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Punctuation in English
Parkes (1992), in his invaluable study of the history of punctuation, states:
"Punctuation was developed by stages which coincided with changing patterns of literacy, whereby new generations of readers in different historical situations imposed new demands on the written medium itself' (p. 2).
Punctuation is not a static model and even if we confine the discussion to early modern and modern English, it has changed quite considerably across time (Numberg, 1999). The uses of punctuation are conventional; they change over time and vary from language to language. There have been to be conventions or rules, for without these, punctuation would be wholly idiosyncratic and the possibilities of using it to facilitate effective communication would be either lost of severely hindered (Beard & et al., 2009). Some rules of punctuation are mandatory: if we violate them, we have made mistakes in punctuation. Others are optional: our choice is basing on the effect and emphasis we desire to deliver. To that extent, Greenbaum and Nelson (2002: 183) say “punctuation is an art.”
There was a considerable debate between two schools: one believed punctuation should be based on elocution (how a sentence is spoken when it is read out aloud) and the other believed punctuation should be based on the grammar (Petit: 2003; Curtis, 2007; Hall and Robinson, 1996; Parkes, 1992). The latter (the syntactic-based approach) is the one we use today, which means the debate was won by grammar school. Recently, Dawkins (2003 and 1995) has come out with a new believe: teaching punctuation should be based on the meaning (the semantic- based approach). Dawkins (2003) assumes that writers have an intuitive sense of the independent claus...
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..., p. 349). Moreover, Chiang (1999) claims that in EFL writing, the sentence(s) may appear to be appropriate order, but in incongruent places due to inappropriate use or non use of punctuation.
Using the premise that students often have weak language skills, Warner (1979) surveyed 431 postsecondary students using four tools: student’s scores on an objective test, an in-class writing sample, an editing exercise, and a questionnaire about background in English and attitude toward grammar and writing. She found that the largest number of errors in the writing occurred in punctuation. She came out with:
The high error rate in punctuation resulted from 1) the students not knowing the rules of punctuation, 2) knowing the rules but not being able to apply them to their own writing, or 3) constructing such poor sentences that correct punctuation was impossible (p.18).
Children were taught to speak in a proper manner and because they were taught to speak correctly they wrote in a proper way as well. As technology evolved and texting came more profound grammar was becoming a lost art. In Dana Goldstein’s article ,‘Why Kids Can’t Write’, she talks about what teachers are doing about grammar. The teachers are not doing much about the grammar issue in schools.
The ELL made a few common syntax errors; such as, dysfunctional phrases based on position of the word while combining the sentence with a question.
Michaela Cullington, a student, wrote a paper “Does Texting Affect Writing?” in 2010 for an English class. The paper is an examination of texting and the belief that it negative effective student’s writing. Cullington goes into detail about textspeak- “language created by these abbreviations”- and their use in formal writings. She organizes the paper in a way that is confusing to understand at first (pg. 1). At the end of the paper, she discusses her finding in her own research which comes to show that texting does not affect writing. But this is contradicting to the information she received from the teachers. The students and the teachers were seeing differences in the use of textspeak in formal writing. Cullington has good support for her
Many times, when an author writes a story, he will use different techniques to influence the way that the reader absorbs the work. Writers use both paratactic style and syntactic style. These two styles contrast each other greatly, but on the same term, they greatly compliment one another. In the book The Things They Carried, O'Brien uses both of these styles. In this essay, syntactic and paratactic style will be examined in the story "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong". Examples in the story will be examined and described according to the two styles of writing. The syntactic style will be focused on more intensely however, because of the way that it effects the sections of the story that will be discussed. It will also show that the historical context of the story effects the styles of writing.
