Name: __________________________________

Jestice

English 3/ Period: ____________________

Date: ___________________________________

Commas, Quotations, and Citations

Commas

Directions: Below are six comma rules followed by an example. Correct the first

sentence within each rule by inserting commas in the appropriate place. Then, write two

more of your own sentences.

Rule # 1: Use a comma to separate items in a series. Simple sentence.

Example: New shoes will increase confidence, create a new drive, and foster a belief

that one is able to succeed.

Place commas in the appropriate place in the sentence, according to the rule.

A. She wanted all of the details: who what where when and why.

Write two more of your own sentences using rule #1.

B.

C.

Rule # 2: Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction that joins two independent

clauses. (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so—FANBOYS). Compound sentence.

Example: My only wish for the people is success, but Americans must first be

rid of apathy and dependency.

How to fix a

comma splice!

Place commas in the appropriate place in the sentence, according to the rule.

A. The Mayans’ ability to read the stars might just be coincidence or were

they in contact with a more intelligent power?

Write two more of your own sentences using rule #2.

B.

C.

Rule # 3: Use a comma after conjunctive adverbs or transitional words that follow a semi-

colon. Compound sentence.

Example: Some may argue that government spending on foreign aid is crucial to

maintaining world power status; however, I argue that if we are to maintain this status, we must

focus on saving and spending wisely.

Place commas in the appropriate place in the sentence, according to the rule.

A. If I were President of the United States, there are essential battles I would need to win;

furthermore we need all—Teenagers, The Elderly, Latinos, Hippies, The Military, Hunters,

Intellectuals, African-Americans, Whites—to unify and bind together for the success of this

country.

Write two more of your own sentences using rule #3.

B.

C.

How to fix a

run-on!

Rule # 4: Use a comma after an introductory word group. Complex sentence.

Example: Although this country is splendorous in its many achievements, there are

multiple flaws in its existing condition.

Place commas in the appropriate place in the sentence, according to the rule.

A. As President of the United States of America I will make sure the U.S. is prepared for

the worst and ready to respond in any catastrophe.

Write two more of your own sentences using rule #4.

B.

C.

Rule # 5: Use a comma around extraneous or parenthetical information. Could be a

complex sentence—appositive, noun clause, adjective clause.

Example: This book, supposedly written by John the Apostle, explains how Jesus releases

four horsemen upon the world.

Place commas in the appropriate place in the sentence, according to the rule.

A. Zombies or aliens while still very threatening seem much more manageable.

Write two more of your own sentences using rule #5.

B.

C.

Rule # 6: Use a comma between coordinating adjectives. Simple sentence.

Example: Fitness training may prove to be a serving, rewarding career.

Place commas in the appropriate place in the sentence, according to the rule.

A. Only courageous passionate men and women are able to serve America and provide

freedom for the masses.

Write two more of your own sentences using rule #6.

B.

C.

Semi-colons

1. Use a semi-colon between two sentences you wish to combine with NO FANBOYS.

Compound sentence.

Example: Dogs rule; cats drool.

Write two more sentences on your own using this rule.

A.

B.

2. Use a comma after conjunctive adverbs or transitional words that follow a semi-colon.

Compound sentence.

Example: “I think; therefore, I am.”~Descartes

Write two more sentences on your own using this rule.

A.

B.

3. Use a semi-colon if the comma is already busy with items in a series or in independent

clauses, then the comma needs to become a semi-colon.

Example: I plan to travel to London, England; Rome, Italy; and Berlin, Germany.

Example: People were so busy during Christmas: they were buying presents; they were

eating candy canes; they were sledding on snow-covered hills.

Write one of each type of sentence on your own using this rule.

A.

B.

Colons: Pay Attention!

1. Use colons to introduce a list but NOT after a VERB or PREPOSITION.

Example: There are various items in my bag: a brush, a comb, and a hat.

Write one sentences on your own using this rule.

A.

2. Use colons to introduce a formal quotation. The first sentence must be a complete

sentence.

Example: Excel in your chosen career field: “Whatever you are, be a good one”

(Lincoln).

3. Use a colon between two sentences when the second explains the first sentence.

Example: I love dogs: I own a veterinary clinic for canines.

Write one sentences on your own using this rule.

A.

Quotations

Rule: Use quotations marks to enclose direct quotations.

Example: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,” wrote Ralph Waldo

Emerson.

Place quotation marks in the appropriate place in the sentence, according to the rule.

A. Ivy Main, this is Ivy Actual; the litter box has been cleaned over, reported Agent

Blach.

Write two more of your own sentences using rule #1.

B.

C.

NOTE! In dialogue, begin a new paragraph to mark change in speaker.

