Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Common Mechanics Issues
- Common Grammar and
Punctuation Questions
- YOU & I
- use I when you refer to YOURSELF
- use YOU when you directly
address your READER
- do not use YOU in the general sense as a
substitute for people, everyone, or large
groups of people
- AMOUNT VS. NUMBER
- use NUMBER when you refer to
something that CAN BE COUNTED
- use AMOUNT when you refer to
something that CANNOT BE COUNTED
(or usually isn't)
- LESS VS. FEWER
- use FEWER when you
refer to something that
CAN BE COUNTED
- use LESS when you refer to
something that CANNOT BE
COUNTED
- SERIES COMMAS
- use the final series comma to
avoid ambiguity
- Ex: Sylvester, Tweety,
and Yogi.
- THE NAKED THIS
- use the word THIS with a NOUN
or you may write something
ambiguous
- Ex: THIS diet...
- HYPHENS: pick a consistent
style and use it throughout
the document
- use HYPHENS only to CONNECT
WORDS TO WORDS or NUMBERS
TO WORDS (do not use them in
place of bullets or to connect
parts of a sentence)
- SOURCE REFERENCE AND
OTHER NAMES
- FIRST time you use a person's name, use
both FIRST & LAST. AFTERWARDS refer to
that person by his/her LAST NAME.
- QUOTATIONS
- always include a quotation as part
of a larger sentence. A quote should
never stand alone.
- COMPOUND WORDS AND OTHER SPELLING:
list of words that people frequently confuse
and consequently misspell.
- DEFINITELY VS.
DEFIANTLY (DEFINaTELY
IS NOT A WORD)
- Definitely: spelled correctly. Defiantly: how
your cat looks at you when you tell it to get
off the couch but it just stays there.
- EVERYDAY VS. EVERY DAY
- EVERYDAY (it's an adjective) to modify a noun
(everyday shoes). EVERY DAY to indicate when
something happens (ride my bike every day).
- INTO VS. IN TO
- I am going to turn this essay INTO my teacher, then
my backpack will be heavy. I am going to turn this
essay IN TO my teacher and she will be very happy.
- POSSES VS. POSSESS
- POSSES: group, gang, troop.
POSSESS: ownership
- SUPPOSED TO, USED TO,
ACCUSTOMED TO
- D at the end of each word!
- ISSUES SPECIFIC TO
TECHNICAL WRITING
- COLONS TO
INTRODUCE A LIST
- Always use a sentence or
phrase to introduce a list.
- Use a colon at the end of a
complete sentence (Bring the
following to class: *pens
*notebooks *calculator
- Use no punctuation for a portion of a
sentence finished off by the list of items (At
the meeting we will discuss *A *B *C
- LIST PUNCTUATION: choose a
consistent style to use
throughout a document.
- use PERIODS at the end of each
item. (Bring the following to class:
*A. *B. *C.
- use NO PERIODS at all (Bring the
following to class: *A *B *C
- use a PERIOD at the END of
the list (Bring the following to
class: *A *B *C.)