Punctuation for College Writing:

1. Punctuation for College Writing: A Cast of Characters

2. Goals • Learn the names and functions of Standard American English punctuation marks • Practice using the marks in college-level writing contexts • Ask and answer your questions • Have fun!

3. Punctuation . . . • is based on grammar, not speech. • is not interchangeable—each markhas a role to play. • is used according to an author’s purposes.

4. Cast of Characters • The Advanced: • quotation marks • square brackets • dash • ellipsis • Controversial: italics • The Intermediates: • colon • semicolon • hyphen • parentheses • The Basics: • period • apostrophe • question mark • exclamation point • Controversial:capitals

5. Period: The Sentence Sheriff The sentence sheriff says, “Stop. This idea about your subject is finished. You’d better have a new subject and action before you proceed further.”

6. Complete Sentences A complete sentence is made of a subjectdoing an actionor being a certain way: The people of Madagascar speak Malagasy and French. Chinahas a large population. A lot of basketball players are very tall. A sentence is a subject and a verb: SV. Or a subject and two verbs: SV and V. If you want to add more, you’ll need to use other punctuation!

7. Periods end sentences, including indirect questions: I wondered whether I would be late or not. Our boss asked if our guest would be on time.

8. Periods are used in abbreviations: For example, Mr. Mrs. Ms. Dr. B.A. i.e. e.g. etc. a.m. p.m. Note: When an abbreviation ends a sentence, use only one period. We returned from our fact-finding mission at 2:35 a.m.

9. Apostrophe: The Placeholder The apostrophe takes the place of a letter or letters in contractions. It also marks the place for the idea of “has” in possessive cases.

10. Apostrophes in Contractions • did not • cannot • will not • is not • didn’t • can’t • won’t • isn’t

11. Apostrophes are also used for possessive nouns: He tended to obsess over his cell phone’s apps and features. Her article presents an overview of Marx’s teachings (Hacker and Sommers 319). The beach’s sand was burning hot.

12. Consider the number of the noun first, then the possessive apostrophe: Use ’sNoun about 1: man, Venus Possessive noun: man’s, Venus’s Plural (2+) noun (irregular form): women Poss. pl. noun (irregular form): women’s Use just Regular plural noun: girls Possessive plural noun: girls’ ’

13. Use an apostrophe alone when a noun is plural and ends in -s: After the accident, both my bicycle tires’ rims were bent. The messages’ subject lines were the same.

14. When two or more together possess something, use -’s or -s’ on the last noun only: I haven’t tried Ben and Jerry’s new flavor.

15. When each one in a pair has something, put -’s on both: Hernando’s and Maria’s hopes for their daughter were wildly dissimilar.

16. Question Mark: The Scientist A scientist inquires, wanting to know more.

17. A question mark is for direct questions: The interviewer demanded, “Where were you, and what did you know?”

18. Polite questions and indirect questions take a period: Would you please send me five copies of Edward Lear’s Complete Nonsensewith an invoice. I was asked who would be attending with me at the conference.

19. Questions in a series may be written with question marks, even when not complete sentences: Where would I go at this time of night? To my friend’s house? To a hotel? To my mother-in-law’s?

20. Exclamation Point: The Wrestler The exclamation point is for shouting and cries of shock or delight. For a calm academic discussion, don’t invite the wrestler. “Grrr!”

21. Controversial 1: Capitals Most consider capitals an element of mechanics rather than punctuation. Capitals are used for official identification and at the start of a sentence, like the start of a journey.

22. Capitals • Titles as (or part of) names: Madam Prime Minister, Dr. Jekyll, Ms. Janssen, Aunt Judy, Mom and Dad • Beginnings of sentences: We hold these truths to be self-evident . . .

23. Titles of works:Schindler’s List, Of Mice and Men, The Woman Warrior,“A Little Less Conversation” • All proper nouns, including course titles, regions and other geographical names, historical periods:Geography 206, the Southwest, the Middle Ages Never to merely emphasize

24. Mini Quiz: Part 1 Add, Delete, No Error, or Revise: • I wonder what we’re having for dinner tonight? I hurried to catch the bus. Even though I had plenty of time. I hurried to catch the bus, even though I had plenty of time. I wonder what we’re having for dinner tonight.

25. Add, Delete, No Error, or Revise: DrWelbys medical license has expired . Dr. Welby’s medical license has expired. I’m majoring in biochemistry; my first class is chemistry 101 on Tuesday nights. I’m majoring in biochemistry; my first class is Chemistry 101 on Tuesday nights.

