Transcript Document

Grammar and Punctuation
This workshop will
- Provide tips for the appropriate use of commas and apostrophes
- Cover clause types for speakers of English; and passive and active
voices
- Provide practice and follow-on activities for you to continue to
improve your use of punctuation and grammar by yourself
Louise Livesey
Academic Skills Adviser
Today’s Plan
1.What a comma does
2.Apostrophes and their functions
3.Clauses
4.Use of passive and active voice
1.What a comma does
Separation: 7 rules
Rule
1 To separate the clauses in a sentence
Example
Society depends on its traditions, and the
authority of the written text is one of those.
2 To separate the introductory element of a
sentence from the main part (or subject) of it
3 To separate an additional and final part of a
sentence from the opening and main part (or
subject) of it
4 To separate out essential/useful information
from the main part (subject) of the sentence
After the death of his wife, Hardy went in to a
deep depression.
The sea is calm tonight, yet it raged fiercely all
day.
5 To separate out nonessential words from the
remainder of the sentence. The word ‘however’ is
used as a signal to suggest a change of direction
or to stress an exception to the rule
Rule
6 To separate commands or interjections from the
remainder of the sentence
7 To separate out a) adjectives, or b) list of items
in a sentence
Charles Handy, in his book The Empty
Raincoat, has argued that federalism is a way
of making sense of large organizations.
There is, however, one mistake that many
students make.
Example
Stop, or I’ll shoot
a) It was a fine, dry and sunny day in my home
town.
b) Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and
gooseberries are all traditional English fruits
1.What a comma does
Insert any commas
On July 20th 1969 having stepped onto the surface of the
Moon’s surface Neil Armstrong uttered the famous words
‘One small step for man one giant leap for mankind.’
Although it had been hoped that the moon landing would
lead to significant advances in space travel some of which
may soon become a reality the scientific progress has
generally been slow. However space research has done
much to unite nations. The establishment of the
International Space Station the Space Shuttle and the
Hubble Telescope illustrates how much easier and more
profitable it is for nations to work as a team rather than in
isolation.
2.Apostrophes and
their functions
• Substitution
• Possession
2.Apostrophes and
their functions
Shortened words using an apostrophe
Don’t
Wasn’t
Can’t
It’s
Do not
Was not
Cannot
It is
Not in academic work except…
• Quotations
• Acronyms and initialisms
2.Apostrophes and
their functions
Its and it’s
Use expansion: does it is make sense?
Their/there/they’re
Space and time: there
Expansion: they’re
Elimination: their
2.Apostrophes and
their functions
Which words need correcting
One of the problems that arises when your paying for
something over the internet is that you never see whose
receiving your details at the other end. We like to think that
their trustworthy but its impossible to know whether that is
the case. As anyone who has been the victim of credit card
fraud will know, it can very difficult to regain you’re faith in
online shopping once your identity has been stolen. Shops
and restaurants may seem safer but just as much fraud
goes on their as it does on the web. These days, customers
need reassurance that they’re transactions are safe and
banks need to raise there game with regard to financial
security. For all it’s advantages, the online world can
2.Apostrophes and
their functions
Possession/substitution
The cat’s collar is red
The cats’ collars are red
For plurals, no second ‘s’ after the apostrophe
2.Apostrophes and
their functions
Choosing the right words
A.The beneficial effect of Vitamin D on
children’s/childrens’s health has been noted in
recent research findings/findings’s.
B.Apparently Ferrari’s/Ferraris latest supercar can
reach speeds/speeds’ of over 200 miles per hour.
C.The development of
teenagers/teenager’s/teenagers’s identities is
heavily influenced by their peers/peer’s/peers’s
behaviour.
2.Apostrophes and
their functions
• Words/terms made up of capital letters:
NATO and WWF
• Generally no full stops in between letters
• Apostrophes do not act as substitutes, full
stops do
• Treat an acronym/initialism like a word
3.Clauses
A clause is just a building block of a sentence with
each one adding to the overall detail of a sentence.
 A clause is a group of words that may or may not have a
complete meaning on their own.
