DOCSLIB.ORG

The Analysis of Punctuation Use in Unpunctuated Passages: a Discourse-Graphology Perspective

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Analysis of Punctuation Use in Unpunctuated Passages: a Discourse-Graphology Perspective THE ANALYSIS OF PUNCTUATION USE IN UNPUNCTUATED PASSAGES: A DISCOURSE-GRAPHOLOGY PERSPECTIVE A THESIS Submitted to English Language Teaching Department, Tarbiyah and Teacher Training Faculty, Syekh Nurjati State Islamic Institute Cirebon In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements of Undergraduate Degree By: DISKI EGINDA RISMIANTI Reg. Number: 1411310149 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING DEPARTMENT TARBIYAH AND TEACHER TRAINING FACULTY SYEKH NURJATI STATE ISLAMIC INSTITUTE CIREBON 2015 i ABSTRACT Diski Eginda Rismianti. 14111310149. The Analysis of Punctuation Use in Unpunctuated Passages: A Discourse-Graphology Perspective. Punctuation is the basic element in writing which is important to clarify meaning. Without punctuation or ignoring the rule of punctuation in a passage, the writing will be ambiguous. The writing course in IAIN Syekh Nurjati Cirebon is studied by English Student in 5 levels. Based the phenomenon, this research aims to find out the students’ error in the use of punctuation and how does the use relate to the meaning of restrictive and nonrestrictive elements. The analyses process in this research is constructed based on the theory from Marcella Frank. This research used qualitative method in analyzing data where the data contains the two original passages which is taken from the book of academic writing and the three participants’ work which are got by examining the passages as a main data source to be analyzed in this research. Those passages are changed be unpunctuated passages then examined to the 3 EFL learner which comes from the high score, medium score, and low score of writing. The result of this analysis shows that there are fifteen punctuation marks which are used in the two passages; they are capitalization, periods, commas, semicolons, colons, quotation marks, parentheses, apostrophes, hyphen, en dashes, ellipses, percent, underscore, at sign, and citation. FP has highest number of error in Capitalization with 100%. SP has big problem in commas exactly in the nineteenth rule with 90% and TP are wrong in parentheses. For restrictive and nonrestrictive elements, restrictive elements has higher number than nonrestrictive elements, except is in appositive. The numbers of the elements are same with the three participants. The differences come from the number of appositive which passages has higher number of nonrestrictive appositive than restrictive appositives. The results show that punctuation in unpunctuated passages used the rule from APA (American Psychological Association). The effects of the use of punctuation are in the number of sentences and clauses, types of phrases, and restrictive and nonrestrictive elements. For the students’ error, there are some sentences in FP and TP which only contain phrase. Key words: Punctuation Marks, Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clause, Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Phrase, Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Appositives. iii . RATIX'ICATION This thesis entitled 3'The Analysis of Punctuation Use in Unpunctuated Passages: A l)iscourse-Grapholory Penpective'written by Diski Eginda Rismianti, student number l4l I l3l0l 49,bas been examined on 14 July 2015. It has been accepted by the board of the examiners. It has been rccognized as one of requirements for Undergraduate Degree in English Language Teaching Deparfinent at Tarbiyoh and Teacher Training Faculty, SyeWt Nurjati State Islamic Institute Cirebon. Date SipnafureSignature ,, The Head of English Language Teaching Departrnent talaBumela'M'Pd 6 Aururt ral! NIP. 19821231 20fi01 I 0l I The Secretary of English Language Teaching Department WakhidNashruddin. M.Pd lt-ts\e-iotl NIP. 19810308 201101 1 003 Examiner I 70 zoty Dr. Asep Kurniawan. M.Ag Jaly NrP. 19710801 200312 I 001 Examiner 2 Farouk Imam Arrasyid. M.Pd.I. M.Pd 4 Auaul+ rorr NrP. 19830420200901 I 009 Supervisor I Dr. Tedi Rohadi. M.Pd. SE. Diol. TEFL L Aururt eorr NrP. 19680309 200801 t 0t7 Supervisor 2 .?al, Nur Antoni. E.T. SS. M.Hum [ .(ugurt NrP. 19720717 200912 I 001 Acknowtedgqdly the Dean of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training Faculty .19721220 199803 1 004 vii TABLE OF CONTENT TITLE ...................................................................................................................................... i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ........................................................................................ ii DEDICATION........................................................................................................................ iii APPROVAL ........................................................................................................................... iv RATIFICATION .................................................................................................................... v OFFICIAL NOTE.................................................................................................................. vii CURRICULUM VITAE........................................................................................................ viii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................................................................................... x PREFACE .............................................................................................................................. xii TABLE OF CONTENT......................