Punctuation

The sentence and the full stop

The full stop is the most important punctuation mark. It shows the end of the sentence. The English language also uses capital letters at the beginning of sentences. For example: The first schools in what is now British Columbia were established by the udson!s Bay Company in about "#$% on &ancou'er Island. The present public school system originated with the (ublic )chool *ct of "#+,. Education is free and compulsory for children ages + to "$. )chools are funded by the pro'incial go'ernment and local property taxes. The pro'ince!s +$ school districts are administered by locally elected boards.

The comma
The comma is the most important punctuation mark after the full stop. Its main use is for separating parts of sentences. Commas function in fi'e main ways: ". Before or after ad'erbial clauses and groups. ,. Before 'arious connecti'es to -oin two independent clauses. %. To separate some non.defining phrases from the rest of the sentence. /. To separate words0 groups and clauses in a series. $. To separate ad-ecti'es that separately modify the same noun. 1. Before or after adverbial clauses and phrases For example: 1ecently0 the number of ser'ice enterprises in wealthier free.market economies has grown rapidly. )ubse2uently0 the aircraft underwent numerous design changes before it was incorporated into the Type / -et aircraft. To 'isit his brother0 he dro'e through the night. *fter dinner0 he walked around the town. *lthough it might seem highly unlikely0 there are considerable similarities between the male and female body. )imilar feelings influenced middle.class shareholders and directors0 too. 3hen the acti'ity of our kidneys is considered0 a bed.time drink does not waken us by filling our bladders during the night. )ome businesses only seek to earn enough to co'er their operating costs0 howe'er. Because stocks are generally negotiable0 stockholders ha'e the right to assign or transfer their shares to another indi'idual.

*fter the war0 the 4nited )tates *rmy occupied 5apan and ordered the dismantling of 6itsubishi and other 5apanese conglomerates. If we work at night and sleep during the daytime0 we ha'e difficulty in ad-usting our habits. The patient!s perception of his en'ironment and his response to it is likely to be grossly reduced0 since he might be unconscious or paralysed0 for example. 2. Before various connectives to join two independent clauses 7and0 but0 or0 so0 nor0 yet8 For example: 3hat we re2uire is a 9ational Emergency :o'ernment0 but no two men I meet can agree how this can be formed. The house badly needed painting0 and the roof needed repairing. ;ord <nollys was not particularly pleased with these proposals0 nor were other members of the Cabinet. * loose stretch would wrinkle too easily with successi'e washes0 or might e'en wrinkle on a damp day. There was no Canadian Consulate in (aris at that time0 so we had to go to the *merican Consulate for ours. It was clearly not an all.party go'ernment0 yet it was something more than a mere Conser'ati'e front. These experiments led to theories about how de'elopment was controlled in terms of cell and tissue properties0 but it was 'ery difficult to link these theories with gene action. 3. To separate certain phrases from the rest of the sentence For example: 6alaria0 once a widespread disease0 is under control. =ay.to.day tele'ision0 in its regularity and its a'ailability0 seems regulated by repetition and modulated by acceptable difference. 6r Clinton0 the (resident0 said that he would gi'e his full support to the proposal. The Conser'ati'es0 who had gained more 'otes than ;abour in the ">,> general election0 were only the second largest party. The chairman0 getting to his feet0 began to describe his plans. The opposition parties0 howe'er0 were unwilling to accept any programme of economies which did not in'ol'e a cut in the standard rate of benefit. * nap after lunch0 on the other hand0 will help you to feel less tired on the e'ening. In the 4nited )tates0 for example0 many people buy and sell goods and ser'ices as their primary occupations. The prestige of the (rime 6inister0 1amsay 6ac=onald0 ga'e it an influence far greater than its mere numbers would ha'e warranted. )ome of the top clubs0 who had ne'er liked the system0 were worried about the growing tendency of the 'ery best professionals to lea'e the country to play in Italy and elsewhere. 4. To separate words, phrases and clauses in a series For example:

