LECO52035.Priyanka. "Mechanics of Writing."

                  Mechanics of Writing.

An academic writing becomes complete only when certain mechanics and conventions of writing are applied. That is , formal writing require adherence to punctuation rules, and stylistic restrictions. In certain cases depending on a particular discipline, certain style guides are to be followed. Besides, a piece of writing should ought to display a respect for academic integrity.

Punctuation 

In order to make a reader understand a message in the way an author intended it, it is necessary to write meticulously following the punctuation rules. Wrong use of punctuation can lead to miscommunication of written works. The meaning of a sentence depends on where the punctuation is placed.

The punctuation marks that are quite essential for a perfect work of academic writing include comma, colon, semi-colon, period, brackets, dash, hyphen, parentheses, and quotation marks.

Comma (,) 

 In writing the use of comma tells the reader to pause or the word preceding the comma is part of a list. A comma can be used after the introductory word or phrase , to list nouns in a sentence, to list coordinating adjectives and to separate items in any other series. To separate two independent clauses or complete thoughts in a compound sentence connected by 'and',  'but', 'or' etc. Comma can also be used to separate interrupting words and expressions in a sentence. Following are some examples of use of comma,

To begin with , let me introduce the purpose of my visit.

Fruits like papaya , berries , guava, apricot, pear and kiwi are good to balance blood sugar.

The doctor says his fever is gone, but he is still feeling tired.

Semicolon(;) 

 A semicolon indicates a pause or a break in a sentence which is longer than a comma but shorter than a period. Usually semicolons separate two closely related independent clauses in a sentence. They are used to replace commas in a series. It is also used to combine two closely related independent clauses not linked by a coordinating conjunction (and, but , or etc). A semicolon sometimes is effective to replace a period, if the writer wishes to reduce the gap between linked sentences in a paragraph. For example

I know your father ; he has close association with my uncle.

It is dangerous to text messages when you drive ; some say it is dangerous than drunk driving.

Colon (:) 

  Colons are often used in formal and informal contexts. According to grammar rules colons are used to separate two independent clauses where the first introduces or explains the second , to start a list of items , to introduce a quotation that is independent from the structure of the main sentence and used to separate title from subtitles. Some examples are the following

I have just landed in Germany : the land of my dreams.

The following are holy books : New Testament, Bhagavad Gita, Holy Quran.

Disinheriting the Globe : Tragic conditions in Shakespeare.

Double Quotation Mark ("") 

In academic writing double inverted commas or quotation marks are generally used to present a material directly taken from a source. They are also used to set off titles of essays, poems and stories. Quotation marks help you differentiate ideas/words of others idea from your own ideas. To set off titles of essays, journals and magazine articles, poems and short stories. For example

"In Search of Our Mother's Gardens" can be considered as Alice Walker's attempt to answer her own question.

In her essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" , Laura Mulvey addresses the male gaze of female body as an object of visual pleasure.

Single Quotation Mark ('') 

 The single quotation mark becomes handy when you introduce a word or phrase as a technical term; and when you use a word as a word. Besides, If you want to show a quote within a quote you can show the first quote in double inverted commas and the quote within in single inverted commas. For example

"Anand reiterated his resolve 'to strive, to seek and not to yield.'"

Apostrophe (') 

 The main use of apostrophe is to indicate a contraction or a possession. Apostrophe is also used to form the plural of a number, letter, symbol, abbreviation, or a word presented as a word ; and to indicate some omitted letters in informal writing. Following are some examples

They've attended the interview.

Shyam's car got struck in a pothole

Parentheses and brackets () [] 

As a general punctuation mark , parentheses are used to set off an information which is non-essential to the meaning of the sentence. It is also used to expand or clarify the preceding or following information; to expand abbreviations, and to insert dates. In academic style of writing parentheses are used to give in-text citations - the name of author, year of publication, page number. For example

A.P.J Abdul Kalam (1931-2015) was the 11th President of India.

What is the eligibility criteria to become an MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly)

Dash(---) 

 Dash is also called 'em dash'. It should not be confused with its slightly shorter version, en dash (--) and the hyphen (-). Em dash can be used to replace a colon, comma or parentheses.

No student---not even the leader of the students union---was present to receive the chief guest.

-  En Dash is used to indicate inclusive page numbers and dates.

 e.g.  The guidelines are provided in pages 49-54.

Hyphen(-) 

 Recent times have witnessed widespread use of hiphenated words. Some of the common rules for use of hyphen are :

In compound words beginning with an adverb, hyphen is used only if the adjectives comes before the noun.

Example :-  lower-priced edition ,

 a long-lasting performance

Compound numbers less than 100 are usually spelt with a hyphen.

Example :- seventy-five , forty-two

Hyphens are used between prefix and a proper noun, and prefix and a number.

Example :- Pre-2001 scenario, a post- 9/11 trend.

Period (.) 

 The period is considered as the simplest punctuation mark. Period falls at the end of a sentence. If a sentence end with a parenthesis the period is usually placed outside the parentheses. If the parentheses contains full sentence the period falls inside the parentheses. Also periods are used with most lowercase and mixed case abbreviations (e.g., a.m., vol.). 

Periods are used in certain uppercase abbreviations like academic qualifications (e.g. , B.A. , M.A., M.phil.)

Captilisation

It refers to writing the first letter of a word in uppercase and rest in lowercase. Writing words in all-caps (even to emphasize) is not considered as a standard practice in formal writing.

Mostly the main words of a title are capitalised. Also proper nouns and adjectives derived from proper nouns (Romes, Steve Jobs , Grecian urn). Days and months are capitalised (March, Thursday).

To write in a manner it is essential to be familiar with these punctuation marks and their rules. These rules are to be followed strictly before writing something formal and important.