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF TABLE ................................................................................................................... xvi LIST OF FIGURE ................................................................................................................ xviii LIST OF APPENDICES ....................................................................................................... xix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Background of the Problem ....................................................................................... 1 1.2 Identification of Problem .................................................................................................. 4 1.3 The Limitation of the Problem.......................................................................................... 5 1.4 The Research Formulation ................................................................................................ 5 1.5 The Question of the Research ........................................................................................... 5 1.6 The Aims of the Research ................................................................................................. 6 1.7 The Significance of the Research ..................................................................................... 6 1.8 Theoretical Review ........................................................................................................... 7 1.8.1 The Nature of Punctuation ........................................................................................ 7 1.8.2 Kinds and Rules of Punctuation ................................................................................ 7 1.8.3 Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Elements .................................................................. 23 1.9 The Previous Study .......................................................................................................... 24 1.10 The Methodology of the Research ................................................................................. 26 1.10.1 The Objectives of the Research ................................................................................ 26 1.10.2 The Place and the Time of the Research .................................................................. 26 xiii 1.10.3 The Source and Type of Data ................................................................................... 27 1.10.4 Research Design ....................................................................................................... 28 1.10.5 The Instrumen of Research....................................................................................... 29 1.10.6 The Technique of Collecting Data ........................................................................... 30 1.10.7 The Technique of Data Analysis .............................................................................. 31 CHAPTER II THE STUDENTS’ ERROR IN THE USE OF PUNCTUATION 2.1 Findings ........................................................................................................................... 35 2.1.1 Capitalization ........................................................................................................... 35 2.1.2 Periods ...................................................................................................................... 42 2.1.3 Commas ................................................................................................................... 45 2.1.4 Semicolons ............................................................................................................... 54 2.1.5 Colons ....................................................................................................................... 55 2.1.6 Quotation Marks ....................................................................................................... 55 2.1.7 Parentheses ............................................................................................................... 56 2.1.8
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Jupyter Reference Guide
    – 1 – Nicholas Bowman, Sonja Johnson-Yu, Kylie Jue Handout #15 CS 106AP August 5, 2019 Jupyter Reference Guide This handout goes over the basics of Jupyter notebooks, including how to install Jupyter, launch a notebook, and run its cells. Jupyter notebooks are a common tool used across different disciplines for exploring and displaying data, and they also make great interactive explanatory tools. Installing Jupyter To install Jupyter, run the following command inside your Terminal (replace python3 with ​ py if you’re using a Windows device): ​ $ python3 -m pip install jupyter Launching a notebook A Jupyter notebook is a file that ends in the extension .ipynb, which stands for ​ ​ “interactive Python notebook.” To launch a Python notebook after you’ve installed ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Jupyter, you should first navigate to the directory where your notebook is located (you’ll be there by default if you’re using the PyCharm terminal inside a project). Then run the following command inside your Terminal (if this doesn’t work, see the “Troubleshooting” section below): $ jupyter notebook This should open a window in your browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.) that looks like Figure 1. Jupyter shows the files inside the current directory and allows you to click on any Python notebook files within that folder. Figure 1: After running the jupyter notebook command, you should see a window that ​ ​ ​ lists the Python notebooks inside the current directory from which you ran the command. The picture above shows the Lecture 25 directory. – 2 – To launch a particular notebook, click on its file name. This should open a new tab with the notebook.
