LEC052007. Anagha Nair. Mechanics of Writing.

 The mechanics of writing include spelling, punctuation, capitalization and abbreviations. Any composition gets proper meaning only with the right mechanics in the right place. A punctuation is a sign or mark used in writing to divide sentences or phrases. Some of the commonly used punctuations are:

 

1.  Full stop/Period (.)

A full stop is placed at the end of declarative sentences, statements, and sometimes after abbreviations like a.m., p.m.

 

2. Question mark (?)

A question mark indicates a direct question when placed at the end of a sentence.

 

3. Exclamation mark (!)

It is used when a person wants to express a sudden outcry or add emphasis.

 

4. Comma (,)

A comma indicates a natural pause in a sentence or is used to separate items in a list.

 

5. Semicolon (;)

A semicolon is used to connect independent clauses. It shows a closer relationship between the clauses than a period would show.

 

6. Colon (:)

It is used after a word introducing a quotation, an explanation, an example or a series. It is used between independent clauses when the second statement explains the first. A colon is also used for emphasis.

 

7. Dash  

A dash is used to separate words into statements. There are two common types of dashes i) En dash (_) used to indicate range, connection or differentiation. ii) Em dash (__) used to enhance readability or emphasize the conclusion of a sentence.

 

8. Hyphen (-)

It is used to join two or more words together into a compound term and is not separated by spaces.

 

9. Brackets [ ]

It is used for technical explanation or to clarify meaning.

 

10. Braces {}

It is used to contain two or more lines of text or listed items to show that they are considered as a unit.

 

11. Parenthesis ()

It is used to add non-essential information to a sentence like further thoughts or qualifying remarks.

 

12. Apostrophe (‘)

It is used to show omission of a letter or letters from a word. It is also used to show possession.

 

13. Quotation mark (“ “)

They are primarily used to mark the beginning and end of a passage attributed to another and repeated word for word.

 

14. Ellipsis (…)

Ellipsis indicates an omission especially of letters or words.

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