Commas

1. Commas Keeping ideas distinct

2. A definition of commas (,) • Commas separate words or groups of words within sentences • Used in various instances

3. Uses We’ve Discussed • Use comma and coordinating conjunction between sentences to create compound sentence • Use comma to set off a dependent clause from independent clause • Necessary when dependent clause begins the sentence • Use comma after a transitional word or phrase • Example: Studying is key to being a success in college; therefore, all students should study each day.

4. Commas in a Series • Separate each of the elements in a list or series Louis, David, and Karen ran in the Ogden race. Louis ran the race in one hour, David ran the race in one and a half hours, and Karen ran the race in one hour and fifteen minutes. Karen stretched her muscles, drank plenty of fluids, and paced herself during the race.

5. Comma in a Series • When writing, keep the comma before the coordinating conjunction Louis, David, and Karen ran in the Ogden race. • However, if all items are separated by a coordinating conjunction, don’t use a comma. Louis or David or Karen ran in the Ogden race.

6. Commas after Introductory Phrases • Introductory phrase • Prepositional phrase: In the event of a fire,… • -ing phrase: Walking home from work, Susie…

7. Commas with Transitional Word/Phrase • Transitional word/phrase • Use transitional word to move points along in a paragraph • Use comma after word/phrase at beginning of sentence: In fact, I enjoy reading. • Use comma around word/phrase in middle of sentence: She did, of course, like the book.

8. Commas When Addressing Someone • Set name off with commas when addressing someone directly Linda, come here and tell me what to do. Come here, Linda, and tell me what to do. Come here and tell me what to do, Linda.

9. Commas with Appositives • An appositive identifies, renames, or describes something • Set this off with commas, whether at beginning, middle, or end of a sentence

10. Commas with Appositives • Bill Clinton, forty-second president of the United States, is married to Senator Hillary Clinton. • An appositive that identifies Bill Clinton • One of the youngest presidents in history, Bill Clinton took office after the end of the Cold War. • An appositive that describes Clinton • Clinton left office with an approval rating of 66%, the highest end-of-office rating of any president since World War II. • An appositive that describes his approval rating

11. Restrictive Versus Nonrestrictive Clauses Restrictive Nonrestrictive • Contains information essential to the sentence • Do NOT set off with a comma • That—always restrictive • Who—sometimes restrictive • Not essential to meaning of sentence • Set off with commas • Which—always nonrestrictive • Who—sometimes nonrestrictive Restrictive or Nonrestrictive? The musicians who recorded music in the 1950s made little money from their songs.

12. Commas with Dates Monday, May 31, 2010, was Memorial Day. PUT COMMA: • After day of the week (Monday, Tuesday…) • After day of the month (Monday, May 31, 2010) • After the year, if the date does not come at end of sentence

13. Commas with Addresses • Comma after street address and before city • Comma after city and before state or country WVNCC is located at 1704 Market Street, Wheeling, West Virginia. • Comma after state, country when in middle of sentence The old B&O train station at 1704 Market Street, Wheeling, West Virginia, now belongs to WVNCC.

14. Unnecessary Commas • Not before the first item in a series • Not after last item in a series, in most cases • Not between subject and verb • Not before coordinating conjunction separating 2 compound predicates • Not before coordinating conjunction separating 2 compound subjects

15. Unnecessary Commas • Duck Soup starred, Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx. • Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx, starred in Duck Soup. • Groucho and Chico, were the two Marx brothers who spoke in their movies. • Groucho made lots of classic jokes, and sang comical songs. • Groucho, and Chico played lots of practical jokes.

16. Mechanics

17. Capitalization—Proper Nouns • Races, ethnic groups, tribes, nationalities, languages, religions • Specific people’s names • Titles with person’s name • Do not capitalize title if not with name • Specific countries, cities, towns, bodies of water, streets • Do not capitalize non-specific places • Specific Geographical Locations • Do not capitalize when not specific • African-American, French, Navajo, Catholic • Christina Sullivan • Mrs. Sullivan; Counselor Sullivan • United States of America, Ohio River, Chapline Street • Appalachian Mountains, the South

18. Capitalization—Proper Nouns • Specific buildings, monuments • Do not capitalize non-specific buildings • Specific groups, clubs, teams, and associations • Do not capitalize non-specifics • Specific historical periods, events, documents • Do not capitalize non-specs. • Names of businesses, gov. agencies, schools • Brand names • Washington Monument, Education Center • Phi Theta Kappa, Student Activities Board, Pittsburgh Pirates • Renaissance, Cold War, Declaration of Independence • Olive Garden, Federal Bureau of Investigation • Hostess, Old Navy

19. Capitalization—Proper Nouns • Titles of specific academic courses, programs • Do not capitalize names of general academic subject areas, unless proper noun • Days of the week, months, holidays • Do NOT capitalize names of seasons • Writing Skills, Early Childhood Care and Education, English • Tuesday, June, Fourth of July

20. Direct Quotations • Exact words of the speaker, writer • Always in quote marks • Usually accompanied by identifying tag (phrase that names the person being quoted).

