What is punctuation? Punctuation 1. Why punctuation is important 2. Principles versus rules 3. Numbers versus numerals Principles: Directs how to read, like musical notes to a musician Rules: Traffic signals of language: slow down, stop, detour Courtesy: Helps readers understand a story without stumbling Good manners are invisible: bad manners are shocking What is punctuation? Punctuation is to writing as religion is to morality: it can change everything. GODISNOWHERE God is now here God is nowhere Isaiah 40: 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord. The voice of him that crieth: In the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord. Casualties in casualness Luke, xxiii, 43 Verily I say unto thee this day, Thou shalt be with me in Paradise. Catholic Verily, I say unto thee, This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise. Protestant Casualties in casualness A woman, without her man, is nothing. A woman: without her, man is nothing. Dear Donald, I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we are apart. I can be forever happy will you let me be yours? Melania Dear Donald, I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men I yearn! For you I have no feelings whatsoever. When we are apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me be? Yours, Melania 1
Principles vs. Rules Apostrophe Rules: rights and wrongs No exclamation marks in academic papers! Principles: apply a good ear to good sense. Stupid children? Really? YOU,, Possessive noun: The small teacher s room. The small teachers room. Time or quantity In one week s time Two weeks notice Four meters worth Plural of words: What are the do s and don t s? There are too many but s and and s in your sentences. Contractions It s = it is, it has Its = possessive of it Do not take a vehicle or its contents. Who s = who is, who has Whose = possessive AND READ case of CAREFULLY who or which Whose vehicle should I take? No contractions in academic papers Comma Now I must go and get on my lover. Now I must go and get on, my lover. Illuminate grammar Direct rhythm, direction, tone, flow Original: a piece cut off for Greek actors (200 BC) Comfort ye my people (please go out and comfort my people) Comfort ye, my people (just cheer up, you lot; it might never happen) NO punctuation in the ancient languages (Hebrew and Aramaic) Go, get him surgeons. Go get him, surgeons. William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act I Today, books for reading not intoning Commas are fewer Jones flung himself at his benefactor s feet, and taking eagerly hold of his hand, assured him, his goodness to him, both now, and at all other times, had so infinitely exceeded not only his merit, but his hopes, that no words could express his sense of it. Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, 1749 2001 Booker Prize not one comma Editors vary 6 Comma Rules 1. List three or more words: replaces and, or I dedicate this book to my parents, Mother Teresa and God. 2. Join clause: and, or, but, while, which, yet (generally not with however and nevertheless) 3. Parenthetical abbreviations i.e. (that is), e.g. (for example) Assignment 12, i.e., your second draft, is due today. 4. Before direct speech He said, Expect a lot from students, and you will get a lot. 5. Bracket additional information She omitted, of course, the irrelevant details. 6. Think No dogs, please. The man walked on, his head, higher than usual. The driver managed to escape from the truck before it sank, and swam to the river-bank. Don t guess, ; use a timer or a watch. 2
Comma After Introductions Introductory elements often require a comma, but not always Do Not Separate Subject from Verb To start a paper without the three basic moves of an introduction[,] would be foolish. Introductory clause (subject and verb) Long prepositional phrase (four or more words) Distinct pause When you read aloud, do you pause to avoid confusion? Must you read the sentence twice to make sense of it? Submitting an assignment on time for evaluation[,] is a difficult task for most students. Extracting the most profit for the least expenditure on labor and materials[,] is the primary goal of a capitalist. Commas for extra, unnecessary, information Appositive: noun/pronoun explains adjoining noun/pronoun Commas extra information John Kennedy, the popular US president, was known for his speeches. extra we know the subject My son, Peter, is a musician. (just one son name extra) No commas essential information The popular US president John Kennedy was known for his speeches. essential which president? My son Peter is a musician. (other sons name necessary) Why Use Colons : and Semicolons ; Optional Old-fashioned Dangerously addictive 1500 1800 2000 Mysteriously connected to pausing Difference is too negligible to understand Semicolon ; Relate independent clauses It is 12:10; I cannot reach class in time. It is 12:10. I cannot reach class in time. It is 12:10, and I cannot reach class in time. Emphasize relationship thus, however, therefore, besides, accordingly, consequently, I had never written a paper before; therefore, I did not know how. You do not have an outline; consequently, your paper lacks structure. Semicolon ; Trend to eliminate To separate independent but related clauses Items in a series, usually long, with own punctuation To pass this course you must meet requirements, including attending class (at least 11 lectures), another is to pass 10 weekly assignments, including the final paper, and the last requirement is to laugh at 80% of the professor s jokes. To pass this course you must meet 3 requirements: (1) attend at least 11 lectures; (2) pass 10 weekly assignments, including the final paper; (3) laugh at 80% of the professor s jokes. 3
