley include spiders, such as black widows and tarantulas; snakes, such as coral snakes and sidewinders; and small mammals, such as kangaroo rats, which can convert seeds into water, and trade rats, which nest around cactus.

5.3. colons

Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list, an appositive, or a quotation. Some lead – in words, such as the following and as follows, are followed by a colon. Other lead – ins are not.

LISTED ITEMS

The students demanded the following: an expanded menu in the cafeteria, improved janitorial services, and more up-to-date textbooks.

APPOSITIVE

Museums in New York and Florida own the best-known works from Louis Tiffany’s studio: those wonderful stained-glass windows.

QUOTATION

The little boy in E.T. did say something neat: “How do you explain school to a higher intelligence?”

5.4. apostrophes

The possessive case shows possession or ownership or other relationships. To indicate possession in nouns, you can choose to use – ‘s, which calls for an apostrophe; or a phrase beginning with of, which does not call for an apostrophe. Here are some applications of this general rule.

ADD –‘S TO NOUNS NOT ENDING IN S

She felt a parent’s joy.

We care about our children’s education.

ADD –‘S TO SINGULAR NOUNS ENDING IN S

The business’s system for handling complaints is inefficient.

Lee Jones’s car insurance is expensive.

ADD ONLY AN APOSTROPHE TO PLURAL NOUNS ENDING IN S

The two boys’ eyewitness statements helped solve the crime.

The workers’ contracts permit three months’ maternity leave.

ADD –‘S TO THE LAST WORD IN COMPOUND WORDS AND PHRASES

His mother-in-law’s company makes scuba gear.

ADD –‘S TO EACH NOUN IN INDIVIDUAL POSSESSION

Avery’s and Jimmy’s houses are next to each other.

ADD –‘S TO ONLY THE LAST NOUN IN JOINT OR GROUP POSSESSION

Lindsey and Ryan’s house has a screened porch.

5.5. quotation marks

Quotation marks are most often used to enclose a direct quotation – a speaker or writer’s exact words. Use quotation marks to enclose short direct quotations, which in MLA style means a quotation of fewer than four typed lines of prose or three typed lines of poetry.

Remarked director Fritz Lang of his masterpiece Siegfried, “Nothing in this film is accidental”

Use double quotation marks to enclose a short quotation.

Edward T. Hall explains the practicality of close conversational distances: “If you are interested in something, your pupils dilate; if I say something you don’t like, they tend to contract.”

Use single quotation marks in short quotations only to replace any double quotation marks that appear in the original source.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

He has also said that he does not wish to be the arbiter for what is or is not an “official” intelligence.

EXAMPLE FROM A RESEARCH PAPER

As Thomas Hoerr reports, Gardner “dos not wish to be the arbiter for what is or is not an ‘official’ intelligence”

5.6. Periods, question marks, and exclamation points

A period is used after a statement, a mild command, or an indirect question, which reports a question that someone asks.

A question mark is used after a direct question, a directly quoted question, a series of questions, or a polite request. Use a question mark after each question in a series, whether or not you choose to capitalize the first word.

An exclamation point is used after a strong command; an emphatic declaration; or an interjection, a word that conveys surprise or other emotion. In academic writing, reserve exclamation points for dialogue. Use words with sufficient impact for forceful messages.

NO Each day in Nepal, we tried to see Mount Everest. Each day we failed!

The summit remained shrouded! Clouds defeated us!

YES Each day in Nepal, we tried to see Mount Everest. Each day we failed.

The summit remained shrouded. Clouds defeated us!

To convey amazement or sarcasm, use precise words, not an exclamation point in parenthesis.

NO At 29,035 feet (!), Everest is the world’s highest mountain.

YES Everest, the world’s highest mountain, soars at 29,035 feet.

5.7. other punctuation marks

The dash, typed as two unspaced hyphens, injects a thought within a sentence – in the middle or at the end – for special emphasis or commentary. You can set off examples, definitions, appositives, contrasts, and asides with dashes.

