commas
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Commas. Keeping ideas distinct. A definition of commas (,). Commas separate words or groups of words within sentences Used in various instances. Uses We’ve Discussed. Use comma and coordinating conjunction between sentences to create compound sentence - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
CommasKeeping ideas distinct
A definition of commas (,)•Commas separate words or groups of
words within sentences•Used in various instances
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.
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.
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.
Commas after Introductory Phrases•Introductory phrase
▫Prepositional phrase: In the event of a fire,…
▫-ing phrase: Walking home from work, Susie…
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.
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.
Commas with Appositives•An appositive identifies, renames, or
describes something•Set this off with commas, whether at
beginning, middle, or end of a sentence
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
Restrictive Versus Nonrestrictive ClausesRestrictive 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
nonrestrictiveRestrictive or Nonrestrictive?
The musicians who recorded music in the 1950s made little money from their songs.
Commas with DatesMonday, 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
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.
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
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.
Mechanics
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
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
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
Direct Quotations•Exact words of the speaker, writer
•Always in quote marks
•Usually accompanied by identifying tag (phrase that names the person being quoted).
Quotations
Mrs. Sullivan said, “Pay attention during class lectures.”
Identifying phrase
Begin quote
Capitalize first word in quote
Comma to set off phrase from quotationEnd
quote
Period inside quote marks
Quotations
“Pay attention during class lectures,” said Mrs. Sullivan.
End Quote
Begin Quote
Comma to set off phrase from quotation
Identifying phrase
Quotations
“During class,” Mrs. Sullivan began, “you need to pay attention.”
Begin quote
Begin quote
End quote
End quote
Comma to set off phrase from quotation
Comma to set off phrase from quotation
Period inside quote marks
Identifying phrase
Indirect quote•If not using exact words, summarize and
don’t use quote marks
Mrs. Sullivan said that we should pay attention in class.
Titles—Set off from Other TextItalicize/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
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
Colons•Introduce a direct quotation
Martin Luther King, Jr., said: “I have a dream.”
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.
Other punctuationDashes 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.
Patterns of Support Paragraphs
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
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
Exemplification•Use specific examples
•Where do examples come from?▫Personal▫Occupational▫News▫Readings▫Research
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
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
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?
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
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
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
Exemplification Paragraph ShellTopic 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.
NarrativeA 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
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
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?
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)
Narrative Writing—The Process• 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
• 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
Narrative 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?
Did you follow the assignment?
Add transitional words First, next, then, after
that, finally▫ 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?
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
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
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
Narrative Paragraph ShellTopic 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.
Description•provides the significant details which
explain ideas• Action verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and
specific nouns are all part of strong descriptive writing
•Concrete details clarify the more abstract ideas
•Careful word choice, sentence structure are crucial elements of descriptive writing
Description—The Basics•Relies on sensory details—what we see,
hear, taste, smell, and feel—to create an impression
•Could describe:▫People▫Places▫Events▫Ideas▫Characters or settings in literature▫Just about anything!
Description—The Basics• Be careful of dangling or misplaced modifiers
▫ Modifier: word or phrase that describes something Could be dependent clause or appositive Should be next to what it describes
▫ Dangling modifier: not connected to thing it describes b/c thing is missing
Using my computer, the report was finished in two days.Using my computer, I finished the report in two days.
▫ Misplaced modifier: modifier and what it describes are not together
The exterminator sprayed the insect wearing a mask.The exterminator, wearing a mask, sprayed the insect.
Description and Narration: A Relationship•The lines b/t these are not distinct
▫Good narrative needs description infused in it
▫Good description is often in the context of a story
▫People, places, and things in a story should be described (physical, personality) using strong diction
•Narration is to storytelling as description is to making a work of art
Description—The Basics•Need unifying main idea
▫Why is this subject important?•Use strong sensory details
▫What smells do you sense?▫What kind of textures can you think of?▫What noises do you hear?▫What does food taste like?▫What are words you connect with what you see?
•When given a choice of topics, pick one you feel strongly about
Description—The Basics• Use figures of speech, if appropriate
▫Similes: comparison using “like” or “as”
The sun, like a red ball of fire in the sky, sets slowly over the ocean, as the light sparkles like diamonds in the dark blue water.
▫Metaphors: direct comparison; one thing is another thing (but usually not literal)
My dad is an angry grizzly bear ready to tear through the house, leaving masses of wreckage in his wake.
Description—The Basic•Present details in spatial order
▫Order in which your senses perceive things▫Top to bottom, front to back, left to right,
inside to outside, etc.▫Transitional words: in front of, behind,
next to, as [I/he] walk(s) into the room/hall/etc.
▫Taking a tour using words
Descriptive Writing—The Process• Understand your topic
▫ What is the assignment? What to describe? Etc.
▫ How long should it be?▫ What is the pattern?
• Prewrite▫ Brainstorm, cluster,
freewrite ideas▫ Object the subject▫ Develop main idea for
topic sentence (i.e., why the subject matters)
▫ Choose and organize support points
• 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, delete details, make details more vivid or creative
▫ Make sure topic sentence is proven by support
Descriptive 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?
Did you follow the assignment?
Add transitional words In front of, behind, next
to, outside of, etc.▫ 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?
Descriptive 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
Descriptive Paragraph Structure• Outline (for multiple details):
▫Topic Sentence: presents main idea (why the subject is important)
▫Detail 1: give first detail Support sentences: as many as needed to explain detail
▫Detail 2: give second detail Support sentences: as many as needed to explain detail
▫Detail 3: give third, most important detail Support sentences: as many as needed to explain detail
▫Concluding statement: summarizes paragraph
Descriptive Paragraph Structure•Outline (one focal detail)
▫Topic Sentence: presents main idea▫Detail 1: describe the detail
Support sentences: as many as needed to explain detail
End on the most vivid, important detail▫Concluding statement: summarizes
paragraph
•Because using one detail, detail must be detailed and strong
Descriptive Paragraph ShellTopic Sentence: presents the main idea (why the subject is important) of that paragraph and should be a full sentence. Detail1: Follow up your topic sentence with a transition that introduces your first detail(s) that furthers your paragraph’s main idea. Support Sentences: Sometimes you will need to further explain a detail that you give in one or more sentences following that detail. Detail2: Depending on how you have organized your paragraph, you may need to continue this paragraph to discuss another detail for your paragraph’s main idea. Support Sentences: For each new detail, 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 Detail2, even though this sample does. Concluding statement: Good descriptive paragraphs end with a concluding statement that reinforces the importance of your subject.
Journal—An Original Fable•A fable, using animals as main characters, tells
a story about why something is the way it is or gives a life lesson (the ant and the grasshopper)
•Your goal is to write an original fable▫Can write in groups of 2-3 people▫Be creative but appropriate▫Imagine you are creating a story for a child▫1-2 paragraphs▫You may be sharing this with the class!