Composition
What are the four steps to the writing process?
Plan, write, rewrite, edit
When do you capitalize family words like mom and dad?
When they're being used in place of a name
In dialogue or a direct quote, does the ending punctuation go inside or outside the quotation marks?
Inside
What punctuation do we use to indicate a non-essential element in a sentence?
Commas
Example: Anton Bruckner, an Austrian composer, was also an organist.
When can you abbreviate Reverend and Honorable?
When it's used with a full name and not preceded by the.
What are the two types of outlines?
Topical and sentence outlines
When do you capitalize north, south, east, and west?
When it's referring to a region, not a direction.
In dialogue or a direct quote, does preceding punctuation go inside or outside the quotation marks?
Outside
What can we use to separate a series of items if there are already many commas in the sentence?
What is a group of related words that contains a subject and a verb?
Clause
What is called when every sentence or paragraph in a written piece supports the main idea?
Unity
When do you capitalize a title like doctor or governor?
When they're being used with a name or in place of a name.
When do we use italics/underlining?
What are the four main uses for a colon?
Before a list that has been introduced, often with the following or as follows. Between chapter and verse of a biblical reference. Between the hour and minute in a time reference. After the salutation of a business letter.
What is a group of related words that does not contain a subject and a verb?
What is it called when the details and sentences of a written piece are arranged in a logical order that is easy to understand?
Coherence
When do you capitalize school subjects, like ENGLISH or HISTORY?
When it's a proper noun (English) or when it has a course number (History 101)
When do we use quotation marks?
For dialogue and direct quotes and for names of smaller works such as song titles, chapter titles, short poems, short stories, and articles.
What are the three main ways to use a hyphen?
To divide a word at the end of a line, for compound words or numbers, for fractions.
When do we spell numbers vs. using figures?
Spell all numbers of one or two words except in scientific or mathematical writing. If in a limited context you write several numbers (some of which should be figures and some which should be spelled out), use figures for all that pertain to the same category. Do not begin a sentence with figures. Write out all ordinal numbers. Names of numbered streets under one hundred are preferably spelled out.
What are three ways to develop a paragraph?
Reasons, examples, and incidents
What do you capitalize (or not capitalize) in a title?
Always capitalize the first and last word. Don't capitalize conjunctions, articles, or prepositions unless they are the first or last word.
What are four ways to combine two independent clauses? And what is another way to correct a run-on sentence?
Correct a run-on by separating it into two sentences with a period and capital letter.
What are the three main uses of a dash?
Following a series of words or phrases that give details about the statement that follows, faltering speech or an unfinished construction, and to indicate parenthetical elements that are emphasized or that have contain internal punctuation.
What are the three basic uses of apostrophes?
To show possession; to show letters or numbers have been omitted, such as in a contraction; to form plurals of lowercase letters + uppercase A and I, signs, and words used as words.