Transcript Slide 1

Mastering the Mechanics
of Writing
Rachel Grammer
Writing Consultant
Walden University Writing Center
A few notes before we begin…
• Time
• Questions/Answers
• Closed Captioning
Session Overview
1. Parts of a Sentence
2. Commas
3. Semicolons
4. Colons
5. Periods and citations
6. Dashes
7. Hyphens
8. Word Choice
9. Clauses
10. Modifiers
Parts of a Sentence
 For a sentence to be complete, it must have a subject
(what or whom the sentence is about) and a verb (an
action, or what the subject does).
Marshall (2010) wrote.
Marshall = The subject
wrote = The verb
 Most sentences also have a direct object (what receives
the action).
Marshall (2010) wrote an article.
an article = direct object
Parts of a Sentence
 In academic writing, you’ll also often have a
modifier (a clause or phrase that modifies a noun
or a verb).
Because of a gap in the literature, Marshall (2010)
wrote an article.
 You might also add an appositive (a phrase that
defines or renames a noun).
Marshall (2010), the famed social scientist, wrote
an article.
Parts of a Sentence
 Finally, sentences often have prepositional
phrases (phrases that can further define nouns
or further explain the verb).
Marshall (2010) wrote an article about culture.
Marshall (2010) wrote from an honest perspective.
Parts of a Sentence:
Subject-Verb Agreement
The percentage of students who called in sick and the number of
students the instructor marked truant is proportional to the
students’ degree of seniority.
INCORRECT: The percentage of students who called in sick AND the
number of students the instructor marked truant IS proportional to
the students’ degree of seniority.
CORRECT: The percentage of students who called in sick AND the
number of students the instructor marked truant ARE proportional to
the students’ degree of seniority.
Parts of a Sentence:
Subject-Verb Agreement
The easiest way to account for subject-verb agreement is to break
down your sentence into subjects and verb. Take just the subjects,
and you have the following:
The percentage of students who called in sick and the number
of students the instructor marked truant ARE proportional to
the students’ degree of seniority.
Subject One: The percentage of students
Subject Two: The number of students
Verb: Are
Parts of a Sentence:
Pronoun-Noun Agreement
Noun: Person, place, thing, idea, event
Pronoun: Word that replaces a noun
Nouns and pronouns should always agree in number and in gender.
Singular A client should always be knowledgeable
INCORRECT:
about their medication prescription.
Plural
Singularalways be knowledgeable about
CORRECT: A client should
his or her medication
prescription.
Singular
Parts of a Sentence:
Tense Consistency
Incorrect: When Smith tried to contact the interviewees for
a follow up, some of them moved.
(This sentence wrongly implies that Smith’s contact attempt
caused the moving.”)
Correct: When Smith tried to contact the interviewees for a
follow up, some of them had moved.
(This sentence makes it clear that the moves had already
happened prior to the contact attempt.)
Parts of a Sentence:
Tense Consistency
When you are writing, try to keep your verb tense consistent
throughout each paragraph. Remember, consistency is key!
Example of inconsistent verb tense: Rheinberg’s (2009) study
showed that the monkeys were suffering from malnutrition. The
monkeys stop climbing the tree, and they eat nothing. They
were lethargic and thin, and they wanted only to sleep.
Revision: Rheinberg’s (2009) study showed that the monkeys
were suffering from malnutrition. The monkeys stopped
climbing the tree, and they ate nothing. They were lethargic
and thin, and they wanted only to sleep.
Dependent Clauses
Dependent (subordinate) clauses: A group
of words that contains a subject and verb
but does not express a complete thought
(not a complete sentence; will help you
beef up your sentences though).
Common dependent clause markers: after, although, as, as
if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to,
since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever,
whether, and while.
Independent Clauses
Independent clause: A group of words that
contains a subject and verb and expresses
a complete thought (can stand alone as a
complete sentence; will help you write
interesting, compound sentences).
Common independent clause markers: also, consequently,
furthermore, however, moreover, nevertheless, and
therefore.
