Punctuation
Full stop and commas
Clear punctuation is necessary in academic writing (in all writing!) in order to make your meaning clear. The most important punctuation mark in English is the full stop which marks the end of a sentence. All new sentences begin with a capital letter. The second most important punctuation mark is the comma which divides sentences into separate parts.
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Missing punctuation
In the following paragraph (taken from Malaria: a handbook for health professionals, Malaria Consortium, 2007, Macmillan Education), all the punctuation marks have been removed. Read the paragraphs below and decide whether text a), b), c) or d) provides the best punctuation. malaria can be prevented by controlling malaria mosquitoes either by reducing the malaria mosquito population or by preventing them from biting although early diagnosis and prompt treatment are essential, they are not usually enough on their own to reduce malaria transmission mosquito control can be a highly effective and practical means of controlling malaria both in endemic areas and during epidemics |
Commas in lists
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Commas in listsRead the following two lists and decide which is correct. |
The only exception to the above example and feedback is where the 'and' could be misleading.
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Commas in lists - the exceptionConsider the following example: 'The shop sold old prints, crystal chandeliers, paintings, antique tables and chairs.' Decide whether the sentence leads us to believe that the shops sold: |
Commas and conjunctions
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Commas and conjunctionsRead the following pair of sentences and decide which is punctuated correctly. |
Semi-colons and colons
The semi-colon
Many students are scared of using these punctuation marks but if you know where to use them, the semi-colon and the colon can streamline your writing or add clarity to a muddled list.
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Semi colonsRead the following sentences and decide whether a), b) or c) uses the semi-colon correctly. |
Would you like to try again?
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More semi-colonsAs in exercise 5, read the following sentences and decide which uses the semi-colon correctly. |
Semi-colons in lists
The semi-colon can also be used to make an ambiguous list clear.
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Semi-colons in lists
Look at the following list of committee members and then decide whether option a), b) or c) improves its clarity. Prof H Edwards, Cardiff Dr J Saul, The Women's Centre Dr J Fleming, Cambridge and the Women's Centre Prof A Bunting, Greenwich |
The colon
Like the semi-colon, the colon is often misunderstood and misused. Nevertheless, there are two situations in which it can be very useful: introducing a list and providing an explanation for a previous clause. However, the colon should not be used at the beginning of every list. See if you can identify the correct use.
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Which colon is correct?Read the following sentences and decide whether colon use is correct in a) or b). |
The apostrophe
This confuses native speakers and non-native speakers alike but generally there are some simple rules.
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Using the apostropheRead the following sentences and decide which uses the apostrophe correctly. |
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Using the apostrophe Read the following sentences and decide which uses the apostrophe correctly. |
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What if a singular noun (often a name) ends in an 's'? Read the following sentences and decide which uses the apostrophe correctly. |
Using an apostrophe for contractions.
Spoken English is full of contractions, for example: he wouldn't, she couldn't, they haven't, we're going to, I won't, they've done it, she'll do it soon. It is also acceptable to use such contractions in informal writing such as emails but they should not be used in academic writing.
It's and its
Again the use of the apostrophe in it's and its is something that confuses native speakers just as much as non-native speakers of English but it's not difficult!
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Using the apostropheRead the following sentences and decide where the apostrophe has been used correctly. |
Who's and whose
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Using the apostropheRead the following sentences and decide where the apostrophe has been used correctly. |