persuasive Essay
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MechanicsandStyle.pptxMechanics and Style
Commas
Between Elements (including before and and or) in a series of three or more items.
To set off a nonessential or nonrestrictive clause, that is, a clause that embellishes a sentence but if removed would leave the grammatical structure and meaning of the sentence intact. (Think Appositives)
To separate two independent clauses joined by a conjunction.
To set off the year in exact dates.
To set off the year in parenthetical reference citations.
To separate groups of three digits in most numbers of 1,000 or more
Do Not Use Commas
Before an essential or restrictive clause, that is, a clause that limits or defines the material it modifies. Removal of such a clause from the sentence would alter the intended meaning.
Between the two parts of a compound predicate.
To separate parts of measurement.
Semicolons
To separate two independent clauses that are not joined by a conjunction.
To separate elements in a series that already contain commas.
Colon
Between a grammatically complete introductory clause (one that could stand as a sentence) and a final phrase or clause that illustrates, extends, or amplifies the preceding thought. If the clause that illustrates, extends, or amplifies the preceding thought. If the clause following the colon is a complete sentence, it begins with a capital letter.
In ratios and proportions.
In references between place of publication and publisher.
Do not use a colon after and introduction that is not an independent clause or complete sentence.
Quotation Marks
To introduce a word or phrase used as an iconic comment, as slang, or as an invented or coined expression. Use quotation marks the first time the word or phrase is used; thereafter, do not use question marks.
To set off the title of an article or chapter in a periodical or book when the title is mentioned in text.
To reproduce material from a test item or verbatim instructions to participants.
Do Not Use Double Quotation Marks
To identify the anchors of a scale. Instead, italicize them.
To cite a letter, word, phrase, or sentence as a linguistic example. Instead, italicize the term.
To introduce a technical or key term. Instead, italicize the term.
To hedge. Do not use any punctuation with such expressions.
Brackets
To enclose the values that are the limits of a confidence interval.
To enclose material inserted in a quotation by some person other than the original writer.
To enclose parenthetical material that is already within parentheses.
Do not use brackets to set off statistics that already include parentheses.
Hyphenation
Hyphen
An em dash is longer than a hyphen or an en dash and is sued to set off an element added to amplify or to digress from the main clause.
An en dash is longer and thinner than a hyphen yet shorter than an em dash and is used between words of equal weight in a compound adjective.
Hyphenation
A compound with a participle when it precedes the term it modifies.
A phrase used an adjective when it precedes the term it modifies.
An adjective-and-noun compound when it precedes the term it modifies.
A fraction used as an adjective.
Do Not Hyphenate
A compound including an adverb ending in ly.
A compound including a comparative or superlative adjective.
Chemical terms.
Foreign phrases used as adjectives or adverbs.
A modifier including a letter or numeral as the second element.
Common fractions used as nouns.
Italics
Titles of books, periodicals, films, videos, TV shows, and microfilm publications.
Genera, species, and varieties.
Introduction of a new, technical, or key term or label (after a term has been used once, do not italicize it).
A letter, word, or phrase cited as a linguistic example.
Words that can be misread.
Letters used as statistical symbols or algebraic variables.
Some test scores and scales.
Periodical volume numbers in reference lists
Anchors of a scale.
Do Not Use Italics
Chemical terms.
Trigonometric terms.
Nonstatistical subscripts to statistical symbols or mathematical expressions.
Greek letters.
Mere emphasis.
Letters used as abbreviations.
Abbreviations
Use
If it is conventional and if the reader is more familiar with the abbreviation than with the complete form.
If considerable space can be saved and cumbersome repetition avoided.
Write out all abbreviations on their first appearance
Number Expressed in Numerals
Numbers 10 and above
Numbers in the abstract of a paper or in a graphical display within a paper.
Numbers that immediately precede a unit or measurement.
Numbers that represent statistical or mathematical functions, fractional or decimal quantities, percentages, ratios, and percentiles and quartiles.
Numbers that represent time, dates, ages, scores and points on a scale, exact sums of money, and numerals as numerals.
Numbers that denote a specific place in a numbered series, parts of books and tables, and each number in a list of four of more numbers.
Numbers Expressed in Words
Any number that begins a sentence, title, or text heading.
Common fractions.
Universally accepted usage.
Numbers
Do not change Roman numerals for Arabic numerals.
Do not use commas in: page numbers, binary numbers, serial numbers, degrees of temperature, acoustic frequency designations, and degrees of freedom.
To pluralize numbers use s or es without an apostrophe.