21. Quotations Capitalize first word in quote Mrs. Sullivan said, “Pay attention during class lectures.” Begin quote Identifying phrase Comma to set off phrase from quotation Period inside quote marks End quote

22. Quotations “Pay attention during class lectures,” said Mrs. Sullivan. End Quote Begin Quote Comma to set off phrase from quotation Identifying phrase

23. Quotations “During class,” Mrs. Sullivan began, “you need to pay attention.” Begin quote End quote Begin quote Identifying phrase Comma to set off phrase from quotation Comma to set off phrase from quotation Period inside quote marks End quote

24. Indirect quote • If not using exact words, summarize and don’t use quote marks Mrs. Sullivan said that we should pay attention in class.

25. Titles—Set off from Other Text Italicize/Underline Quote Marks • Books • Newspapers • Magazine names • Long poems • Plays • Films • TV, radio series • Book chapters • Short stories • Essays and articles • Short poems • Songs • Speeches • Individual episode of TV, radio series

26. Capitalizing Words in Title • All first letters of important words • Unless they are first in the title name, do not capitalize: • Articles (a, an, the) • Prepositions • Coordinating conjunctions

27. Colons • Introduce a direct quotation Martin Luther King, Jr., said: “I have a dream.”

28. Colons • Introduce explanation, clarification, or example One thing scares me above all else: spiders. • Introduce a list To make strawberry pretzel salad, you need certain ingredients: sugar, cream cheese, Cool Whip, pretzels, butter, Jell-O, frozen strawberries, and boiling water.

29. Other punctuation Dashes Parentheses • Use a long dash to set off important information She parked her car—a red Firebird—in a tow away zone. (Tip: type two short dashes next to the two words it goes between, no space between dashes and words) • Encloses material that is relatively unimportant The weather in Portland (a city in Oregon) was sunny.

30. Patterns of Support Paragraphs

31. Exemplification • Uses examples to prove the main idea of that paragraph • Examples must have a unifying idea (present in paragraph’s main idea) • Can use one bigger example or a few smaller examples

32. Exemplification • Examples can help explain definitions, comparisons, processes, classification groupings, and causal relationships • Examples express, inform, or persuade, depending on main idea, purpose of paragraph

33. Exemplification • Use specific examples • Where do examples come from? • Personal • Occupational • News • Readings • Research

34. Exemplification—The Basics • Need unifying main idea—Topic Sentence • Use an example or group of examples to prove main idea—Support Sentences (4-5) • Follow a logical order—least to most important • Transitional words include for example, another example, the most important example • See page 52 • Sum up main idea and support points—Concluding Statement

35. Exemplification Writing—The Process • Understand your topic • What is the assignment? • How long should it be? • What is the pattern? • Prewrite • Brainstorm, cluster, freewrite ideas • Develop main idea for topic sentence • Choose and organize support points • Write first draft • Begin with topic sentence • Continue with support • End with Concluding statement • This can be messy • Print and Revise • Make big changes—add examples, delete examples • Make sure topic sentence is proven by support

36. Exemplification Writing—The Process • Revise (cont.) • Look at the big picture • Did you prove the main idea set forth? • Does the paragraph make sense and follow a clear sense of order? • Add transitional words • For example, for instance, another example, most importantly • Make changes in word processing program • Print and Proofread • Look at the pieces • Read each sentence carefully • Did you use commas after transitional words? • Does each sentence have a subject and verb? • Do dependent clauses that begin sentences have comma after them? • Does each sentence end with appropriate punctuation? • Did you indent first line of paragraph?

