Back to basics

STUDENTS, IN this week’s lesson, we will look at the rules that govern capital letters and punctuation marks. After all, it is important that when you are writing your stories or essays, you capitalize and punctuate correctly.

RULES FOR CAPITALIZATION

Capital letters should be used for: The pronoun ‘I’. Proper nouns like names of people, places, for official titles or planets. Days of the week and months of the year. The beginning of a sentence. Languages such as Italian or Mandarin. Religious festivals, religions or holy days like Christmas or Sabbath.

Brand names such as Honda, Fila, Supreme or Gucci.

Knowing the rules of capitalization is essential and, at this level of your academic development, capitalization errors should be minimal if not non-existent.

PUNCTUATION MARKS

Our movements on the road are directed by street signs and, similarly, punctuation marks direct how we use our words in writing. Punctuation marks are essential when you are writing, as they show the reader where sentences start and finish, and if they are used properly, they make your writing easy to understand.

CONSIDER THE PARAGRAPH BELOW:

Sarahs mother was very happy to hear that her daughter had done well in her CSEC examination she felt such pride that she wanted to cry, how was she going to show her how proud she felt she decided that she was going to surprise her with a gift.

WAS THE PARAGRAPH PROPERLY PUNCTUATED?

Definitely not. Punctuation errors like those in the paragraph above should not be present in your own writing. Let’s review some key punctuation rules.

THE BASIC RULES FULL STOP

This punctuation mark is used at the end of a statement. For example: The choir is preparing for the competition.

QUESTION MARK

This is used at the end of a question. For example: Did she visit her mother?

EXCLAMATION MARK

This is used to express strong emotion or excitement. For example: I got a grade one! This is amazing!

COMMA

It marks a slight break between different parts of a sentence. If it is used properly, a comma makes meaning clearer. Commas are used in lists, direct speech, to separate clauses, to mark off certain parts of a sentence, and with ‘however’.

EXAMPLES:

Saturday morning started with a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and French toast. (In lists.)

The teacher said, “You did well in your mathematics test.” (To set off direct speech.)

Before he started to answer the questions, he whispered a prayer. (To separate clauses.)

The play, The Tempest, is a part of the new English B syllabus. (Marking off parts of the sentence.)

However, please note that you will receive the top award. You should use a comma after ‘however’ when however means ‘by contrast’ or ‘on the other hand’. Don’t use a comma after however when it means ‘in whatever way. For example: However you look at it, idling will affect your schoolwork.

Use a semicolon when sentences in a compound sentence are not connected by a conjunction (such as “and”). The idea in each sentence is normally related.

Example: ‘I enjoy reading mystery novels; Tyrone prefers reading science fiction.’

Use a semicolon between independent clauses in a sentence that are connected by any of the following transitional words or phrases: accordingly, consequently, for example, for instance, furthermore, however, instead, moreover, nevertheless, otherwise, and therefore.

Example: I planned to study Saturday morning; however, the power in our house went out due to a storm.

COLON

Use a colon before a list that is preceded by a complete sentence or main/independent clause. Some variation of the word ‘follow’ is often used in such a case.

Example: On our next vacation, we plan to visit the following parishes: Portland, St Ann, St James and Hanover.

Use a colon to divide hours from minutes. Example: I have an appointment with the doctor at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.

EXCLAMATION POINT/MARK

Use an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence to show strong emotion. Example: ‘Leave me alone!’

Use an exclamation mark after an interjection at the start of a sentence. Example: ‘Unbelievable! That driving test was so much harder than I thought!’

APOSTROPHE

Some students experience challenges when they are to use the apostrophe. They either overuse it or they do not use it all. I have seen the apostrophe being used in words like ask’s or see’s and plan’s. Mistakes like these should be avoided.

MAIN USES

Use an apostrophe to indicate the omission of a letter or letters in a contraction. Example: “I don’t (contraction of do not) believe she will change her mind.” Example: It’s a humid evening. Please note the difference between it’s and its because these two words are often confused. ‘It’s’ is a contraction of the words it is and ‘its’ indicates ownership. For example: The dog spun excitedly when it saw its owner.

Use an apostrophe plus the letter ‘s’ to show possession.

Example: Bobby’s bike is on the porch.

INVERTED COMMAS

Inverted commas can be single - ‘y’ - or double - ‘’y’’ They are also known as quotation marks or quotes.

MAIN USES

Inverted commas are mainly used in the following cases: To indicate the beginning and end of direct speech (i.e. a speaker’s words written down exactly as they are spoken):

EXAMPLES:

‘That song,’ he said, ‘was rather inspirational.’

She whispered to Mark, ‘I am so eager to hear what is going to happen tomorrow.’

To mark off a word or phrase that is being discussed or that is being directly quoted from a person, book or article:

Example: He urged the students to ‘dream big’.

Please note: There is no rule about which inverted commas to use, but you should stick to one or the other throughout a piece of writing. Single inverted commas are generally more common in British English while American English tends to prefer double ones.

These punctuation marks are the most commonly used and you are required to use them appropriately. The stories, essays or summaries that you write should be properly punctuated and capital letters placed where they are needed. Appropriate usage of these

mechanics of writing is quite significant in determining how well you perform in the expression component of the profile dimensions.

Remember the incorrectly punctuated paragraph I shared above? Here is how it should have been written.

Sarah’s mother was very happy to hear that her daughter had done well in her CSEC examination. She felt such pride that she wanted to cry. How was she going to show her how proud she felt? She decided that she was going to surprise her with a gift.

Next week, I will give you some punctuation, capitalization and vocabulary development activities.

VOCABULARY TOP-UP:

Eccentric – (describing a person) odd, unconventional

Eminent – well-known and wellrespected

Engross – to occupy the attention of someone completely

Enunciate – to pronounce words clearly