Posts Tagged punctuation
July 25
The Skinny on Common English Punctuation
Recently, we’ve had some posts on our Facebook page and our question-and answer-forum, Grammarly Answers, regarding punctuation in the English language. This is a brief run-down on some of the most common punctuation marks and how they are generally used. The period (.) — This point is also called a full-stop in British English. The [...]
December 06
The Forbidden Ones
I agree that writing can be boring, and that the aesthetics of 5000 words in MLA format are somewhat lacking. A few colours, a nice ƒøñΤ and some interesting shapes ♥ would make the arduous task of reading and writing a little more pleasant. After all, the pretty shapes are just sitting there on the keyboard, [...]
October 21
The Ellipsis
I see a lot of them, those three little dots that entertain people so much. Sometimes I see too much of them; people discover the ellipsis and use it in every single sentence. I’m sure you’ve seen it before: I see a lot of them… those three little dots that entertain people so much… sometimes [...]
August 02
Cool Colons
Colons (the punctuation mark, not the part of the digestive system) are cool. They add that intellectual-yet-quirky feel to writing. I love using them in formal writing to break up sentences that are getting far too predictable. Most people know how to use a colon to make a list, so I won’t go into detail [...]
July 19
The Esteemed Semi-Colon
As most of my teaching time is spent tutoring, I am generally not concerned with unnecessary details: if the writing is clear and well-formatted, I’m happy. I’ve changed my mind about what is “unnecessary”. Formerly, I didn’t require the use of semi-colons. Periods and commas were acceptable, and I figured there was no sense in [...]
May 24
Doin’ It Wrong; U R Doin’ It Right
Artists – just like athletes – have to do exercises. I’m not talking about stretching out the muscles in your hands; I’m talking about stretching out your brain. No, it’s not that gross. Visual artists have to draw things from different perspectives. Musicians have to play scales. Actors have to assume characters they would never [...]
January 25
Making Lists
Lists are informal things. They’re scrawled on bits of torn paper, inscribed on the palm of a hand with a ballpoint pen, scratched inside a paperback novel. They involve the nitty-gritties of life: food, must-dos, dates which – if forgotten – will cause chaos. When lists are used in formal writing, they must be… formalised. [...]
June 23
Punctuation
Punctuation is often seen as something… pretentious, something elite. It’s annoying when one is forced to use it; it’s horrifying when used improperly. Not so. Punctuation works just like words do. The perfect word can create the perfect sentence; the perfect punctuation can turn that sentence into the literary equivalent of chocolate. Punctuation should be [...]
About Author
I'm Sheila van den Heuvel-Collins. Currently, I am the primary blog
writer. Please feel free to contribute writing tips and ideas by
commenting on the blog entries.
Categories
- Books (3)
- Conferences (1)
- Contests (1)
- ESL (5)
- Essay Formats (2)
- Grammar and Punctuation (35)
- Guest Posts (5)
- Lords of Language (7)
- Neologisms (1)
- Sociology of Writing (21)
- style (52)
- Uncategorized (11)
- Websites (13)
- Writing Centre (61)