Commas
 According to APA (2010), use a comma “between
elements (including before and and or) in a series of
three or more items” (p. 88).
In the forest, there are lions, tigers, and bears.
You can make the pie with apples, pears, or bananas.
At practice today, the players will work on catching the ball,
shooting with accuracy, and defending set plays.
Commas
Also use commas (pp. 88-89) to do the following:
 Set off nonessential information
Jamie has a date with John, who is the nicest guy she has
ever met, and she wants to make him dinner.
 Separate two independent clauses joined by a conjunction
(FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
Jamie went to the grocery store, and she bought dinner.
 Set off nonessential clauses at the end of a sentence
Jamie went to the grocery store, which was three blocks
away.
Semicolons
Use semicolons (pp. 89-90) for the following:
 To separate two independent clauses
Jamie went to the grocery store; she bought dinner.
 To separate two independent clauses with a sentence
modifier
Jamie went to the store; however, she forgot to buy candles.
 To separate elements in a series that already contain
commas
Jamie went to the store to buy lettuce, tomatoes, and croutons
for a salad; pasta, chicken, and sauce for an entrée; and ice
cream and brownies for dessert.
Colons
Use colons (p. 90) to do the following:
 Introduce a list at the end of an independent clause
Jamie had everything she needed to make the perfect
dinner: a salad, an entrée, and a dessert.
 Introduce an illustrative or amplifying phrase or
clause at the end of an independent clause
Jamie knew there were just two things she needed to
complete her meal: candlelight and romantic music.
Periods
 Periods are used at the end of complete sentences
(independent clauses). Periods are also used in citations.
In the case of a citation, the period should be placed as
follows:
After the parentheses in an in-text citation.
“Grammar may be difficult to master, but it is fun to learn”
(Grammer, 2012, p. 14).
Before the parentheses in a block quote.
“Long block quote of 40 words or more....” (Grammer, 2012)
Dashes
Use a dash (pp. 90-91) for the following:
 To indicate a sudden interruption in the continuity of
a sentence.
These two things—candlelight and romantic music—
would set the mood for her third date with John.
That’s it! Don’t use dashes for anything else!
Also, be sure to use long dashes—not hyphens.
Hyphens
Hyphens are used to link together words that work
together to describe something if those words come
before the object described.
The good-looking man walked away.
Here, good and looking work together to describe the
man, and they both occur in the sentence before the
word man.
That man is good looking.
Notice here there is no hyphen.
Hyphens
In APA format, most words with prefixes such as non,
semi, pre, post, anti, multi, co, and inter are not
hyphenated:
 pretest, posttest, antibiotic, antisocial, nonprofit,
semipro, multiphased, subsample.
However, there are a few words that are still
hyphenated:
 self-esteem, self-concept.
Hyphen Examples
•
•
•
•
•
Coworker
Pretest
Posttest
Nontraditional
Multinational
• pre-Kindergarten
Possessive Nouns
To make a proper noun that ends in s
possessive, add ’s:
Rogers’s love of APA, Jones’s hatred of APA
The ladies’ restroom is located on the first floor.
Do not use an apostrophe to make a year
or abbreviation plural:
In the 1960s; ESLs
Word Choice
That
Restrictive clauses.
Essential to the meaning
That defines one in a
bunch.
The dip that Sally brought
was the best.
That
That for things.
The book that we found
was valuable.
Which
Nonrestrictive clauses.
Add more information
Set off with commas
Further describes a lone object.
The dip, which Sally bought, was
the best.
Who
Who for people.
The student who found the
book got a reward.
Word Choice
While
While links events occurring
simultaneously
Heidi took a nap while Jamie
talked about grammar.
Although
Use although, whereas, and,
or but in place of while.
Although the argument
seemed solid, there were holes
in his reasoning.
Because
Since is used to indicate
time. Because should be
used in all other instances.
You left because I wasn’t
breathing.
Since
Since=time. Meaning: after
that.
Since you’ve been gone I can
breathe for the first time.
Word Choice
Farther
Use farther for physical distances.