37. Exemplification Writing—The Process • Final Draft • Make final corrections and print Final Draft • Should be as close to perfect as you can make it • Error free • As developed as possible • No unnecessary information • Organized clearly • Formatted to specifications

38. Exemplification Paragraph Structure • Outline (for multiple examples): • Topic Sentence: presents main idea • Example 1: give first example • Support sentences: as many as needed to explain example • Example 2: give second example • Support sentences: as many as needed to explain example • Example 3: give third example • Support sentences: as many as needed to explain example • Concluding statement: summarizes paragraph

39. Exemplification Paragraph Structure • Outline (one example) • Topic Sentence: presents main idea • Example 1: give first example • Support sentences: as many as needed to explain example • Concluding statement: summarizes paragraph • Because using one example, example must be detailed and strong

40. Exemplification Paragraph Shell Topic Sentence: presents the main idea of that paragraph and should be a full sentence. Example 1: Follow up your topic sentence with a transition that introduces your first example that furthers your paragraph’s main idea. Support Sentences: Sometimes you will need to further explain an example that you make in one or more sentences following that example. Example 2: Depending on how you have organized your paragraph, you may need to continue this paragraph to discuss another example for your paragraph’s main idea. Support Sentences: For each new example, provide a further explanation of that point to make yourself clear without being redundant. Each sentence should present new information or a further explanation of something, not simply restating what you have already written. You do not have to stop at Point 2, even though this sample does. Concluding statement: Good paragraphs end with a concluding statement that reinforces the Topic Sentence.

41. Narrative A story • Usually paired with description • For informative narrative • Description is concrete and specific • Think of a police report or witness testimony • For more creative narrative • Description can be more subjective and use more colorful language • Think of personal story or fictional short story

42. Narrative—The Basics • Can be written in first person (subject is “I”) or third person (subject is he/she/it, etc.) • Can be written in present tense or past tense • Can be written in a chronological time order or non-chronological time order • Should end on a climax and resolution

43. Narrative—The Basics • Needs a unifying main idea • Usually a life lesson (for a personal narrative) • W/o this, readers don’t get the point • Need details • Strong descriptive elements • Setting—where is this happening? When? • Characters—who is involved? What are their names? What do they look like? • Plot—what happens? • Description—what sensory details are there to convey?

44. Narrative—The Basics • Start with topic sentence—what life lesson will audience learn • Support that presents life lessons • Event or series of mini events that lead to big event • Write in a time order that audience can follow • Transitional words include first, then, next • Takes 4-5 sentences at least • Summarize with concluding statement (restate the lesson learned)

45. Understand your topic • What is the assignment? Personal narrative? Creative fiction? Etc. • How long should it be? • What is the pattern? • Prewrite • Brainstorm, cluster, freewrite ideas • Develop main idea for topic sentence (i.e., the life lesson) • Choose and organize support points Narrative Writing—The Process • Write first draft • Begin with topic sentence • Continue with support • End with concluding statement • Does not need to be perfect • Print and Revise • Make big changes—add details and events, delete details and events • Make sure topic sentence is proven by support

46. Revise (cont.) • Look at the big picture • Did you prove the main idea set forth? • Does the paragraph make sense and follow a clear sense of order? • Did you follow the assignment? • Add transitional words • First, next, then, after that, finally • Make changes in word processing program Narrative Writing—The Process • Print and Proofread • Look at the pieces • Read each sentence carefully • Did you use commas after transitional words? • Does each sentence have a subject and verb? • Do dependent clauses that begin sentences have comma after them? • Does each sentence end with appropriate punctuation? • Did you indent first line of paragraph?

47. Narrative Writing—The Process • Final Draft • Make final corrections and print Final Draft • Should be as close to perfect as you can make it • Error free • As developed as possible • No unnecessary information • Organized clearly • Formatted to specifications

48. Narrative Paragraph Structure • Outline (for multiple events): • Topic Sentence: presents main idea (moral of the story) • Event 1: give first event • Support sentences: as many as needed to explain event • Event 2: give second event • Support sentences: as many as needed to explain event • Event 3: give third climactic event and resolution • Support sentences: as many as needed to explain event • Concluding statement: summarizes paragraph

49. Narrative Paragraph Structure • Outline (one focal event) • Topic Sentence: presents main idea • Event 1: describe the event • Support sentences: as many as needed to explain event • End on the climax and resolution • Concluding statement: summarizes paragraph • Because using one event, event must be detailed and strong

50. Narrative Paragraph Shell Topic Sentence: presents the main idea (moral of the story) of that paragraph and should be a full sentence. Event 1: Follow up your topic sentence with a transition that introduces your first event(s) that furthers your paragraph’s main idea. Support Sentences: Sometimes you will need to further explain an event that you make in one or more sentences following that event. Event 2: Depending on how you have organized your paragraph, you may need to continue this paragraph to discuss another event for your paragraph’s main idea. Support Sentences: For each new event, provide a further explanation of that point to make yourself clear without being redundant. Each sentence should present new information or a further explanation of something, not simply restating what you have already written. You do not have to stop at Event 2, even though this sample does. Concluding statement: Good personal narrative paragraphs end with a concluding statement that reinforces the lesson.