    [Show full text]
  • Punctuation Practice in Manuscript Sainte Geneviève 3390
    Punctuation Practice in Manuscript Sainte Geneviève 3390 Isabel de la Cruz Cabanillas, University of Alcalá Abstract The aim of the present article is to explore the scribal punctuation practice in one of Richard Rolle’s epistles, Ego dormio , in manuscript Paris Sainte Geneviève 3390. Analyses of samples seek to reveal regular patterns of use concerning punctuation symbols. Special uses of punctuation may indicate either rhetorical or grammatical functions of these symbols. The method of analysis considers contextual information in the description of each punctuation symbol to identify their functions. In addition, we have used earlier works on medieval punctuation in the identification and categorization of symbols along with their already attested functions (mainly Lucas, 1971, Parkes, 1992 and Zeeman, 1956). The results of the study will be compared with these functions in order to contextualize scribal use of punctuation symbols within the tradition in Middle English manuscripts. Keywords: Richard Rolle; Ego Dormio ; punctuation; Middle English; Manuscripts 1. Introduction Despite concerted efforts to offer a general account on Middle English punctuation, the field still wants a more conclusive analysis other than Parkes’s (1992). Parkes’s study of medieval punctuation is an impressive report on the shapes and functions of medieval punctuation especially in Latin manuscripts, which, nonetheless, remains descriptively inadequate for the case of medieval English. In the last decade, English medievalists have contributed some studies to the field, although the number of these turned out to be insufficient for this general account considering the high number of manuscripts housed in collections all over the world. Jenkinson (1926: 15), Lennard (1992: 65) and Buzzoni (2008: 442), among other scholars, give a number of reasons to explain this paucity of individual punctuation studies leading to a grammar of punctuation in Middle English: - The apparent lack of consistency in the use of the punctuation marks, as each scribe seems to display an inventory of symbols.
    [Show full text]
  • The Origins of the Underline As Visual Representation of the Hyperlink on the Web: a Case Study in Skeuomorphism
    The Origins of the Underline as Visual Representation of the Hyperlink on the Web: A Case Study in Skeuomorphism The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Romano, John J. 2016. The Origins of the Underline as Visual Representation of the Hyperlink on the Web: A Case Study in Skeuomorphism. Master's thesis, Harvard Extension School. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33797379 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA The Origins of the Underline as Visual Representation of the Hyperlink on the Web: A Case Study in Skeuomorphism John J Romano A Thesis in the Field of Visual Arts for the Degree of Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies Harvard University November 2016 Abstract This thesis investigates the process by which the underline came to be used as the default signifier of hyperlinks on the World Wide Web. Created in 1990 by Tim Berners- Lee, the web quickly became the most used hypertext system in the world, and most browsers default to indicating hyperlinks with an underline. To answer the question of why the underline was chosen over competing demarcation techniques, the thesis applies the methods of history of technology and sociology of technology. Before the invention of the web, the underline–also known as the vinculum–was used in many contexts in writing systems; collecting entities together to form a whole and ascribing additional meaning to the content.
