Grammar and Punctuation Louise Livesey Academic Skills Adviser This workshop will -Provide tips for...
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Grammar and Punctuation Louise Livesey Academic Skills Adviser 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
Grammar and Punctuation Louise Livesey Academic Skills Adviser This workshop will -Provide tips for the appropriate use of commas and apostrophes -Cover
Grammar and Punctuation Louise Livesey Academic Skills Adviser
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
Slide 3
1.What a comma does 2.Apostrophes and their functions 3.Clauses
4.Use of passive and active voice Todays Plan
Slide 4
Separation: 7 rules 1.What a comma does RuleExample 1 To
separate the clauses in a sentence 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 After the death of his wife, Hardy went in
to a deep depression. 3 To separate an additional and final part of
a sentence from the opening and main part (or subject) of it The
sea is calm tonight, yet it raged fiercely all day. 4 To separate
out essential/useful information from the main part (subject) of
the sentence Charles Handy, in his book The Empty Raincoat, has
argued that federalism is a way of making sense of large
organizations. 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
There is, however, one mistake that many students make. RuleExample
6 To separate commands or interjections from the remainder of the
sentence Stop, or Ill shoot 7 To separate out a) adjectives, or b)
list of items in a sentence a) It was a fine, dry and sunny day in
my home town. b) Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and
gooseberries are all traditional English fruits
Slide 5
Insert any commas 1.What a comma does On July 20th 1969 having
stepped onto the surface of the Moons 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.
Slide 6
2.Apostrophes and their functions Substitution Possession
Slide 7
Shortened words using an apostrophe DontDo not WasntWas not
CantCannot Its It is Not in academic work except Quotations
Acronyms and initialisms 2.Apostrophes and their functions
Slide 8
Its and its Use expansion: does it is make sense?
Their/there/theyre Space and time: there Expansion: theyre
Elimination: their 2.Apostrophes and their functions
Slide 9
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 youre 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 theyre
transactions are safe and banks need to raise there game with
regard to financial security. For all its advantages, the online
world can certainly have its downside. 2.Apostrophes and their
functions
Slide 10
Possession/substitution The cats collar is red The cats collars
are red For plurals, no second s after the apostrophe 2.Apostrophes
and their functions
Slide 11
Choosing the right words A.The beneficial effect of Vitamin D
on childrens/childrenss health has been noted in recent research
findings/findingss. B.Apparently Ferraris/Ferraris latest supercar
can reach speeds/speeds of over 200 miles per hour. C.The
development of teenagers/teenagers/teenagerss identities is heavily
influenced by their peers/peers/peerss behaviour. 2.Apostrophes and
their functions
Slide 12
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
2.Apostrophes and their functions
Slide 13
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.
Slide 14
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
Slide 15
3.Clauses 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 governments 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 governments policies. Rewrite the paragraphs
Slide 16
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
Slide 17
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 4.Use of passive and active
voice
Slide 18
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
Slide 19
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
Slide 20
Active or passive? A. The proposed structure had novel features
which were of considerable biological interest. B. The solution was
heated to 90C 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. 9.Use of passive
and active voice
Slide 21
Clip art: alarm/basketball/colon/microphone/question/tired
Australian Catholic University. (2010) Reporting verbs. North
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16.7.2014 ] References
Slide 22
Academic Skills Advice Service Where are we? Chesham Building
B0.23 What do we do? Support undergraduate students with their
academic skills by running clinics and workshops, having bookable
appointment slots, and enabling students to drop-in for Instant
Advice. Who are we? Michael and Helen specialise in Maths Support;
Lucy and Russell advise students on study skills; and I (Louise)
deliver the workshops When can you come for help? Everyday both
face to face and on-line How do I get in touch? Email: academic-
[email protected] or website www.brad.ac.uk/academic-
skillsacademic- [email protected]