MECHANICS

MECHANICS
OF
OF
WRITING
WRITING
WRITING WRITING
MECHANICS MECHANICS
1. Apostrophe

Apostrophe in contractions

Two words are combined

have + not = haven t (the o in not has been
omitted)
I + am = Im it + is = its
I + have = Ive it + has = its
I + had = Id
who + is = whos

Apostrophe to show ownership or

possession

To show possession, we can use words

such as belons to, or possessed b!.
the umbrella that belons to "ar#
the tape recorder owned b! the school
the entleness o$ m! $ather

%ut the apostrophe and s is o$ten the easiest

wa! to do this.
"ar#s umbrella
the childrens to!s
the schools tape recorder
m! $athers entleness

Apostrophe with &lural 'ndin in s

&lurals that end in s show possession

simpl! b! addin the apostrophe, rather
than an apostrophe and s (s)
the Thompsons porch
her parents home
the soldiers hat
(. )uotation "ar#s

)uotation mar#s to show the e*act words

o$ a spea#er or writer
%en +ran#lin once wrote, ,To lengthen thy
life, lessen thy meals.-
,.id !ou #now,- said the nutrition e*pert,
,that its healthier to be ten pounds
overweiht/-

Indirect )uotations
an indirect 0uotation is a rewordin o$
someone elses comments rather than a
word1$or1word direct 0uotation. The word
that o$ten sinals an indirect 0uotation.
Direct Quotation
The nurse said, ,2ome babies cannot tolerate
cows mil#.-
Indirect Quotation
The nurse said that some babies cannot tolerate
cows mil#.

)uotation mar#s to show titles o$ short wor#s

( articles in boo#s, newspapers or maa3ines4 chapters in a
boo#4 short stories4 poems4 and sons)

%ut !ou should underline (i$ writin lonhand) or italici3ed (i$

writin on a computer) titles o$ boo#s, newspapers, maa3ines,
pla!s, movies, 5.s., and television shows.
The essay My Soul mate in the book In a Relationship
the article The Problem of Acid Rain in the nespaper The
Star
the article !i"ing ith Inflation in the maga#ine $eseek
the chapter %hinese Religion in the book Paths of Religion
6.5omma

To separate items in a series

The street vendor sold watches, nec#laces, and
earrins.
The e*ercise instructor told us to inhale, e*hale, and
rela*.

To introduce an idea
7ust in time, 2herr! applied the bra#es and avoided car
accident.
"utterin under his breath, 8assan reviewed the terms
he had memori3ed.

Use a comma on both sides of ords or

!hrases that interru!t the f"o of thou#ht in a
sentence$
The vin!l car seat, stic#! $rom the heat, clun to m!
s#in.
"art! computer, which his wi$e ot him as a
birthda! i$t, occupies all his spare time.

Use a comma to set off a direct %uotation

from the rest of the sentence$
The carnival bar#er cried, ,2tep riht up and win
a pri3e.-
,9ow is the time to !ield to temptation,- m!
horoscope read.
,+or m! $irst writin assinment,- said 2cott, ,I
have to turn in a $ive1hundred1word description
o$ a stone.-
:. 5olon ;

To introduce a list
The store will close at noon on the $ollowin dates;
9ovember (<, .ecember (:, and .ecember 61.

To introduce a 0uotation
In his boo# =i$e =ines, +orrest 5hurch maintains that
people should cr! more; ,=i$e is di$$icult. 2ome people
pretend that it is not, that we should be able to bree3e
throuh.-

To introduce an e*planation
8eres a temporar! solution to a drippin $aucet; Tie a
strin to it, and let the drops slide down the strin to the
sin#.
>. 2emicolon 4

To mar# a brea# between two thouhts

"a!as children are named "elantha, which means ,blac#
$lower4 ?onina which means ,dove-4 and 5!nthia which
means ,moon oddess-

To mar# o$$ items in a series when the items

themselves contain commas
"! parents $avorite albums are Rubber Soul, b! the
%eatles4 Songs in the &ey of !ife, b! 2tevie @onder4 and
'ridge o"er Troubled (ater, b! 2imon and Aar$un#el
<..ash B

Cse a dash to set o$$ words $or dramatic e$$ect;

I was so e*hausted that I $ell asleep within secondsD
standin up
The pardon $rom the overnor $inall! arrivedD too late
E. &arentheses ()

To set o$$ e*tra or incidental in$ormation $rom the

rest o$ a sentence
In 1F16, the ta* on an annual income o$ $our thousand
dollars (a com$ortable wae at that time) was one penn!.
Arthur 5. 5lar#e, author o$ science $iction boo#s
(includin; A Space )dyssey), was inspired as a !oun
man b! the maa3ine Astounding Stories.
G. 8!phen 1

Use a h&!hen ith to or more ords that act as a

sin#"e unit describin# a noun
The liht1$ooted burlar silentl! slipped open the slidin
lass door.
@ith a needle, Hich punctured the $luid1$illed blister on his
toe.

To di'ide a ord at the end of a "ine of ritin# or t&!in#$

When &ou need to di'ide a ord( di'ide it beteen
s&""ab"es
2elenas $irst !ear at collee was a time $illed with numer1
ous new pressure and responsibilities