    [Show full text]
  • Unicode Nearly Plain-Text Encoding of Mathematics Murray Sargent III Office Authoring Services, Microsoft Corporation 4-Apr-06
    Unicode Nearly Plain Text Encoding of Mathematics Unicode Nearly Plain-Text Encoding of Mathematics Murray Sargent III Office Authoring Services, Microsoft Corporation 4-Apr-06 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 2 2. Encoding Simple Math Expressions ...................................................................... 3 2.1 Fractions .......................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Subscripts and Superscripts........................................................................... 6 2.3 Use of the Blank (Space) Character ............................................................... 7 3. Encoding Other Math Expressions ........................................................................ 8 3.1 Delimiters ........................................................................................................ 8 3.2 Literal Operators ........................................................................................... 10 3.3 Prescripts and Above/Below Scripts........................................................... 11 3.4 n-ary Operators ............................................................................................. 11 3.5 Mathematical Functions ............................................................................... 12 3.6 Square Roots and Radicals ........................................................................... 13 3.7 Enclosures.....................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Edit Bibliographic Records
    OCLC Connexion Browser Guides Edit Bibliographic Records Last updated: May 2014 6565 Kilgour Place, Dublin, OH 43017-3395 www.oclc.org Revision History Date Section title Description of changes May 2014 All Updated information on how to open the diacritic window. The shortcut key is no longer available. May 2006 1. Edit record: basics Minor updates. 5. Insert diacritics Revised to update list of bar syntax character codes to reflect and special changes in character names and to add newly supported characters characters. November 2006 1. Edit record: basics Minor updates. 2. Editing Added information on guided editing for fields 541 and 583, techniques, template commonly used when cataloging archival materials. view December 2006 1. Edit record: basics Updated to add information about display of WorldCat records that contain non-Latin scripts.. May 2007 4. Validate record Revised to document change in default validation level from None to Structure. February 2012 2 Editing techniques, Series added entry fields 800, 810, 811, 830 can now be used to template view insert data from a “cited” record for a related series item. Removed “and DDC” from Control All commands. DDC numbers are no longer controlled in Connexion. April 2012 2. Editing New section on how to use the prototype OCLC Classify service. techniques, template view September 2012 All Removed all references to Pathfinder. February 2013 All Removed all references to Heritage Printed Book. April 2013 All Removed all references to Chinese Name Authority © 2014 OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. 6565 Kilgour Place Dublin, OH 43017-3395 USA The following OCLC product, service and business names are trademarks or service marks of OCLC, Inc.: CatExpress, Connexion, DDC, Dewey, Dewey Decimal Classification, OCLC, WorldCat, WorldCat Resource Sharing and “The world’s libraries.
    [Show full text]
  • Coordination and Ellipsis
    Comprehensive Grammar Comprehensive Grammar Resources Resources Henk van Riemsdijk & István Kenesei, series editors Syntax of Dutch Syntax of DutchCoordination and Ellipsis Broekhuis Corver Hans Broekhuis Norbert Corver Syntax of Dutch Coordination and Ellipsis Comprehensive Grammar Resources Editors: Henk van Riemsdijk István Kenesei Hans Broekhuis Syntax of Dutch Coordination and Ellipsis Hans Broekhuis Norbert Corver With the cooperation of: Hans Bennis Frits Beukema Crit Cremers Henk van Riemsdijk Amsterdam University Press The publication of this book is made possible by grants and financial support from: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) Center for Language Studies University of Tilburg Truus und Gerrit van Riemsdijk-Stiftung Meertens Institute (KNAW) Utrecht University This book is published in print and online through the online OAPEN library (www.oapen.org). OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European Networks) is a collaborative initiative to develop and implement a sustainable Open Access publication model for academic books in the Humanities and Social Sciences. The OAPEN Library aims to improve the visibility and usability of high quality academic research by aggregating peer reviewed Open Access publications from across Europe. Cover design: Studio Jan de Boer, Amsterdam Layout: Hans Broekhuis ISBN 978 94 6372 050 2 e-ISBN 978 90 4854 289 5 DOI 10.5117/9789463720502 NUR 624 Creative Commons License CC BY NC (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) Hans Broekhuis & Norbert Corver/Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2019 Some rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, any part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise).
