PUNCTUATION Important for meaning but also for interestvariety

PUNCTUATION

Important for meaning, but also for interest/variety Learning how to create complex sentences adds interest to essays

BASICS OF A SENTENCE • Clause—a group of words that contain both a subject and a verb • Independent Clause (IC)—can be a sentence on its own • I sat down. • Dependent Clause (DC)—is a fragment on its own • While I sat down, I read my book. • Phrase—a group of words that does not contain a subject or does not contain a verb • Sitting down, I read my book.

PERIOD • What it does: ends a sentence • Exclamation point shows that the sentence has a lot of emotion—not often used in academic writing • A question mark shows that the sentence is a question • Example: • This is a sentence. • I love writing! • How can I write a question?

COMMA What it does: Examples: Joins an IC to one or more DCs Because I got sick, I missed class. Joins two ICs, with a coordinating conjunction (fanboys—for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) I was sick, so I missed class. Separates items on a list Separates Adjectives I bought tissues, soup, and water bottles. Used around an appositive phrase—a phrase that renames My friend, Erin, gave me the notes from class. I ate hot, delicious soup. Used around a parenthetical phrase—a I, unable to leave my bed, missed class. phrase that adds clarity, but is not crucial to the meaning of the sentence

SEMI-COLON • What it does: • Joins two ICs. • Used when you have two sentences that are closely related so you want to connect them • Example: • I am hungry; I will have pizza for dinner. • Incorrect: I am hungry, I will have pizza for dinner. • Incorrect: I am sick, I missed class.

COLON • What it does: • Comes after a word introducing a: • • Quotation Explanation Example Series • Example: • I need to go to the store to buy: bread, milk, and eggs.

DASH • What it does: • Indicates a break in thought • Introduces a phrase for added emphasis, definition, or explanation • Used around an appositive phrase that already includes commas • Example: • Stromberg also discusses how bad love is not necessarily intentional—it can sometimes arise from “self-deception, misunderstanding, or misplaced expectation” (98). • The cousins—Tina, Todd, and Sam— arrived at the party together.

HYPHEN • What it does: • Joins two words to make one • Examples: • He is forty-five years old. • The painting was life-size. • I am left-handed.

QUOTATION MARK • What it does: • Marks text that is not the author’s words • Used around titles of short poems, song titles, magazines or newspaper articles, essays, speeches, chapter titles • Example: • He asked, "When will you be arriving? " I answered, "Sometime after 6: 30. "

SINGLE QUOTATION MARK • What it does: • Used for quotes within quotes • Example: • According to the example on Purdue Owl, “He asked, ‘When will you be arriving? ’ I answered, ‘Sometime after 6: 30’” (“Brief Overview of Punctuation”).

PARENTHESIS • What it does: • Marks information that is related, but not essential • Example: • My family visited several countries (Italy, France, and Spain) on our vacation last year.

BRACKETS • What it does: • Writer’s words inside a quote • Example: • “There was no good arguing with Frances [Leah’s mother]. If she made up her mind, her spear was staked, like a warrior in the old days fastening himself in place in a battle” (Marriott 235). • He “only ha[s his] stories” (Alexie 73).

ELLIPSIS • What it does: • Shows an omission of words • Used within quotes to show that you are jumping from one phrase to another, omitting words that interfere with your meaning • Example: • Their talents as writers allow them to “transform…the genres they appropriate” (Rosen).

SOME PUNCTUATION ERRORS TO WATCH OUT FOR: • Fragments • Fused Sentences • Comma Splices

FRAGMENTS • Try adding “Did you know that” to the beginning of your sentence if you think it might be a fragment—if it does not make sense, then it is probably a fragment • Example: Walking to the store. • Corrected: We walked to the store. Walking to the store, we sang.

FRAGMENTS • Chunks of words that begin with the following words CANNOT stand alone and MUST be connected to an IC After If Until Although Once When As While Whenever Because Since Where Even Though That Whether Though Unless Whereas • Fragment: After I went to class. • Corrected: After I went to class, I took a nap.

FUSED SENTENCES • A fused sentence occurs when no punctuation at all separates two chunks of words that could stand alone as sentences. Correct fused sentences by: • Adding a period • Adding a semicolon • Adding a comma followed by one of the FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So) • Making one of the stand alone chunks be unable to stand alone

FUSED SENTENCES • Incorrect: Students must edit their papers they can find errors more easily by reading their papers backwards. • Corrected: • Students must edit their papers. They can find errors more easily by reading their papers backwards. • Students must edit their papers; they can find errors more easily by reading their papers backwards. • Students must edit their papers, and they can find errors more easily by reading their papers backwards. • Students must edit their papers and can find errors more easily by reading their papers backwards.

COMMA SPLICE • A comma splice occurs when you try to join two independent clauses with only a comma. Correct comma splices with one of the same four fixes: • Adding a period • Adding a semicolon • Adding a comma followed by on of the FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So) • Making one of the stand alone chunks be unable to stand alone

COMMA SPLICE • Incorrect: Students can’t expect to find mistakes all at once, they should search for one type of mistake at a time. • Corrected: • Students can’t expect to find mistakes all at once. They should search for one type of mistake at a time. • Students can’t expect to find mistakes all at once; they should search for one type of mistake at a time. • Students can’t expect to find mistakes all at once, so they need to search for one type of mistake at a time. • Students can’t expect to find mistakes all at once and should search for one type of mistake at a time.

AVOIDING REDUNDANCY Example of Redundancy: • John and I went to the store because we needed charcoal for the barbeque. John and I are having a barbeque because it is the first week of summer. At the barbeque, we are going to make hamburgers. After the barbeque, we are going to have a water balloon fight. How to Fix It: • John and I went to the store because we needed charcoal for the barbeque. Since it is the first week of summer, we thought taking out the grill was good idea. The plan is to serve hamburgers and then, after everyone is done eating, have a water balloon fight.

AVOIDING REDUNDANCY • Use commas • Switch how sentences begin • Add details without repeating the same ideas

AVOIDING REDUNDANCY Example of redundancy adding length: • The grass was soaking wet after the storm and the fact that it was wet make it really hard to walk the dog without him getting water all over the floor after we brought him inside. How to Fix It: • The dog got water all over the floor after his walk because it had just rained. Be concise and use only necessary details

AVOIDING REDUNDANCY “This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals—sounds that say listen to this, it is important. ” – Gary Provost