Colon : Amplify or interpret first clause Your paper was approved: it fulfilled all five requirements. Fulcrum between oppositional statements Man proposes: God disposes. Introduce quotations > 4 lines or 40 words of text No said or stated Colon : Start a list I find fault with only three aspects in your paper: the beginning, the middle, and the end. Set up surprise Per has only one dietary requirement: the animal must be dead. Set off sub-title Food Safety in Norway: As Assessment of Foodborne Diseases Business letter salutation Dear Dr. Smith: Do not separate a verb from its complement A serious writer requires: paper, pen, and a dictionary. A serious writer requires three props: paper, pen, and a dictionary. preposition from its object Good writing results from: theory, practice, discipline and considerable time. Good writing results from a few basic principles: theory, practice, common sense and considerable time. Parenthesis ( ) clarify Smith (2007) notes authorial Putin denies invading Ukraine (this is absurd). Ellipsis... missing words Data was limited... but valid. trail off The samples were store sequentially: 2, 15, 37... Brackets [added for contextual accuracy ] translation in quote A kommune [ municipality ] provides correct quote The Time s [sic] claimed that... sic = just as written edit quote Data were invalid. [...] Nevertheless... The vital [emphasis added] data... [emphasis mine] [italics added] [italics mine] Italics Latin expressions sic, in vivo (in a living organism), in vitro (outside a living organism, in situ (in its natural place) not: e.g., ca., et al., etc. (etc.?) Genus and species names: Conifers like Pinus strobus E. Coli can cause cholera. The gray wolf (Canis lupus) Foreign words: If definition follows, use quotation marks Jensen s ecological uthus ( outhouse ) separates urine... Parenthesis for translation not in a quote Emphasis: The results suggest immediate action. Translations If you have many translated quotes, footnote 1.Unless otherwise specified, all translations from Norwegian are the author s. Translate foreign reference to English Shelestina, O. & Stankovic, B. 2013. Ekonomicheskoe raionirovanie Украина [Economic regionalization of Ukraine]. Moscow: Putin Publishing. 4
Dash to break Parenthesis (suppresses the interjection) He tried (I still can t believe this) to ask me on a date. Commas add the interjection, e.g., He tried, I still can t believe this, to ask me on a date. Dash the interjection stands on its own He tried I still can t believe this! to ask me on a date. Hyphen join-together To avoid ambiguity A re-formed rock band A reformed rock band Clarify word cluster anti-apartheid movement high-pressure hose Avoid letter confusion Deice de-ice Shelllike shell-like Spell out numbers thirty-two ninety-five Capital letter/number + noun N-terminal 100-fold Link nouns with nouns Oslo-Bergen train Compound nouns half or number - half-life one-half two-thirds three-electrode tube -free salt-free Cd-free solder Distinguish homonyms re-cover (cover again) or recover re-solved (solved again) or resolved Symbol, number non-newtonian physics Cd-tolerant dose pre-1970 designs Precede noun open-circuit voltage first-aid kit worst-case event well-known fact high-frequency behavior low-pass filter odd-integer terms Compound Adjectives Not as noun The wire is an open circuit. You render first aid then Consider the worst case Not as adverb highly competent person fully ionized gas Capitalization Proper nouns Persons, places: Huntington s disease, Celsius, Fahrenheit Organized bodies: institutions, schools, corporations, clubs Times: months, days, (not seasons), historical periods Title except prepositions, e.g. Journal of Bacteriology Parts of a book: Appendix A, Chapter 2, Volume 12 Not common nouns: everday objects I will graduate next spring. The sun warms the earth (i.e., dirt). The Earth orbits the Sun, but our Solar System is not the only solar system. Culture Race 1. Caucasoid, White 2. Negroid, Black, Negro 3. Mongoloid, Asian (not Oriental) Religion: Buddhism, Christianity, Hindu, Islam, Judaism Careful: religion as a modifier maybe offensive Jewish thinking Christian attitude Islamic behavior Language 5
