Thirty-Third Lesson

Techniques for working on your writing

Today we discuses about the second key concept of language studies that is called punctuation.

Punctuation

When we speak we can help the listener to understand through the use of gestures, facial expression and body language. We can also use pauses, hesitations and repetitions to add to the force of what we are saying and to make sure that the listener has understood what we are trying to communicate.

When we are writing we have to use different mechanisms to do the same work. This is where punctuation comes in. It allows us to divide up our ideas into manageable chunks so that the reader understands what we are trying to say.

The most commonly used punctuation marks which students have difficulties with are full stop, commas, colons, semicolons, and apostrophes. Today we discuss only two of them such as full stop and commas.

Full Stop

Full stops signal the end of a sentence. They indicate that the writer has completed one complete thought or idea. A full stop can come at the end of a simple or a complex sentence.

Example:

She did not want to begin the piece of work until she had finished reading her book. 

Commas

Using commas effectively can be quite difficult. Students often feel confused about where to put commas in their writing. One of the reason for this is that conventions for their use very depending on the writer and the context. If you are beginning to write for a new subject you may find it easier if you use shorter sentence to begin with. This can make it easier to order your ideas and therefore to use commas more effectively.

Example:

The strange, distributing, eerie silence was interrupted by a ghostly scream.