 A sentence may contain more than one clause, but must
have one main clause.
3.Clauses
Main clauses:
a sentence must have one
a sentence may consist only of one clause
Co-ordinated clauses: a sentence may consist of two main clauses that
make sense of their own, linked by a conjunction – this is a compound
sentence.
Other clauses: a sentence may consist of a main clause and one or more
other non-main clauses which would not make sense on their own; they
may follow one another or one may be within another – this is a complex
sentence.
Other information:
• clauses are normally separated by commas
• a main clause does not does not have to begin a sentence
• a clause that is not a main clause does not have to have a verb or
subject
3.Clauses
Rewrite the paragraphs
A.A number of reasons why the ruling party might lose the next election. The state of
the economy is probably the top one. Many people are losing jobs and businesses are
unable to attract investment. A growing loss of faith in the government.
Answer: There are a number of reasons why the ruling party might lose the
next election, with the state of the economy probably being the top one.
Many people are losing jobs and businesses are unable to attract
investment generating a growing loss of faith in the government.
B.TV watchers could not believe how many people the protest attracted. Despite one
of the wettest days of the year. On every street in the city centre, hundreds of
protestors. Carrying slogans and denounced the government’s policies.
Answer: TV watchers could not believe how many people the protest
attracted, despite it being held on one of the wettest days of the year. On
every street in the city centre, hundreds of protestors carried slogans and
denounced the government’s policies.
4.Use of passive and active voice
Active and Passive Voices
 active voice is used when the subject is placed before the verb
 passive voice is used when the subject is moved so the object
is placed first
4.Use of passive and active voice
Quick summary of subject-verb-object
sentence construction:
A sentence must have a subject and a verb connected to it; it may also
have an object.
A SUBJECT ‘does’ the ‘doing’ or action of a verb,
e.g. The DOG bit the cat – DOG is the subject as it is doing the biting.
A VERB is the ‘doing’ part of a sentence,
e.g. The dog BIT the cat – BIT is the verb as it is the action
An OBJECT is the one that is having the ‘doing’ or action ‘done’ to it,
e.g. The dog bit the CAT – CAT is the object as it is the thing that is being
bitten.
All ACTIVE: object before verb and subject
9.Use of passive and active voice
Change to passive voice:
The cat was bitten by the dog.
The dog is still the subject and the cat is still the object but now they are in
a different order.
Useful in academic writing as more formal and easier to write in third
person.
Both active and passive used at university: choose and be consistent
9.Use of passive and active voice
Active or passive?
A) Keir Hardie was elected as the first Labour
MP by the voters of Merthyr Tydfil in 1900.
B) The voters of Merthyr Tydfil elected Keir
Hardie as the first Labour Party MP in 1900.
9.Use of passive and active voice
Active or passive?
A. The proposed structure had novel features which were
of considerable biological interest.
B. The solution was heated to 90°C for approximately 30
minutes and then allowed to cool.
C. The first edition of Freud's earliest writings on dreams
was published in 1899.
D. Physicists have examined the possibility of cold fusion
for many years.
E. Specialists refer patients after six months.
F. Drosophila melanogaster has been one of the most
extensively studied species in genetics research.
References
Clip art: alarm/basketball/colon/microphone/question/tired
Australian Catholic University. (2010) Reporting verbs. North Sydney: Australian Catholic University [online] Available at:
http://students.acu.edu.au/office_of_student_success/academic_skills_unit_asu/academic_referencing/reporting_verbs [Accessed 16.7.2014 ]
Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook, 3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Eastern Institute of Technology. (2014) Reporting verbs. Napier: Eastern Institute of Technology. [online] Available at: http://www2.eit.ac.nz/library/ls_guides_reportingverbs.html [Accessed 16.7.2014]
Elma, J. (2007) Apostrophes don’t swing both ways. I Love Typhography. [online] Available at: http://ilovetypography.com/2007/10/31/the-apostrophe-contrary-to-popular-belief-it-doesnt-swing-both-ways/ [Accessed 7.7.2014]
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• What do we do? Support undergraduate students with
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students to drop-in for Instant Advice.
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