Example:

He typed in the number, and a deep, burly voice answered, “You have until Christmas.”

Click—no other information.

“Christmas?” asked Vincent. “That’s tomorrow.”

“Yes, Vinnie, Christmas is tomorrow. I’m glad you remembered,” replied Gabriella

dryly, as she sauntered past Vincent.

“What shall we do? We can’t stay here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Boss just called. We have until tomorrow to find Agent 003, or the orphans will be

. . .”

“Oh my, Vinnie. What shall we do?” Gabriella asked anxiously.

NOTE #2! ALL punctuation goes inside the quotation marks,

except for colons and semi-colons and periods after (citations).

In-text Citations

Example 1: “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.” Muhammed Ali

The future champion could, as he put it, “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”

(Ali).

Example 2: “You can be a little ungrammatical if you come from the right part of the

country,” writes Robert Frost (source).

People can speak a little “ungrammatical if [they] come from the right part of the

country” (Frost 33).

Example 3: “The personal ad is like a haiku of self-celebration, a brief solo played on

one’s own horn” (Morrow).

Morrow views personal ads in the classifieds as an art form: “The personal ad is like a

haiku of self-celebration, a brief solo played on one’s own horn” (33).

Example 4: More than 4 lines—indent whole section (poems at line breaks)—no quotes

So live, that when thy summons comes to join

The innumerable caravan, that moves

To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take

His chamber in the silent halls of death,

Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,

Scourged to his dungeon, but sustain'd and sooth'd

By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,

Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch

About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. (Bryant)

In William Cullen Bryant’s poem “Thanatopsis,” he personifies Nature who tells us to

live fully so that when we die—not if—we’ll be “sustain’d and sooth’d” prepared to die and

become one with Mother Earth; our slumber awaiting “pleasant dreams” (lines 80, 83).

Example 5: To him who in the love of Nature holds

Communion with her visible forms, she speaks

A various language; for his gayer hours

She has a voice of gladness, and a smile

And eloquence of beauty, and she glides

Into his darker musings, with a mild

And gentle sympathy, that steals away

Their sharpness, ere he is aware. When thoughts

Of the last bitter hour come like a blight

Over thy spirit, and sad images

Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall,

And breathless darkness, and the narrow house,

Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart;--

Go forth under the open sky, and list

To Nature's teachings, while from all around--

Earth and her waters, and the depths of air,--

Comes a still voice— (Bryant)

The initial speaker in Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” addresses anyone “who in the love of

Nature holds/Communion with her visible forms”; one who spends time and knows Nature can

hear her voice as she assures him of the organic quality of man (lines 1-2).

Integrate the following quotations into your own sentences: Use a colon in one example

and a semi-colon in the other.

Example:

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'. " ~ Yoda

Following a passion requires motivation, stamina, and perseverance—pursue a goal and

prevail; in the words of Yoda, "Do, or do not. There is no 'try'" (Lucas).

In Star Wars Yoda persuades by saying, "Do, or do not. There is no 'try'”: the Master Jedi

appeals to Luke’s insecurities and demands the young Jedi’s complete participation (Lucas).

1. If we did all we were capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves.

~ Thomas Edison

2. Will you look back on life and say, "I wish I had," or "I'm glad I did"? ~ Zig Ziglar

3. Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one

thing. ~Abraham Lincoln

4. As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of

democracy. ~Abraham Lincoln

5. You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.

~Abraham Lincoln

6. Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was

here first. ~Mark Twain

7. I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. ~Mark Twain

8. If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything. ~Mark Twain

9. The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read

them. ~Mark Twain

10. The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference

between lightning and a lightning bug. ~Mark Twain

11. Genius without education is like silver in the mine. ~Benjamin Franklin

12. He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. ~Benjamin Franklin

13. You must be the change you want to see in the world. ~Mahatma Gandhi

14. Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.

~Mahatma Gandhi

15. Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

~Mahatma Gandhi

16. Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is

expected. ~Steve Jobs

17. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by

dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of

other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to

follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

Everything else is secondary. ~Steve Jobs

18. Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those

who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss

19. Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. ~Dr. Seuss

20. Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So . . . get on your way. ~Dr. Seuss

21. Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.

~Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

22. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

~Martin Luther King Jr.

23. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

~Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

24. Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious

stupidity. ~Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

25. Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never

a democracy that did not commit suicide. ~John Adams, Letter, April 15, 1814

26. But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored.

Liberty, once lost, is lost forever. ~John Adams

27. Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom. ~John Adams

28. Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained

through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. ~Helen Keller

29. Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything good in the

world. ~Helen Keller

30. People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are

not always pleasant. ~Helen Keller