Terms
a punctuation mark (,) indicating a pause between parts of a sentence. It is also used to separate items in a list and to mark the place of thousands in a large numeral.
What is a comma?
I still remember the exact moment when I first understood, with a sudden clarity, the purpose of a paragraph. I didn't have the vocabulary to say "paragraph," but I realized that a paragraph was a fence that held words. The words inside a paragraph worked together for a common purpose. They had some specific reason for being inside the same fence . . .
Sherman Alexie, "the Joy of Reading and Writing"
What is an an example of a paragraph?
When Miss Emily Grierson died our whole town went to her funeral.
William Faulkner, "A Rose for Emily"
When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral.
William Faulkner, "A Rose for Emily"
Identify the Nouns.
Identify the information following the noun. Is it essential or not?
How to identify essential and nonessential information?
The subject of the sentence is acted on by the verb.
What is Passive Voice.
Mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (Hunt 358).
What is an example of a quote?
The boxer exhausted and pounded on wearily left the ring.
The boxer, exhausted and pounded on, wearily left the ring.
Introduce new subject or idea
Signal a new speaker (dialogue)
Emphasize an idea
Give readers a pause.
When to begin a new paragraph?
a distinct section of a piece of writing, usually dealing with a single theme and indicated by a new line, indentation, or numbering.
What is a paragraph?
Pretty much all the honest truth telling there is in the world is done by children.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
What is an example of Passive Voice?
Healthy and affordable fast food may not be a reality, yet, but we may not have too long to wait. As Freedman explains a slew of start-ups are trying to find ways to bring such meals to market.
Healthy and affordable fast food may not be a reality, yet, but we may not have too long to wait. As Freedman explains, "a slew of start-ups are trying to find ways to bring such meals to market."
Identify the verb.
Identify the subject.
Everything that comes before the subject is introductory.
How do you identify introductory information?
a group of words taken from a text or speech and repeated by someone other than the original author or speaker.
What is a quote?
In the chaotic season finale, the shocking plot twist left viewers breathless.
What is an example of introductory information?
If you have never been hated by your child, you have never been a parent.
If your child has never hated you, you have never been a parent.
Quotation marks
Capitalization
Commas
End Punctuation
How to punctuate quotations?