Monday, October 19, 2015

Punctuation, Part 2

In this blog post, I will discuss three more punctuation topics or chapters, and then relate it back to my rhetorical analysis. I will revise my analysis, keeping these topics in mind, and relay what I have learned from revising back into this blog post.

Unnecessary Commas (pg. 308)

  • do not use between compound elements that are not independent clauses
  • do not use to separate a verb and it's subject
  • do not use before the last item in a list
  • do not use between two adjectives
    • ex. old maroon sweater
  • do not use after an inverted phrase
    • ex. At the university a girl did her homework.
  • do not use after a coordinating conjunction
    • and, but, nor, or, for, so, yet
The Semicolon (pg. 314)
  • use when ideas or clauses are closely related and if there is no conjunction
  • use between an independent clause and a transitional expression
  • transitional expressions
    • transitional phrases: for example, even so, on the contrary, etc.
    • conjunctive adverbs: besides, certainly, nonetheless, therefore, etc.
  • use between items in a list that contain internal punctuation
    • Classic novels include The Great Gatsby, with Daisy and Gatsby; and To Kill A Mockingbird, with Atticus and Jean-Louise. 
  • do not use when introducing a list

End Punctuation (pg. 333)
  • use period if sentence is not actually exclamatory
  • questions in a series can be done with question marks
  • do not overuse the exclamation mark
  • use periods when illustrating abbreviations

After Revision:

Unnecessary Commas: After revising my current draft, I realized I enjoy the use of commas a little too much. While this isn't completely wrong or incorrect, I use at least one comma in the majority of my sentences. In some sentences I use three. (Whoops!) Now that I have reviewed the situations where using a comma is inappropriate and/or grammatically incorrect, I notice that I struggle with some of these things I listed. I tend put too many things in between commas, making the sentence seem choppy and almost like a parenthetical. This following sentence is an excellent example of such a mistake: "Nicholas Kristof writes, "Pay Teachers More," and actively persuades, encourages, and pushes the audience to become more sympathetic towards American teachers and their low salaries, by employing rhetorical strategies," (Bello 1). I did not need the comma after the word "encourages," because it is the second to last item in a list. Also, I did not need the comma after "salaries," but I felt like I needed it there. As a writer, I have grown accustomed to using commas but commas should be used strictly and carefully.

Semicolon: Another punctuation element I really enjoy using is the semicolon. However, do I use it correctly? Not always. After reading and reviewing the correct usages of a semicolon, I discovered that in my general style of writing, I tend to use semicolons to place emphasis on a certain point. I have yet to include one in my current draft of the rhetorical analysis, but now that I have read through the proper uses of a semicolon, I might give it a try.

Dave King. "Question Mark." 01/05/2013 via Flickr.
Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike 2.0 Generic License.
End Punctuation: I feel the most confident in this topic out all three of them. I have a pretty good idea of when to use question marks, periods and exclamation points. Some are to be used sparingly and others are to be used the most frequently. Looking through my draft, I realized I mainly stick to using periods, in exception to the one question I posed to my audience. I wrote, "Why would the author include these things, personal experiences and pronouns?" (Bello 2). I included this for a specific purpose, which was to relate to my audience and explicitly present a question or topic that I was going to address. Also, because I only used this punctuation mark once, I think it adds to my paper and does not distract or draw away from the text.

--Jenny Bello



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