I found this week interesting because punctuation is not my strong suite by any means. I think it also made me a little more paranoid to write because there are so many rules that I was not aware of and probably don't follow. It will take a lot of practice to be sure I am using them correctly. Even more practice before I am able to edit other's writing.
The portion on commas was the most interesting. It is probably the most commonly used punctuation symbol other than the period. I was not aware how many rules and different ways you can use a common. I know that it represents a pause within the sentence but didn't really see its diversity.
The nonrestrictive or nonessential clauses and phrases that require commas will be helpful to me. I often use information that isn't essential to what I am writing about. I do this because I talk a lot in person and it transfers over to my writing. I add information that isn't crucial to make my point. Knowing the rule that those phrases need to be in commas is something that I didn't know before. That is one thing I will definitely remember from this chapter and I know I will use.
The dash was also interesting to me because I had no idea how they were suppose to be used. The example that was given in the book was very helpful to demonstrate how it should be used. Describing what seems like a normal man and then him having a large amount of heroin on him is a very different direction. Dashes should be used to change direction or to create emphasis and they should not be used often. I want to challenge myself to start to use a dash when it is applicable because it is something I haven't used in my writing.
Once you become a bit more familiar with the finer points, proper punctuation doesn't seem quite so nerve-wracking. In my experience, the more familiar you are with the more exacting rules, the easier it becomes to either understand them instinctively. It's also possible to make writing easier on yourself by avoiding the really sticky situations; greater familiarity with the finer nuances of punctuation makes that much easier.
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ReplyDeleteI have to say I used to be and still a little nervous or unsure of myself sometimes when it comes to punctuation. I have found that many times when I thought I was doing something correctly I actually wasn't. Years ago I was leading a project and had 7 people on my team, who were all graduates, and I was projecting as I was writing a paragraph using Word. I had a list of items and instead of placing a comma after the second to last item I only used the word "and". It was quickly pointed out and I tried to have a discussion about it but I was quickly out numbered and I was wrong. There needed to be a comma before the word "and" because the list included the word after "and". Anyways English writing is complicated but we all just learn a little at a time and continue to improve. I could even have made some mistakes writing this little paragraph but we just keep learning.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I used to be and still a little nervous or unsure of myself sometimes when it comes to punctuation. I have found that many times when I thought I was doing something correctly I actually wasn't. Years ago I was leading a project and had 7 people on my team, who were all graduates, and I was projecting as I was writing a paragraph using Word. I had a list of items and instead of placing a comma after the second to last item I only used the word "and". It was quickly pointed out and I tried to have a discussion about it but I was quickly out numbered and I was wrong. There needed to be a comma before the word "and" because the list included the word after "and". Anyways English writing is complicated but we all just learn a little at a time and continue to improve. I could even have made some mistakes writing this little paragraph but we just keep learning.
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