Parts of the World Cardinal directions Go north to stay cool. the south of France the eastern Middle East Go west to see westerners. Global locations polar regions the tropics an equator central Europe, Asia, Africa Place names rich North, poor South North Pole; North Polar ice cap Northern Hemisphere South Temperate Zone Western world, the West Western (Occidental) dress Tropic of Capricorn the Equator Central America Numbers depend on style Words for one-digit numbers: nine percent Numerals for two or more digits: 13 percent If both in sentence, only numerals: 9 and 13 percent Do not start a sentence with a numeral: 3% economic growth was significant. The economic growth (3%) was significant. Three percent economic growth was significant. Numbers Numerals with abbreviated units of measure 3% 14 ppm 6 mm Words for rounded large numbers Annual bear mortality was about three hundred. Numeral and word if > million rounded The bird population was estimated to be 1.3 million. Rounding Percentages If percent is < 10, round to 1 decimal 9.7% not 9.68% If 10 or more, round to whole number 15% not 15.3% Punctuating Numbers Full stop for decimal points: 21.9, not 21,9 Comma in all numerals >1000: 4,383 Hyphenate if number precedes unit of measurement: two-ton truck, 12-meter pipe except currency: $14 trillion debt percent: four percent gain, 90% loss Don t run grammar check: think Syntax: how agent and action are arranged Having completed the study, the villagers were of little interest. Who completed the study? After standing in boiling water for an hour, examine the flask. Punctuation Using a sterile wire rabbit, sheep and goat were inoculated Run Spell-Check If you have two options use both Later, select right word theatrical We rely on theatrical calculations to give the lifetime of a star on the main sequence. (Annual Review of Astronomical Astrophysics) Sadism Hussein Untied States of America Genital decline of the economy theoretical 6
http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ to Sound Scholarly More night jobs would keep youths off the streets. Step 1 Lengthen statements by referring to studies. Studies have found that more night jobs would keep youths off the streets. Step 2 Replace simple words like more jobs night youths streets with multiple syllable jargon of Latin or Greek origin. Studies have found that additional nocturnal employment would keep adolescents off thoroughfares. Step 3 Use vague verbs: found is too clear, indicate and identify are multi-purpose. Use them in any context to mean almost anything. Further lengthen by attaching the fact that Studies have identified the fact that additional nocturnal employment would keep adolescents off thoroughfares. Step 4 Rely on meaningless adjectives that lengthen sentences without changing the meaning: relevant appropriate Use various, one of the least meaningful of all the interesting modifiers. Various applicable studies have identified the interesting fact that additional appropriate nocturnal employment would keep adolescents off thoroughfares. 7
Step 5 Use weasel words a number of Replace will s and would s with can s and could s. Generally, use usually. A number of various applicable studies have generally identified the interesting fact that additional appropriate nocturnal employment could usually keep adolescents off thoroughfares. Step 6 Sprinkle redundancies 1. Useless repeated words 2. In other words, exploit tautology, which is saying the same thing over and over again in different words. 3. Do this without imparting additional force or clearness. 4. Simply repeat needlessly, like, for example, or such as widow woman. A number of various applicable studies have generally identified the interesting fact that additional appropriate nocturnal employment could usually keep juvenile adolescents off thoroughfares. Step 7 Add unnecessary it is and there is/are for passive scholarly tone. Don t forget that very important adjective very. There is no escaping the fact that it is considered very important to note that a number of various applicable studies have generally identified the interesting fact that additional appropriate nocturnal employment could usually keep juvenile adolescents off thoroughfares. Step 8 Legalisms sound scholarly. The more detailed and/or redundant the better. Best at the end. There is no escaping the fact that it is considered very important to note that a number of various applicable studies have generally identified the fact that additional appropriate nocturnal employment could usually keep juvenile adolescents off thoroughfares, including but not limited to the time prior to midnight on weeknights and/or 2 a.m. on weekends. Step 9 Use foreign phrases Latin sounds intelligimus Few know the meanings by the fact itself There is no escaping the fact that it is considered very important to note that a number of various applicable studies ipso facto have generally identified the fact that additional appropriate nocturnal employment could usually keep juvenile adolescents off thoroughfares during the night hours, including but not limited to the time prior to midnight on weeknights and/or 2 a.m. on weekends. More night jobs would keep youths off the streets. Increased words seven-fold Sounds scholarly Muddles meaning Would you hire this person? There is no escaping the fact that it is considered very important to note that a number of various available applicable studies ipso facto have generally identified the fact that additional appropriate nocturnal employment could usually keep juvenile adolescents off thoroughfares during the night hours, including but not limited to the time prior to midnight on weeknights and/or 2 a.m. on weekends. 8