6any 4.). firms attempt to tap emerging markets by pursuing business in China0 India0 ;atin *merica0 and 1ussia and other Eastern European countries. ;ife.support machines are no different in principle from medicines0 surgery0 or other treatment. * policeman has to be able to work at night0 at weekends and on holidays. The industrial power generator0 electronics0 and appliance manufacturer 3estinghouse Electric Corporation purchased media production company CB) Inc. 6itsubishi ea'y Industries manufactures a large 'ariety of industrial products and machinery0 including ships0 steel products0 power plants0 transportation systems0 printing presses0 aircraft0 guided missiles0 torpedoes0 and air.conditioning and refrigeration systems. 5. To separate adjectives that separatel modif the same noun. For example: Critics praise the no'el!s unaffected0 unadorned style. It was concei'ed of by all those who participated in it as a temporary0 emergency go'ernment. e walked with long0 slow0 steady0 deliberate strides. !ommon mista"es * comma cannot separate sub-ect from predicate. The following sentences are not possible: ?* man of his great abilities0 would always be successful. ?The number of ser'ice enterprises in wealthier free.market economies0 has grown rapidly. ?@nly occupants of the deep oceans or the darkest recesses of ca'es0 will escape such rhythmic influences. ?Experience indicates that0 these rhythms do not result wholly from our life.style. * comma cannot be used to -oin grammatically separate sentences. The following sentences are not possible: ?;ondon is a 'ery cosmopolitan city0 there are people from many culture li'ing there. ?;earning a new language is like learning to swim0 it takes a lot of practice. ?)tudents in igher Education face many problems0 for example0 they ha'e to cope with a new culture.

The apostrophe
The apostrophe has two main functions in English0 but only one in academic writing. It is used mainly to show possession or relationship. It is also used in informal writing to show contraction or letters left out. Possession or relationship The apostrophe precedes the !s! in singular words and plurals that do not end in !s!. It follows the !s! in plurals that end in !s!. The apostrophe is not used with the possessi'e pronouns !hers!0 !yours!0 !theirs! and !its!. For example:

The pro'ince!s +$ school districts are administered by locally elected boards. 6odern estimates of England!s total population 'ary between " and % million. Two years earlier0 The Economist had described gambling0 as Britain!s second biggest industry. The annual per capita consumption of sugar0 between the Aueen!s accession and "#BC0 rose to $/ lb. in "#+C.>> and #$ lb. in ">CC."C. 9ewly married0 neatly permed and wearing the 'ery latest in expensi'e 3estern wedding garb0 they head for the groom!s sleek sports car under a hail of rice. By then ;eonardo!s expertise with paint brush and palette0 pen and pencil was already well ad'anced. In contrast to the all.inclusi'eness of other countries! socialised medical ser'ices0 /Cm *mericans ha'e no co'erage at all. The intention of this new alliance is to make the fight against the administration!s policy on cryptography a populist issue and to derail potentially threatening legislation. emp!s en'ironmental credentials are indisputable. The third and main reason is the process of extracting fibre from the plant!s stem. The weather!s unpredictability makes this risky . farmers can easily lose their whole crop. !ommon mista"es *n apostrophe cannot be used to make plurals.

#uotation mar"s
In academic writing0 2uotation marks are used to show that you are 2uoting directly from another author!s work. The 2uotation marks should enclose the actual words of the author and all bibliographical information must be gi'en. For example: illocks 7">#B8 similarly re'iews doDens of research findings. e writes0 E The a'ailable research suggests that teaching by written comment on compositions is generally ineffecti'eE 7p. "B+8. For example0 6cCawley stated in ">B#0 E ... a full account of English syntax re2uires a fairly full account of semantics to -ust as great an extent as the con'erse is trueE 7p. "B"8. atch 7">+#0 p. "C/8 wonders whether a more accurate portrayal might be that the learner E learns how to do con'ersation0 how to interact 'erbally and out of this interaction syntactic structures are de'elopedE . 9ote the punctuation before the 2uotation marks: 3hen a reporting 'erb is used to introduce the 2uotation0 a comma is used. e stated0 E The !placebo effect0! ... disappeared when beha'iours were studied in this mannerE 7)mith0 ">#,0 p. ,+B80 but he did not clarify which beha'iours were studied. 3hen the 2uotation is integrated into the structure of your sentence0 no punctuation is used. 1ichterich and Chancerel 7">#C0 p. $8 maintain that E assessment should be an integral part of the learning materialE .