Williams claims that errors of grammar and usage are the most complex topics, which have been easily misunderstood by many people in our world today. Whether the grammar has to do specifically with literature or not, it has always obtained errors. William notably supports his claim by giving specific examples of professionals who have stated grammatical errors according to what they think is “right.” William also provided some personal experience and textual evidence to express credibility and accuracy of his argument. William’s argument is effective because the main points he focused on with evidence were powerful and stood out to the audience. The real life examples that William demonstrated to the audience gave a strong base to his argument because he showed how grammar errors actually exist in our society. He made it evident that the audience had their eyes opened to topic that had been ignored in the past. William achieved his argument by providing real life situations and by looking at various researches that analyzed the existence of errors in grammar. However, the ways that William could have made his argument more effective is by not having comments that seemed too self- indulgencing. Also he could have taken out evidence like the graphs that didn’t make
According to the Susan Adams and Kyle Wiens article writes for Forbes and Harvard Business Review. Grammar helps people look very intelligent towards life, (Adams). It shows you how to organize your resume for a job, (Adams). The poor grammar shows sloppiness toward an essay or interview for jobs, (Adams). The writer’s integrity determines your reputation, (Adams). Always be serious about your subject matter, (Adams). One rule is to listen and pay attention to others, (Adams). They need to have respect for your readers because it shows that you are thinking about the topic and making an effort, (Adams). Grammar errors make people look unintelligent, (Wiens). People judge a person based on their grammar, (Wiens). Good grammar is credibility because of blog posts, Facebook status, and e-mails, (Wiens). Paints the picture of an employee that need to tell a good report of whom, or what was doing at the job, (Wiens). A person attitude can reflect on the company, business, and agency, (Wiens).
Numerous intellectuals have debated on the effects that typography has on the mind. An example of two such intellectuals are Walter Ong and Neil Postman. In Walter Ong’s “Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought” he describes the difference between oral and typographic cultures and the resulting effects each had on the mind while in Chapter 4 of Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death” similarly focuses on how typography has molded the way that we think, which has become very structured and writing-like, and how that effects public discourse. Overall, both their pieces serve to demonstrate how typography arrogates itself into our lives and is forever embedded in our conscious and unconscious mind, which illuminates how technology is
Grammar and punctuation is another importance in academic writing. Having inappropriate punctuation, grammar and spelling will cause other staff nurses to have a difficult time to analyse your notes and documents. Proper punc...
When constructing a piece of writing, a student may sometimes find herself struggling to remember grammar rules or style principles. A handy reference guide would help her out immensely. William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White’s book, The Elements of Style, and Joseph Williams’ book, Style: Toward Clarity and Grace, assist writers improve their work in various ways. Strunk and Whites’ book took a simple approach, while Williams went more in-depth, with elaborate explanations and varying choices for each writing style.
Computers are considered standard in a student’s arsenal of weapons used to tackle not only school but also life in general. Computers have the potential to be one of the greatest assets to a student, especially when it comes to writing essays and homework, but they are being used as a crutch when it comes writing sentences with proper grammar, syntax and spelling. Students are becoming mor...
Punctuation such as question marks and dashes are used to create pauses and allow readers to know that Owen is about to mention an important concept. The dash and question mark creates a mocking tone and then Owen explains and elaborates on the point
In addition, when comparing the theories of gradualism with punctuationism, it is important to evaluate the theory of saltati...
As people go through life, they as humans, tend to sort things into two categories: simple and complex. Simple things are those that they can be sure of or that have been figured out, or so they think. Complicated things are the ones that take a little more time to understand. If one would sit down and take the time to think about the complex things, then he or she may come to realize that they are not as complicated as once thought. The seemingly complex concept of punctuation marks proves to be more simplistic than many initially take at face value. Punctuation allows readers to understand the meanings and attitudes that are expressed in the written text. The punctuation marks, including apostrophes, colons, dashes, and
Owston, R. D, Murphy, S, & Wideman, H. H, (1992). [pdf]. The Effect of Word Processing on Students’ Writing Quality and Revision Strategies. Research in the teaching of English, 26(3). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40171308
A College has a large number of learning skills that can be used for success of each student. As an A student, I am familiar with using A’s educational resources. A few of the resources are extremely handy and adaptable in the application that a student needs. One of the resource tools that I have found most beneficial in my learning process is the A Center for Writing Excellence (CWE). The Center for Writing Excellence offers a plagiarism and grammar checker. Here, I can submit my writing materials to have them checked for plagiarism and grammar errors. I also used the grammar guide frequently. I believe that one of my biggest faults in writing is grammatical errors. The Center for Writing Excellence also offers example papers, essay development, tutorials guides and writing manuals. There are also other resources such as, Axcess Course Materials, Course Syllabus, Student Workshops, and Visual and Audio Tutorials. These tools can be found at ecampus for A College.