teaching keys - style sentences and mechanics (2)

7/29/2019 Teaching Keys - Style Sentences and Mechanics (2)

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PowerPoints for WritersStyle, Sentences, and

Mechanics


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Copyright Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4 | 2

The Five Cs of Style

1. Cut repetition, wordiness, and references to yourintentions.

2. Check for action by scrutinizing passiveconstructions and there are orit is sentences.

3. Connect ideas within and between yourparagraphs.

4. Commit to a personal presence, an appropriatetone, and a confident stance.

5. Choose words that are exact, are inclusive, andconvey the right tone.


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Sentence Variety

1. Vary sentence types and clauseconnections.

2. Vary the length of your sentences.

3. Use coordination to connect clauses ofequal importance.

4. Balance coordination with subordination.Subordinate less important ideas.

5. Vary the beginnings of your sentences.

6. Experiment with word order.


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Avoid Formulaic Phrases

Formulaic

at the present time

due to the fact that

are of the opinion thathave the ability to

in spite of the fact that

last but not least

prior to

Concise

now

because

believecan

although

finally

before


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Avoid Exclusionary Language

Avoid using divisive terms or mentioning traitsunnecessarily.

Gender

Race Place

Age

Politics

Religion Health and abilities

Sexual orientation

The word normal


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Tips for Style

1. Be adaptable. Consider the style your

readers will expect.

2. When in doubt, favor a plain style.

3. Less is often better. Don't overload your

writing with adjectives and adverbs.

4. Focus on rhythm, not rules. Ask yourself

how you can provide pleasant surprises foryour readers.


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Top Ten Sentence Problems

1. Fragment

2. Run-on sentence

3. Sentence snarl

4. Wrong verb form or tense5. Tense shift

6. Lack of subject-verb agreement

7. Pronoun error

8. Pronoun case and reference9. Adjective/adverb confusion

10.Double negative



Parts of Speech: Part 1

Nouns Name people, places, things, concepts.

Pronouns Represent a noun or noun phrase.

Verbs Tell what a person, place, thing, or concept does

or is.

Adjectives Describe, point to, or tell quantity of nouns or

pronouns.



Parts of Speech: Part 2

Adverbs

Modify verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or clauses.

Conjunctions

Join words, phrases, or clauses.

Prepositions

Make an adjectival or adverbial phrase.

Interjections Express emotion.



Use the Passive Voice . . .

Sparingly.

When the doer or agent in your sentence is

unknown or unimportant.

In scientific writing to indicate objective

procedures.

To connect the subject of a sentence to what

has gone before.



Types of Pronouns

Personal (I, me, you, him)

Possessive + noun (my, your, her)

Possessive, no noun (mine, yours)

Demonstrative (this, that, these)Indefinite (any, anybody)

Reflexive/intensive (myself, yourself)

Interrogative (who, what)Relative (who, which, that)



Relative Pronouns

Human antecedentSubject: who

Object: whom, that

Possessive: whose

Nonhuman antecedentSubject: that, which

Object: that, whichPossessive: of which, whose



When to Use a Comma

1. Before a coordinating conjunction (for, and,nor, but, or, yet, so) that connectsindependent clauses

2. After most introductory words, phrases, orclauses

3. To set off extra (nonrestrictive) information

4. To set off a transitional expression

5. To separate three or more items in a series

6. Between adjectives that can be reversed

7. After a verb that introduces a quotation



Semicolon: Yes and No

Use a semicolon... Between independent clauses

Between clauses or items in a series containinginternal commas

Do not use a semicolon... Interchangeably with a colon

After an introductory phrase or dependent clause

When you can use a period instead



When to Use an Apostrophe

Use -s for the possessive form of all nouns

except plurals that end with -s.

Use alone for the possessive form of plural

nouns that end in -s.

Use an apostrophe in contracted forms.

Use its only for it is or it has.



Quotation Marks: Guidelines

1. Quote the writers exact words.

2. Pair opening and closing quotation marks to indicatewhere the quotation ends and your ideas begin.

3. Use correct punctuation to introduce and end a

quotation.4. Enclose titles of articles, short stories, songs, and

poems in quotation marks.

5. Enclose any added or changed material in squarebrackets. Show omitted material with ellipsis dots.



Titles: Quotation Marks

or Italics/Underlining

Use quotation marks with the title of an article,

short story, poem, song, or chapter.

Use italics or underlining with the title of a

book, journal, magazine, newspaper, film,

play, or a long poem published alone.



When to Use a Colon

1. After an independent clause to introduce a list

2. After an independent clause to introduce an

explanation, expansion, or elaboration

3. To introduce a rule or principle, which may beginwith a capital letter

4. To introduce a quotation not integrated into your

sentence and not introduced by a verb

5. In salutations, precise time notations, titles, andbiblical citations



When to Use a Hyphen

With some prefixes

In some compound words

In spelled-out numbers

At the end of a line


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Online Punctuation and Mechanics

1. Include all punctuation in URLs and e-mail

addresses.

2. Be sure capitalization is exact.

3. Avoid splitting URLs and addresses.4. In writing for the Web, underlining indicates a

hyperlink. To indicate titles, use italics instead.

5. In formal contexts, avoid abbreviations such as BTW

(by the way).6. Avoid shouting. Use capitals with restraint.

teaching keys - style sentences and mechanics (2)

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