3hen the 2uotation is independent of the structure of the main sentence0 a colon is used. 6iele 7">>%0 p. ,+B8 found the following: E The placebo effect ... disappeared when beha'iors were studied in this mannerE . olmes F )tubbe 7,CC%8 noted the following: umour typically constructs participants as e2uals0 emphasising what they ha'e in common and playing down power differences.

!olon
Colons are used to add extra information after a clause. This can be di'ided into three main categories. $ists * colon can introduce a list. 3e need three kinds of support: economic0 moral and political. The ;abour go'ernment found itself under pressure from three directions: from the left wing0 from the T4C0 and from )ir @swald 6osley and his supporters. %&planations * colon can be used before an explanation. 3e decided not to go on holiday: we had too little money. It was concei'ed of by all those who participated in it as a temporary0 emergency go'ernment0 formed for a single limited purpose: to balance the budget through drastic economies and increases in taxation. It was something 'ery rarely seen in Britain0 or in other democracies: an emergency go'ernment. 'ote =o not use a colon directly after a 'erb or a preposition that introduces the list0 explanation or 2uotation.

(emi)!olon
)emi.Colons ha'e two main uses in academic writing. To separate closel )related sentences * semi.colon can be used to separate two sentences which could be written as independent sentences but are 'ery closely related in meaning. * thorough and detailed biography of *rthur enderson is also badly neededG the recent short studies by F. 6. ;e'enthal and Chris 3rigley add little in so far as the e'ents of ">%" are concerned.

Clearly0 as the concentration of ( rises0 so will the proportion of enDyme molecules to which ( is boundG hence the rate of con'ersion of ) to *0 and thence to (0 will fall. In both cases a full stop would be acceptable. * comma would not. !omplicated $ists * semi.colon can also be used to separate items in lists0 especially if the items are long and complicated and already contain commas. ;abour was the largest party with ,## 6(sG the Conser'ati'es0 who had gained more 'otes than ;abour in the ">,> general election0 were0 ne'ertheless0 only the second largest party with0 by ">%"0 ,B, 6(sG and the ;iberals had fifty.nine 6(s. ;atin literature continued to be copied by Christian aristocratsG classical learning sur'i'ed in the teaching a'ailable0 now in episcopal households rather than public schoolsG 1oman art continued to adorn the walls of churches and the sides of sarcophagi.

!apital letters
Capital letters ha'e two main uses in English: they are used at the beginning of sentences and for proper names. Proper names (ersonal names: 5ohn0 6s )mith0 =r Brown0 6r :ates0 EliDabeth0 Titles: 6r0 6s0 =r0 Colonel0 (rofessor0 (resident0 (rime 6inister0 5udge :eographical names: *rgentinian0 Europe0 China0 6ount E'erest0 ;ake 6ichigan )kye0 Borneo0 ;ondon0 Bangkok0 the 1i'er Thames0 the (acific @cean0 the (anama Canal0 Baker )treet0 Cambridge 1oad0 1affles otel0 )t :eorge!s all CompanyH@rganisation names: )hell0 3oolworths0 6icrosoft0 Boots0 3orld Trade @rganisation0 3orld ealth @rganisation0 Federal Trade Commission0 British Broadcasting Corporation 4ni'ersityH)chool names: @xford 4ni'ersity0 4ni'ersity of ertfordshire0 1oyal College of 6usic 1eligions: Buddhism0 Christianity0 Islam =ays0 months0 festi'als .: 6onday0 5uly0 Christmas0 summer0 6agaDines: 9ewsweek0 &ogue0 The Times0 9ew )cientist ;anguages: English0 indi 9ationalities: English0 French0 )panish0 5apanese0 *merican