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Writing and Study Skills Clinic

Writing and Study Skills Clinic. Better Expression through Punctuation I: Commas versus Periods. Vantage Point: . Conventions Meaning Style Building awareness and use. APA versus Chicago versus MLA. Requirements of the field will vary by: Reference system most commonly employed

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Writing and Study Skills Clinic

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  1. Writing and Study Skills Clinic Better Expression through Punctuation I: Commas versus Periods

  2. Vantage Point: • Conventions • Meaning • Style • Building awareness and use

  3. APA versus Chicago versus MLA • Requirements of the field will vary by: • Reference system most commonly employed • Norms of published journals • Needs of the materials: • What format best communicates the information based on the kinds of ideas or concepts most common to the field? • How much “extraneous” information, or how much detail, is needed to maintain flow and logical structure?

  4. Meaning: Clarification through Careful Comma-ing… • When in doubt, what makes it easiest for the reader to follow the flow? • All punctuation (and capitals) are “eye-catchers” that allow to mind to almost automatically draw conclusions about what it sees. The main meanings conveyed by commas are: • Keeps the focus on the main threads • Chunks ideas that function as modifiers and/or as one concept • Clarifies relationships and omissions

  5. Back to basics: Mastering the Rules • Most common rules at the sentence level: • Independent versus dependent • Adverbial modifiers • Adjectival modifiers • Appositives • Participial modifiers

  6. Examples • Independent clauses (FANBOYS) • I love chocolate, but it makes me sick. • But I love chocolate so much.* • Dependent clauses • Although Shakespeare has been purported to be a woman, evidence is spotty at best. • Abe Lincoln, who was president, died an untimely death.

  7. More Examples • Adverbial modifiers • Dogs, however, don’t really know what they’re doing. • Adjectival modifiers • The fabulous, wonderful woman who married me will be coming home soon. • Appositives • Abe Lincoln, sixteenth US president, was my favorite of them all.

  8. Yet More Examples • Participial modifiers • Having taken off his coat, my doctor sat down. • My doctor sat down after having taken off his coat. • The dog licked his master, having exhausted the areas of his own body to lick. • The women cared about each other having gone through similar circumstances.

  9. To Retain Meaning • Keep the modifiers as close as possible to their referents. • She looked out, who had never known love, and gazed upon the shallow pool in the glen upon which gleamed the sun. • KNOW what you want to say! When in doubt, use the complete structure. • We found that dogs tend to stay close to home, having lost their way numerous times.

  10. Periods versus Commas • Commas most often mark some transition or relationship. Periods are only bound by completeness of the thought. • Periods must have minimum a subject and predicate to exist. They can offer self-contained thought. • While periods are necessary, commas allow for more complex information to exist from period to period, and for thoughts to flow into and around each other.

  11. Example: How does this feel?

  12. Periods versus Commas • Knowing how to manipulate ideas through good punctuation allows you to control expression more efficiently. • A sentence more than two lines long needs to be broken down—but where shall we put the period? • In the end, commas are dependent on not just the sentence itself, but what came before and what came after.

  13. Periods, commas, and problems • I fell. • He threw the ball. • It saves me having to type the same thing again. • The results indicate _______________. • Given the parameters of the project • In the end • Not only but also

  14. Style: Building a Written Persona • Being aware of the conventions at play as you read will inform how YOU write. • Recognizing the other elements that affect punctuation use: • Tone • Purpose • Flow and relationships • Always use the main clause as your guide: KNOW what you want to focus on, and keep it central. • Choose a role model.

  15. Need some more support? • Call to make an appointment: • 657-278-2738 • Check out the complete list of our workshops: • On Facebook: • Cal State Fullerton Graduate Students • Grad Studies Website: • http://www.fullerton.edu/graduate/ulc/ • ULC Website: • http://fullerton.edu/ulc/graduate_workshop.asp

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