LEC052034. Neha S Remanan. "Mechanics of Writing".

 

                          MECHANICS OF WRITING 

     Writing mechanics can be stated as the rules established for the written language. These rules helps to promote the written material with utmost clarity and precision. The ideas and arguments formulated in the written form becomes more comprehensible with the aid of these rules.

     Accuracy is the key note for the communication preceded in the written form. This correctness in writing can be done effectively with help of  writing mechanics. Such techniques of writing involves spelling, capitalization and punctuation, etc.,

1. Spelling

    Spelling plays an important role in the written communication. There are some ground rules but most of the words are to be learnt. 

    Words are created by letters. There are twenty seven letters in the alphabet. Among them five ( A,E,I,O,U) are vowels others are consonants. Vowels are placed between the consonants. For eg., book. In this 'o' is the vowel placed between the consonants.

    The following are some rules followed in the writing:

         1. A noun is converted to plural form by adding 's' to the word. But there are some exceptions.   

• If a noun ends with 'y' and is followed by a consonant, then the 'y' is replaced by 'i' and followed by 'es'. Eg. The plural form of lady is ladies.
• If a 'y' is followed by another vowel, then 's' is added to the noun. Eg. the plural form of monkey is monkeys.
• If a noun ends with 'o' and is followed by a consonant, then 'es' is added to the noun. Eg. the plural form of hero is heroes.  

         2. A verb which ends with 'y' is converted to another tense, by replacing 'y' with 'es' or 'ed'                           respectively.

        3. Homophones are the words which are spelt differently with different meaning but with same                   pronunciation. For Eg. 'air' means a gaseous substance and 'heir' means successor.
    

    Learning a spelling is tiresome task and it is equally a important in writing skill. Dictionary not only helps on spelling of the word and also hints which parts of speech is used.

2. Capitalization
    

    One of the important rules to be followed in writing is capitalization. Though it does not affect the meaning of the word, capitalization highlights main detail in the sentence. This technique is used in the,

• the beginning of new sentence.

• Proper nouns 

• Titles 

  3. Punctuation
    
    Written English is formulated with certain punctuation marks similar to the stress, pause and intonations used in speaking. Punctuation gives a sensible and clarity to the sentence. As the term punctuation is derived from the Latin word punctus meaning point.
     

    Whereas  Gordon Vero Carey says, "Punctuation should serve the eye before the tongue and ear... therefore the best punctuation is based on the structure, or syntax, of the sentence, not the need to pause for breath." 
      From these two sentences the importance of punctuation can be seen.
        We had one problem: only Janet knew we faced bankruptcy.
        We had one problem only: Janet knew we faced bankruptcy.
    Even though the two sentence are differentiated by changing the place of the colon, the meanings differ. This example shows the significance of punctuation in English. 
    

    Some of the punctuations and their roles are listed below:

• Full stop (.) - The full stop which is also called period. It denotes the end of the sentence

• Question mark (?) - The question mark is placed in the end of the direct statement.

• Exclamation mark (!) - The exclamation marks are used at the end of the short phrase or sentence to denote a strong feeling. Eg. Good Heavens!

• Comma (,) - The commas are the crucial tool in punctuation which are often used wrongly. For convenience these commas can be divided into four types:

1. Listing Commas:  The listing comma is used as a replacement for the word 'and'  and for 'or'.  First, it is used in a list when three or more words, phrases or complete sentences are joined by the word 'and' or 'or'. For Eg. Lisa speaks French, Juliet speaks Italian and I speak Spanish.
2. Joining Commas: It is used to join two complete sentences into a single sentence. The connecting words like  and, or, but, while and yet are to be followed by them. For Eg. You must hand in your essay by Friday, or you will receive a mark of zero.
3. Gapping Commas: Gapping comma are used to show that one or more words have been left out in the sentence which was already used in the sentence. For eg. Some students like to read fiction; others, poetry.
4. Bracketing commas: A pair of commas are used to set off a weak interruption which could be removed from the sentence without destroying it. For  Eg. Darwin's Origin of Species, published in 1859, revolutionized biological thinking.

• Colon (:) - Colon is used explain that same topic in more specific terms. For eg. We found the place easily: your directions were perfect. It is also used in writing ratios.

• Semicolon(;) - It is used to join to complete sentence which are closely related to each other. No connection words should be used in the middle. For eg. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

• Apostrophe (') - The apostrophe is used in writing the shortened forms of words  from which one or more letters have been omitted. For eg. Using it's for it is.

Reference:
The Penguin Guide to Punctuation by R L Trask