I ran farther than he.
Everyday
A routine occurrence,
common, usual
That’s an everyday shoe
she’s wearing.
Other than the monkeys
escaping their cages, it
was a normal everyday
scene at the zoo.
Further
Use further for figurative
distances.
She couldn’t have been
further from the truth.
Every day
Each day
She gets coffee every day.
He missed her every day
she was gone.
Word Choice
May
May=permission
May I go to the
bathroom?
Can
Can=ability
Can I go to the
bathroom?
Might
Might=possibility
I might go to the bathroom
before we go.
Word Choice
Lay
To lay= to put
I will lay the book on the
table.
Less
For things you can’t
count.
I had less confidence
after I fell on my face.
Lie
To lie= to rest or be at rest.
I’m going to go lie down.
Exception= lie in the past tense:
I lay down yesterday for a nap.
Fewer
For things you can
count.
He went to the 10
items or fewer lane at
the grocery store.
Word Choice
Affect
Affect=Action
The study was about how the earthquake in
Japan affected the entire world.
Effect
Effect=Event (hint: it will usually be used with the or a.)
I wonder what the effects of the earthquake in Japan
will be.
Clauses
Misplaced clauses: When a subordinate clause is
embedded in the middle of a sentence
This is awkward: Use of the Writing Center at Walden, because
of recent marketing strategies, is increasing rapidly.
Instead, place the subordinate clause at the beginning or
end of the sentence:
Use of the Writing Center at Walden is increasing rapidly
because of recent marketing strategies.
Because of recent marketing strategies, use of the Writing
Center at Walden is increasing rapidly.
Misplaced Modifiers
The client was sent to the clinic with many
medical conditions.
Which one had many medical conditions? The client or the clinic?
Right now it sounds as thought the clinic has medical conditions.
However, the writer meant for the description to be attached to the
client. How can we change it? Make sure to put the modifier directly
next to the word it is describing.
The client with many medical conditions was sent
to the clinic .
Modifiers
Dangling Modifiers
Reviewing the literature, a correlation emerged
between obesity and the number of hours spent
sitting.
Who or what is reviewing the literature? That person or thing should be the
word that comes directly after the comma.
Reviewing the literature, the researchers discovered
a correlation emerged between obesity and the
number of hours spent sitting.
Modifiers
Putting the hat on her head, her cat began to meow.
Putting her hat on her head, the woman heard her cat
begin to meow.
As the woman put her hat on her head, her cat began to
meow.
Other Academic Writing Nuances:
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism:
The study suggested that the sky was blue.
Corrected version:
In his study, Timmerman (2002) suggested
that the sky was blue.
Other Academic Writing Nuances:
Active and Passive Voice
Passive
The participant was interviewed and the survey results were
compiled.
Active
I interviewed the participant and compiled the survey results.
Passive
A trend was shown that proved ice cream makes one’s
intelligence increase.
Active
The research showed a trend that proved ice
cream makes one’s intelligence increase.
Other Academic Writing Nuances:
Parallelism
Using parallelism is the same as being consistent in your writing style,
especially in lists. When you have ideas that are of equal value, you
need to present them in a way that shows they are equal or parallel.
INCORRECT: To obtain Magnet status, hospitals must
maintain high standards of service, implement evidencebased practice, and allowing staff input.
REVISED: To obtain Magnet status, hospitals must
maintain high standards of service, implement evidencebased practice, and allow staff input.
Website Resources
This information can be found on our
Grammar page on our website
Check out our many other resources as well!
Grammarly
Let me introduce you to my good pal,
Grammarly
Grammarly
• An automated grammar and revision tool
• Appropriate for a draft in need of grammar
review, submitted before the use of oneon-one Walden tutoring
• Accessible through the Writing Center
website
Grammarly
 Does not “fix” paper but instructional and
shows patterns.
 Requires critical thinking by the student;
much like MS Word grammar check, not
all suggestions will be appropriate.
 Supplements rather than replaces the live
tutors, who can focus on other issues.
Wow, that was a lot of information!
Questions?