Editing Skills

1. Editing Skills Interactive Note-Taking

2. This presentation covers capitalization.

3. Sample Item • Wanda wouldn’t offer her little brother a • Christmas cookie because he ate all of her • Halloween candy last october. • Brother • Cookie • October • No change is necessary. • Wanda wouldn’t offer her little brother a • A • Christmas cookie because he ate all of her • B • Halloween candy last october. • C • Brother • Cookie • October • No change is necessary. • Wanda wouldn’t offer her little brother a • A • Christmas cookie because he ate all of her • B • Halloween candy last october. • C • Brother • Cookie • October • No change is necessary. Is brother, cookie, or october a problem? October needs a capital letter, which option C provides.

4. Capitalize the first letter of the first word of a sentence. The rotten pear sat in a puddle of goo on the kitchen counter. the rotten pear sat in a puddle of goo on the kitchen counter. Dude, formal writing is not the same as texting your friend!

5. If that liar Darlene claims that she spent the night studying, I will say that I saw her kissing Thomas at the movies. Capitalize the pronounI. If that liar Darlene claims that she spent the night studying, i will say that i saw her kissing Thomas at the movies. Don’t be lazy! Capitalize those I’s. You deserve a capital letter!

6. Capitalize proper nouns. On Tuesday, September 18, Elizabeth cooked her first pot of squid eyeball stew. On tuesday, september 18, elizabeth cooked her first pot of squid eyeball stew. Proper nouns include the days of the week, the months of the year, and names.

7. Other Proper Nouns • TitlesbeforeNames • Specific Places • Organizations • Companies • Product Names • Religions • Languages • Nationalities • Holidays • Departments • Historical Eras • Regions of the Country • Titles of Works

8. Quick Test Directions:For the items in you notes , choose the option that corrects an error in the underlined portion(s). If no error exists, choose “No change is necessary.” Show me what you know.

10. This presentation covers commonly misspelled words and knowledge of spelling rules.

11. Sample Item 1 • Because we were hungary, we could not • concentrate on the lecture. We will definitely • consult Wanda since she was fueling her brain • with a fruit smoothie. • hungry • definately • feuling • No change is necessary. • Because we were hungary, we could not • A • concentrate on the lecture. We will definitely • B • consult Wanda since she was fueling her brain • C • with a fruit smoothie. • hungry • definately • feuling • No change is necessary. • Because we were hungary, we could not • A • concentrate on the lecture. We will definitely • B • consult Wanda since she was fueling her brain • C • with a fruit smoothie. • hungry • definately • feuling • No change is necessary. Is hungary, definitely, or fueling misspelled? Hungry is definitely misspelled, but choice A corrects it!

12. Sample Item 2 • At the flea market, Harold bought fresh tomatoes, a pair of used jeans, and a stuffed deer head with a broken antler. He considered the shopping trip successfull. • succesful • successful • sucessful • No change is necessary. • At the flea market, Harold bought fresh tomatoes, a pair of used jeans, and a stuffed deer head with a broken antler. He considered the shopping trip successfull. • succesful • successful • sucessful • No change is necessary. Is successfull misspelled? If so, which choice corrects it? Choice B does the job—two cs, two ss, but only one l.

13. When in doubt, rely on “gut” feelings. Your eyes haveseenin print—and your brain hasregistered—all of the possible words that you will encounter for this skill. If you don’trecognizethe right answer, go with the one thatfeelsright. Hey, I know that word!

14. Quick Test Directions:For the items in your notes, choose the option that corrects an error in the underlined portion(s). If no error exists, choose “No change is necessary.” Show me what you know!

16. This presentation covers standard punctuation.

17. Sample Item 1 • As we got out of the car we could smell the • delicious chicken and rice that Grandma was • cooking for dinner. • car, we • chicken, and • rice, that • No change is necessary. • As we got out of the car we could smell the • A • delicious chicken andrice that Grandma was • B C • cooking for dinner. • car, we • chicken, and • rice, that • No change is necessary. • As we got out of the car wecould smell the • A • delicious chicken andrice that Grandma was • B C • cooking for dinner. • car, we • chicken, and • rice, that • No change is necessary. Do you need acomma after car, chicken, or rice? Exactly! You need to connect the introductory clause.

18. Sample Item 2 • Since Grandma wasnt looking, Julie filled the dogs bowls with leftovers from the meal. • Since Grandma wasn’t looking, Julie filled the dogs’ bowls with leftover’s from the meal. • Since Grandma wasn’t looking, Julie filled the dogs’ bowls with leftovers from the meal. • Since Grandma wasnt looking, Julie filled the dogs bowls with leftovers from the meal. • Since Grandma wasn’t looking, Julie filled the dogs’ bowls with leftover’s from the meal. • Since Grandma wasn’t looking, Julie filled the dogs’ bowls with leftovers from the meal. Notice that the apostrophes are all correct in version C.

19. Use theperiod[.] to endstatements. • Jasmine ate a chocolate-broccoli muffin. • Use thequestion mark[?] when asking aquestion. • Did Jasmine eat a chocolate-broccoli muffin? • Use—notoveruse—theexclamation mark[!]to signifyexcitementoremphasis. • Oh, no! Jasmine ate a chocolate-broccoli muffin! End Marks

20. One exclamation mark per essay is a good average. But I really love! I mean love! the exclamation mark!!! I want to use it all the time!!! It’s me!!! Wrong

21. Use a comma with acoordinating conjunctionto connect two sentences. • Coordinating conjunctions =and,but,for,or,nor,yet, andso. Commas, Part 1 Jasmine will pass the comma test, but Slacker Sam will not. Jasmine will pass the comma test. Slacker Sam will not. You have to studyif you want to do well!

22. Useandalone to connecttwoitems. • Use commas and an and to connectthree or moreitems. Commas, Part 2 Jasmine will buy a bag of potato chips, a hotdog, and a soda Jasmine will buy a bag of potato chips anda hotdog. Hard work deserves a reward!

23. Use the semicolon [;] to connect two main clauseswhich is like combining two complete sentence into one. This is called a compound sentence. Semicolon Jasmine worries about her grade in statistics. Math is not her best subject. Jasmine worries about her grade in statistics; math is not her best subject. Jasmine prefers classes that require her to write: Intro to Humanities, Abnormal Psychology, and US Government. But I excelat punctuation!

24. Use the apostrophe [’] with ansto showpossession: Jasmine’spen, the cat’seyes, the professors’frowns • Or use the apostrophe to indicate the letters/spaces removed in acontraction: she’ d, can’ t, should’ ve Apostrophe We cant cheat from Jasmines punctuation quiz because shes absent today! We can’t cheat from Jasmine’s punctuation quiz because she’s absent today! Ha! Dentist appointment!

25. Quick Test Directions:For the items in your notes, choose the option that corrects an error in the underlined portion(s). If no error exists, choose “No change is necessary.” Show me what you know.

27. The End. That’s what I’m talking about.