26. Character Recap 1 Period: The Sentence Sheriff Apostrophe: The Placeholder Question Mark: The Inquiring Scientist Exclamation Point: The Aggressive Wrestler Capitals: Passports to the start of sentences and names

27. The Colon: A Fanfare After an intriguing independent clause, a colon signals the entrance of its explanation.

28. IC: a list, an appositive, or a quotation. IC = “independent clause”: a person, place, or thing doing an action. IC is basically equal to SV. I have three essentials for a day in the sun: a hat, sunscreen, and water. She coined a new term: hyperbolic gratitude.

29. IC:IC (if the second IC explains) Faith is like love: It cannot be forced (Hacker and Sommers 317). Note: a capital after a colon is APA format; for CMS or MLA, use lowercase letters.

30. Other Uses of the Colon: Salutation in a formal letter, a ratio, analogies, between title and subtitle, and between city and publisher in documentation Dear Sir or Madam: The ratio of women to men was 2:1. Nouns : Verbs :: Things : Actions The Glory of Hera: Greek Mythology and the Greek Family Boston: Bedford, 2011

31. The Semicolon: The Hybrid The semicolon has qualities of a period, a comma, and a colon. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toyota_Prius.jpg

32. IC; IC. Many writers have expressed opinions about the semicolon; Kurt Vonnegut and Ben Yagoda are two who spring to mind.

33. IC; transitional expression, IC. • Transitional expressions (TE) include • conjunctive adverbs:besides, consequently, subsequently, next, now • transitional phrases:as a result, for example, in fact, on the other hand, i.e., e.g.

34. IC; transitional expression, IC. I had to think of an interesting sentence using a semicolon; however, all I could conjure were boring ones. She spent her childhood watching television; as a result, she did very well at trivia games.

35. IC; subject, TE, predicate. The students read a lot of novels and essays exploring the relationship between humans and the environment; the works, consequently, informed their writing.

36. A semicolon may also be used between items with internal punctuation in a list: Classic science fiction sagas are Star Trek, with Mr. Spock and his large pointed ears; BattlestarGalactica, with its Cylon Raiders; and Star Wars, with Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Darth Vader (Hacker and Sommers 314).

37. The Hyphen: The Linker Connects two or more words functioning together as one kind of word.

38. Hyphens link two or more words working together as one kind of word Adjectives before nouns: Mrs. Sato gave me some wax paper-wrapped candy. Freida Pinto is not yet a well-known actress in the U.S. Nouns: sister-in-law, cul-de-sac, half-life

39. Hyphenated words may be written in a series: Do you prefer first-, second-, or third-class tickets? (Hacker and Sommers 339). He taught preschool to three-, four-, and five-year-olds.

40. Other Uses of the Hyphen Fractions and compound numbers (21–99): one-fifth, two-thirds, twenty-three, fifty-six, ninety-nine

41. Prefixes all-, ex-, and self-, and the suffix -elect: At the bookstore, I met my ex-patriot friends in the all-encompassing category of the self-help section. When in doubt, check a dictionary for suspected compound words!

42. Parentheses: The Whisperers Used when a phrase is outside of the important elements of a sentence.

43. Use a set of parentheses around added info and letters or numbers labeling items in a series. Nurses record patients’ vital signs (temperature, pulse, and blood pressure) several times a day (Hacker and Sommers 332). There are several things which could end a sentence: (1) a period, (2) a question mark, or (3) an ellipsis.

44. Use parentheses around slight tangents and afterthoughts When I was a teenager (and isn’t it always when one was a teenager?), I liked to use a lot of dashes and parentheses in my writing. Now, I choose very judiciously when to employ a set of dashes or parentheses (one mustn’t seem too chatty).

45. In MLA- and APA-style research papers, a parenthetical citation may be put at the end of a sentence containing a paraphrase or quotation. When reading a text, Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers advise us to “note details that surprise, puzzle, or intrigue you” (70).

46. A citation may also occur at a natural clause break in the sentence: They go on to say that “the views of an expert can contribute to the force of your argument” (86), but you should always lead the reader through your own logic and only use experts to illustrate your own points.

47. Mini Quiz: The Intermediates What is the main difference between the use of a colon and that of a semicolon? SV: anything that explains the SV. SV; SV.

48. Add, delete, or no error: - Four fifths of all politicians think they are great, but ninety nine percent of their constituents know if they are. - When asked if we want to know a secret (and who among us doesn’t, many of us will lean closer to the speaker. doesn’t?), Now you’re ready for the Advanced Marks!

49. Character Recap 2 Colon: Fanfare for an Explanation Semi-colon: The Hybrid Fusion of Marks Hyphen: The Linker for Joining Words Parentheses: The Whisperers

50. Quotation Marks: The Gossips Gossips pass onthe words or information of others. So I said, “Blahdeeblahdee blah.” And she said, “No!” And I said, “Yes!”