Presentation Transcript

1. Grammar and Punctuation(1.0)
2. Agenda Understand the common grammatical errors for writers Determine the causes for these errors and the repercussions of committing them Review basic American English Grammar rules Identify how these errors can be eliminated
3. What’s wrong with this? The amount of grammar and usage error’s today are astounding. Not to mention spelling. If I was a teacher, I’d feel badly that less and less students seem to understand the basic principals of good writing. Neither the oldest high school students nor the youngest kindergartner know proper usage. A student often thinks they can depend on word processing programs to correct they’re errors. Know way! Watching TV all the time, its easy to see why their having trouble. TV interferes with them studying and it’s strong affect on children has alot to due with their grades. There’s other factors, to, including the indifference of parents. A Mom or Dad often don’t know grammer themselves. We should tell children to study hard like we did at they’re age and to watch less TV then their classmates.
4. Question? How would you have written the article differently?
5. Common Mistake No Subject-Verb Agreement Incorrect and/or No Punctuations Misspelling Run-on Sentences
6. Quotation Periods and commas: do they go inside or outside of quotation marks, or does it depend on the sentence? Example: She said, "Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks, just like this." Example: This is "incorrect", because the comma is outside of the quotation marks. (incorrect) It should be: This is "correct," because the comma is . . .
7. Their vs. They’re Their is the possessive version (their house -- not they're house); they're stands for “they are”; and there is a filler word. Example: Their goal is to give their members the best . . . Example: There goal is to give they're members the best online experience.
8. A vs. AN AN Before a word beginning with a vowel Before words beginning with a silent “h” Example: anhonest man A Before a word beginning with a consonant Before words where the “h” is spoken Example: a hotel near the commercial district
9. Sentence Fragments A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence that leaves out pertinent information. In fact, a sentence fragment leaves a reader with more questions than answers. Furthermore, when a sentence fragment is read aloud, it sounds awkward. The remedy for this grammatical error is to add further explanation Incorrect example: The University offers many majors in business. Such as advertising, marketing, and economics Correct example: The University offers many majors in business, such as advertising, marketing, and economics.
10. Subject-Verb Agreement Lack of Agreement A sentence can become confusing to a reader when there is a lack of agreement between the subject and the verb. In other words, when the subject of a sentence is singular, then the verb must be singular. Alternatively, when the subject of a sentence is plural, then the verb must be plural. When a writer changes tense in the middle of a sentence it causes a lack of agreement. Incorrect example: He and his friend is going to the party. Correct example: He and his friend are going to the party.
11. Faulty Parallelism Faulty parallelism is a grammatical error that comes into play when there is a series of ideas in a sentence. The items in a series should be presented in a balanced form that adds to a reader's understanding. A writer may be able to identify faulty parallelism if he or she reads a sentence aloud. Not surprisingly, a sentence with faulty parallelism often sounds awkward to a listener. Incorrect example: She liked writing stories and to read novels. Correct example: She liked writing stories and reading novels.
12. Misplaced Modifiers A misplaced modifier is a grammatical error that can create a great deal of confusion for a reader. The arrangement of the words in the sentence causes a reader to wonder what the misplaced modifier is referring to. A misplaced modifier can cloud the meaning of a sentence. A sentence doesn't fulfil its purpose if a reader has to guess at its meaning. Incorrect example: My cat was hit by a car trotting across the street. Correct example: My cat was trotting across the street when it was hit by a car.
13. Run-on Sentences A run-on sentence crams together independent clauses without allowing a reader an opportunity to pause. Not surprisingly, a run-on sentence can usually be separated into two sentences. A gathering of run-on sentences can become tedious for the reader. Furthermore, run-on sentences make it difficult for a reader to absorb the meaning of a piece of writing. Incorrect example: He went to the play he loved the theater. Correct example: He went to the play. He loved the theater.
14. Dangling Participle A dangling participle involves adjectives that end in 'ing' or perhaps 'ed'. A participle is supposed to refer to a noun. In the case of a dangling participle, it is not clear which noun the participle is referring to. When a dangling participle appears, the meaning of a sentence can be misunderstood or lost. Incorrect example: Slithering across the street, the little girl studied the snake. Correct example: The little girl watched the snake slithering across the street.
15. Semi-colon vs. Colon A semicolon comes into play when independent clauses need to be separated. A semicolon can also be used in a sentence that contains several commas. For example, a semicolon could appear in a sentence that pairs capital cities and states. Alternatively, a colon usually precedes a series of things listed in a sentence. Incorrect example of semicolon usage: We travelled to; Tallahassee, Florida, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Boulder, Colorado. Correct example semicolon usage: We travelled to Tallahassee, Florida; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Boulder, Colorado. Incorrect example of colon usage: You will require: a book, a pencil, and paper. Correct example of colon usage: The following people are special guests at the hotel: Mrs. Pendleton, Mr. Jackson, and Mr. Rutledge.
16. Punctuation- Period When to use a Period
17. Punctuation- Question Mark & Exclamation Point When to use a Question Mark When to use an Exclamation Point
18. Commas When you read your content out loud, do you naturally pause at certain places? The best rule of thumb is to insert a comma in those places. Grammar can actually be quite logical. Let's look at some common uses for commas:a.To separate words in a list (apples, oranges, bananas, and grapes). Notice that I used a comma before the and. Grammar sources such as Chicago strongly recommend inserting the last comma. Here's an example from Chicago: "I want no ifs, ands, or buts."b.Introductory phrases and words. Use commas after introductory phrases and words, especially if a slight pause is needed.Example: At the end of the day, he left the office. Example: Therefore, the next SES Conference is in December.c.To separate compound sentences. Use commas to separate compound sentences, which are sentences that could be divided into two separate and complete sentences. Example: Search engine optimization is both art and science, and it requires both creativity and technology to be successful.
19. End of Module QUESTIONS?