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: