Academic writing

LSLA 313
Siham Asaad
2021-2022
CHAPTER
10
PUNCTUATION
LESSON 1

PERIODS
AND OTHER
END MARKS
 Periods, question
marks, and
exclamation points are
known as end marks
because they are used
to indicate the end of
a sentence. Periods
have other uses as
well.
 Periods
• Use a period at the
end of a declarative
sentence.
• A declarative sentence
makes a statement.
 Periods
Example:
The key is carefully
kept secret .
 Periods
• Use a period at the
end of almost every
imperative sentence.
• An imperative sentence
gives a command.
 Periods
• Some imperative
sentences express
excitement or emotion
and therefore end with
exclamation points.
 Periods
Example:
Do not ask me to reveal
our code.

Stop! Do not ask me to

reveal our code!
 Periods
• Use a period at the end
of an indirect question.
• An indirect question
reports what a person
asked without using the
person’s exact words.
 Periods
• Indirect question: The
coach asked if our team
code had been broken.
• Direct question: The
coach asked, “Has our
team code been broken?”
Question Marks

• Use a question mark at

the end of an
interrogative sentence.
• An interrogative
sentence asks a
question.
Question Marks

Example:
Have they figured out all
our plays?
 Exclamation
Points
• Use an exclamation
point to end an
exclamatory sentence.
• An exclamatory
sentence expresses
strong feeling.
 Exclamation
Points
Example:
What a terrible situation!
 Exclamation
Points
• Use an exclamation
point after an
interjection or any
other exclamatory
expression.
 Exclamation
Points
Example:
Oh! I have an idea!
Other Uses for Periods

• Use a period at the

end of most
abbreviations or after
an initial.
 Abbreviations
sec. second in. inch
lb. pound gal. gallon
min. minute hr. hour
mo. month yr. year
St. Street Feb. February
Thurs. Thursday
Pres. President
 Initials
R.N. registered nurse
P.M. post meridiem
(after noon)
B.A. bachelor of arts
M.D. doctor of medicine
P.O. post office
R.K.S. Rebecca Kate Simmons
 Abbreviations
Without Periods
CIA Central Intelligence Agency
mph miles per hour
VCR videocassette recorder
cm centimeter
CA California
mm millimeter
 Period
• Use a period after
each number or letter
in an outline or a list.
 Outline
Uses for Codes
1. Use in wartime
A. World War I
B. World War II
2. Industrial uses
A. To protect new methods
B. To protect consumers’
privacy
 List
Communication Codes
1.Braille
2.American Sign Language
3.Egyptian hieroglyphics
4. Mayan hieroglyphics
5. Morse code
6. Semaphore 
LESSON 2

COMMAS IN
SENTENCES
Commas are used to
make the meanings
of sentences clear by
separating certain
elements of the
sentences.
 Commas
• Use a comma before
a conjunction that
joins independent
clauses in a
compound sentence.
 Commas
Example:
The ancient Egyptians’
written language was
called hieroglyphics, and
it was not decoded for
many centuries.
 Commas
• Sometimes a sentence
has a two-part
compound verb but is
not a compound
sentence. Do not use a
comma in this kind of
sentence.
 Commas
Example:
Scribes could read and
write hieroglyphics.
 Commas with
Items in a Series
• Use a comma after
every item in a series
except the last one.
• A series consists of
three or more items.
 Commas with
Items in a Series
Example:
Symbols of birds, lions,
and snakes appear in
hieroglyphics.
 Use a comma between
adjectives of equal rank
that modify the same
noun.

• Example: Hieroglyphics
used colorful, decorative
symbols.
• Do not use a comma
between adjectives that
express a single idea.

• Example: The symbols were

often painted with a brilliant
gold paint.
Commas with Introductory
Words and Phrases
• Use a comma after an
introductory phrase that
contains a prepositional
phrase. Use a comma
after introductory words.
• Example: Even after 2,000
years of study, no one could
read hieroglyphics.
Commas with Interrupters
Use commas to set off a
word or phrase that
interrupts the flow of
thought in a sentence.

• Example: The stone provided,

at long last, a key to
hieroglyphics.
• Use commas to set off
nouns of direct
address. A noun of direct
address names a person or
group being spoken to.

• Example: Alex, your class

would be thrilled with this
discovery.
Commas with Appositives
• An appositive is a word or phrase that
identifies or renames a noun or a
pronoun that comes right before it.
Use commas when the appositive adds
extra information; do not use commas
when the appositive is needed to make
the meaning clear.
• Example: Jean Champion, a French
Scholar, deciphered the Rosetta stone
Commas to Avoid Confusion
• Use a comma whenever the
reader might otherwise be
confused.
• Unclear: Before hieroglyphics
records were not kept on stone or
paper.
• Clear: Before hieroglyphics,
records were not kept on stone or
paper.
LESSON 3
COMMAS: DATES,
ADDRESSES, AND
LETTERS
 Commas in Dates
• In dates, use a comma between
the day and the year. (Use a
comma after the year if the
sentence continues.)
Commas in Addresses
• Use a comma between the city
or town and the state or county.
(Use a comma after the state or
country if the sentence
continues.)
 Commas in Letters
• Use a comma after the greeting
of a casual letter and after the
closing of a casual or business
letter.
LESSON 4
COMMAS: DATES,
ADDRESSES, AND
LETTERS
• To punctuate quotations
you need to know where to
put quotation marks,
commas, and end marks.
 Direct Quotations

• A direct quotation is a report of a

speaker’s exact words.
• Use quotation marks at the
beginning and end of a direct
quotation.
• Example: “Flowers have
meaning,” said Sophie
• Use commas to set off
explanatory words used with
direct quotations (whether they
occur at the beginning, middle,
or at the end of the sentence).
• Example: Sophie said, “Flowers
have meaning.”
• “Flowers,” said Sophie, “have
meaning.”
• “Flowers have meaning,” said
Sophie.
• If a quotation is a question or an
exclamation, place the question
mark or exclamation point
inside the quotation marks.
• “What do flowers mean?” I asked.
• If quoted words are part of a
question or an exclamation,
place the question mark on the
outside of the closing quotation
marks.
• Example: Do flowers tell “secret
messages”?
• Commas and periods always go
inside the closing quotation marks.
They’re too little to stay outside.
 Indirect Quotations
• Do not use quotation marks to
set off an indirect quotation.
• An Indirect quotation is a
restatement, in somewhat different
words, of what someone said. An
indirect quotation is often
introduced by the word that. It
does not require a comma.
• INDIRECT
Shakespeare wrote that a rose
would smell sweet regardless of
its name.
• DIRECT
Shakespeare wrote, “a rose by any
other name would smell as sweet.”
 Divided Quotations
• A divided quotation is a direct
quotation that is separated into
two parts, with explanatory words
such as he said or she said
between the parts
• Use quotation marks to enclose
both parts of a divided
quotation.
• Example: “A rose,” he said,
“means love.”
• Do not capitalize the first word of
the second part of a divided
quotation unless it begins a new
sentence.
• Example: “ A rose,” he said, “
sometimes means treachery”
• Use commas to set off the
explanatory words used with a
divided quotation.
• Example: “ A rose,” he summed
up,” can mean treachery or love.”
 Quotation Marks in
Dialogue
• In dialogue, a new paragraph and
a new set of quotation marks show
a change in speakers.
• A dialogue is a conversation
between two or more speakers.
LESSON 5
SEMICOLONS AND
COLONS
• A semicolon indicates a break
in a sentence. It is stronger
than a comma but not as strong
as a period. A colon indicates
an abrupt break. A colon
indicates that a list follows.
Colons are also used after
greetings in business letters
and in expressions of time.
Semicolons in Compound
Sentences
• Use a semicolon to join parts of
a compound sentence without a
coordinating conjunction.
• Example: Enslaved people sang
songs with secret messages; the
songs told listeners how to
escape.
• Use a semicolon between the
parts of a compound sentence
when the clauses are long and
complicated or when they contain
commas.
• Example: Runaways navigated by
the stars; and they lived off the
land, slept outdoors, and walked
hundreds of miles to freedom.
Semicolons with Items in a
Series
• When there are commas within
parts of a series, use semicolons
to separate the parts.
• Example: The travelers took
clues from songs, such as a song
about the stars; from quilts , which
had a special coded designs; and
from other people along the way.
 Colons
• Use a colon to introduce a list of
items.
• An escapee carried few items: a
knife, a flint, and a warm cloak.
• Avoid using a colon directly after a verb
or a preposition.
•
• Incorrect
The recipients are: Joe, Sam, and Rita.
• Incorrect
Send this message to: Joe, Sam, and
Rita.
• Correct
Send this message to the following
people: Joe, Sam, and Rita.
• Use a colon after the formal
greeting in a business letter.
• Example: Dear Ms. Smith:
Dear Sir:
• Use a colon between numerals
indicating hours and minutes in
expressions of time.
• Example: Meet me at 8:00 p.m.
We’ll send the message at 8:30.
LESSON 6

HYPHENS,
DASHES, AND
PARENTHESES
• Hyphens, dashes, and
parentheses help make your
writing clear or setting off words or
parts of words.
 Hyphens
• Use a hyphen if part of a word
must be carried over from one
line to the next.

• The word must have at least two

syllables to be broken.
Right: num- ber Wrong: co- de
• Separate the word between
syllables.
Right: let-ter Wrong: lette-r

• You must leave at least two letters

on each line.
• Right: twen-ty
• Wrong: a-cross
LESSON 7
APOSTROPHES
• Apostrophes are used in
possessive nouns, contractions,
and some plurals.
Apostrophes in Possessives

• Use an apostrophe to form the

possessive of any noun, whether
singular or plural.

• For a singular noun, add ’s even

if the word ends in s.
• Becky’s bike
• Louis’s alphabet
• For plural nouns that end in s,
add only and apostrophe.
the girls’ code
the peoples’ plan
• For plural nouns that do not
end in s, add ’s
the children’s code
the people’s plan
 Apostrophes in
Contractions
• Use apostrophes in contractions.
• In a contraction, words are joined
and letters are left out. An
apostrophe replaces the letter or
letters that are missing
 Commonly Used
contractions
• I am I’m
• she is she’s
• cannot can’t
LESSON 8
PUNCTUATING TITLES
 Here’s the Idea

• Use quotations marks and italics

correctly in titles to show what
kind of work or selection you are
writing about.
 Quotation Marks

• Use quotation marks to set off

the titles of short works.
• Quotation Marks for Titles
• Book chapter “Dirk the Protector”
from My Life in Dog Years
• Story “The Richer, the Poorer”
• Use italics for titles of longer works
and for the names of ships, trains,
spacecraft, and individual airplanes
(not the type of plane). In handwriting
use underline to indicate words that
should be in italics in printed material.
• Book:A Tale of Two Cities
Magazine: Newsweek