Two of the strongest animals in the jungle are vegetarians − the elephant and the gorilla. [example]

−Dick Gregory, The Shadow That Scares Me

Although the emphasis at the school was mainly language−speaking, reading, writing−the lessons always begin with an exercise in politeness. [definition]

−Jade Snow Wong, Fifth Chinese Daughter

The caretakers−the helpers, nurturers, teachers, mothers−are still systematically devalued. [appositive]

−Ellen Goodman, “Just Woman’s Work”

Tampering with time brought most of the house tumbling down, and it was this that made Einstein’s work so important−and controversial. [contrast]

−Banesh Hoffman, “My Friend, Albert Einstein”

I live on an income well below the poverty line−although it does not seem like poverty when the redbud and dogwood are in bloom together−and when I travel I have to be careful about expenses. [aside]

−Sue Hubbell, Beekeeper

Like dashes, parenthesis let you interrupt a sentence’s structure to add information. Parentheses tend to de-emphasize whatever they enclose; dashes tend to call attention to whatever they set off.

Parentheses can enclose the same kind of material that dashes can, such as explanations, definitions, examples, contrasts, and asides.

In division (also known as partition), a subject commonly thought of as a single unit is reduced to its separate parts. [definition]

−David Skwire, Writing with a Thesis

Though other cities (Dresden, for instance) had been utterly destroyed in World War II, never before had a single weapon been responsible for such destruction. [example]

−Lawrence Behrens and Leonard J.Rosen,

Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum

The sheer decibel level of the noise around us is not enough to make us cranky, irritable, or aggressive. (It can, however, affect our mental and physical health, which is another.) [aside]

−Carol Tavris, Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion

When quoting three or fewer lines of poetry, use a slash to divide one line from the next. Leave a space on each side of the slash.

Consider the beginning of Anne Sexton’s poem “Words”: “Be careful of words, / even the miraculous ones.”

To type numerical fractions (2/3, 1/16) or mixed numbers (12 ½, 3 1/8), use a slash to separate the numerator from the denominator, leaving no space before or after the slash.

Always set the default on your word processing program to avoid hyphenation. In handwritten reports, keep in mind the following procedures:

• Wherever possible, avoid dividing words with hyphens at the end of a line;

• If a division is necessary, divide longer words by syllable and between consonants if possible;

• Never divide for one or two letters or for any one-syllable words.

HYPHENATING PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES Use hyphens after the prefixes all-, ex-, and self-. All-inclusive, self-reliant Never use a hyphen when self is a root word onto suffix is attached. Selfishness, selfless, selfhood Use a hyphen to avoid a distracting string or repeated letters. Anti-intellectual, bell-like Use a hyphen between a prefix and the first word of a compound word. Anti-gun control Use a hyphen to prevent confusion in meaning or pronunciation. Re-dress, un-ionize Use a hyphen when two or more prefixes apply to one root word. Pre-and postwar eras Use a hyphen before the suffix –elect. President-elect Use a hyphen when a prefix comes before a number or before a word that starts with a capital letter. Post-1950, pro-American

HYPHENATING COMPOUND WORDS Use a hyphen for most compound modifiers that precede the noun. Never use a hyphen for compound modifiers after the noun. Well-researched report; two-inch clearance [before the noun] Report is well researched; clearance of two inches [after the noun] Use a hyphen between compound nouns joining two units within a measure. Light-year, kilowatt-hour, foot-pound Never use a hyphen when a compound modifier starts with an adverb ending in ly. Happily married couple Use a hyphen for most compound modifiers in the comparative (-er) or superlative (-est) form. Never use a hyphen when the compound modifier includes more/most or less/least. Better-fitting shoe, best-known work More significant factor, least welcome quest Never use a hyphen when compound modifier is a foreign phrase. Post hoc fallacies Never use a hyphen with a possessive compound modifier. A full week’s work, eight hours’ pay

HYPHENATING SPELLED-OUT NUMBERS Use a hyphen between two-word numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine. Thirty-five, two hundred thirty-five Use a hyphen in a compound modifier formed from a number and a word. Fifty-minute class, 50-minute class Three-to-one odds, 3-to-1 odds Use a hyphen between the numerator and the denominator of a two-word fraction. One-half, two-fifths, seven-tenths

Reference

1. Academic writing from paragraph to essay. Dorothy E Zemach, Lisa A Rumisek. Macmillan , 2015

2. Quick access, reference for writers, 7^th edition. Lynn Q. Troyka, Douglas Hesse. Pearson, 2013

3. Successful Writing: Intermediate. Virginia Evans, Express Publishing, 2000.