    [Show full text]
  • Learning Aid-Common Commas
    The Writing Centre The Justice Institute of British Columbia Common Commas Overview Series Commas Purpose: Separate items in a list Example: Sid is going to the store to buy apples, oranges, and pears. Commas with a Purpose: Separate two complete sentences joined with a Coordinating Conjunctions Coordinating Example: Conjunction I visit my cousins often but not my uncles. I visit my cousins often, but I do not visit my uncles. Parenthetical Purpose: Offset extra information in the middle of a sentence Commas Example: My sister, who lives in Abbotsford, has two children. Introductory Purpose: Offset words that introduce a complete sentence. Comma Example: Unfortunately, Phil was delayed at the border. When Jamar returned, the video was almost over. Reverse- Purpose: Offset material that follows a complete sentence. Introductory Example: The traffic is heaviest in Vancouver in the second week of September. Comma Coordinate Purpose: Separate adjectives that describe a single noun. Adjective Example: The bored, impatient children waited for recess. Comma Subject/Verb Rule: Do not put a comma between a subject and a verb in a sentence. Make sure Comma an Introductory Comma is followed by a complete sentence. If it isn’t, don’t use a comma. Incorrect: Another advantage of the job, is that the hours are flexible. Correct: Another advantage of the job is that the hours are flexible. Common Commas - Introduction Commas usually follow a flexible structure. There are 4 common places for commas to be: 1. Lists and coordinating conjunctions 2. introduce sentences 3. attach additional information at the end of complete sentences, or 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Writing Mathematical Expressions in Plain Text – Examples and Cautions Copyright © 2009 Sally J
    Writing Mathematical Expressions in Plain Text – Examples and Cautions Copyright © 2009 Sally J. Keely. All Rights Reserved. Mathematical expressions can be typed online in a number of ways including plain text, ASCII codes, HTML tags, or using an equation editor (see Writing Mathematical Notation Online for overview). If the application in which you are working does not have an equation editor built in, then a common option is to write expressions horizontally in plain text. In doing so you have to format the expressions very carefully using appropriately placed parentheses and accurate notation. This document provides examples and important cautions for writing mathematical expressions in plain text. Section 1. How to Write Exponents Just as on a graphing calculator, when writing in plain text the caret key ^ (above the 6 on a qwerty keyboard) means that an exponent follows. For example x2 would be written as x^2. Example 1a. 4xy23 would be written as 4 x^2 y^3 or with the multiplication mark as 4*x^2*y^3. Example 1b. With more than one item in the exponent you must enclose the entire exponent in parentheses to indicate exactly what is in the power. x2n must be written as x^(2n) and NOT as x^2n. Writing x^2n means xn2 . Example 1c. When using the quotient rule of exponents you often have to perform subtraction within an exponent. In such cases you must enclose the entire exponent in parentheses to indicate exactly what is in the power. x5 The middle step of ==xx52− 3 must be written as x^(5-2) and NOT as x^5-2 which means x5 − 2 .
    [Show full text]
  • Dictation Presentation.Pptx
    Dictaon using Apple Devices Presentaon October 10, 2013 Trudy Downs Operang Systems • iOS6 • iOS7 • Mountain Lion (OS X10.8) Devices • iPad 3 or iPad mini • iPod 4 • iPhone 4s, 5 or 5c or 5s • Desktop running Mountain Lion • Laptop running Mountain Lion Dictaon Shortcut Words • Shortcut WordsDictaon includes many voice “shortcuts” that allows you to manipulate the text and insert symbols while you are speaking. Here’s a list of those shortcuts that you can use: - “new line” is like pressing Return on your keyboard - “new paragraph” creates a new paragraph - “cap” capitalizes the next spoken word - “caps on/off” capitalizes the spoken sec&on of text - “all caps” makes the next spoken word all caps - “all caps on/off” makes the spoken sec&on of text all caps - “no caps” makes the next spoken word lower case - “no caps on/off” makes the spoken sec&on of text lower case - “space bar” prevents a hyphen from appearing in a normally hyphenated word - “no space” prevents a space between words - “no space on/off” to prevent a sec&on of text from having spaces between words More Dictaon Shortcuts • - “period” or “full stop” places a period at the end of a sentence - “dot” places a period anywhere, including between words - “point” places a point between numbers, not between words - “ellipsis” or “dot dot dot” places an ellipsis in your wri&ng - “comma” places a comma - “double comma” places a double comma (,,) - “quote” or “quotaon mark” places a quote mark (“) - “quote ... end quote” places quotaon marks around the text spoken between - “apostrophe”
    [Show full text]
  • TITLE of the PAPER 1. First Steps 2 1.1. General Mathematics 2 1.2
    TITLE OF THE PAPER STEVEN J. MILLER ABSTRACT. The point of these notes is to give a quick introduction to some of the standard commands of LaTeX; for more information see any reference book. Thus we concentrate on a few key things that will allow you to handle most situations. For the most part, we have tried to have the text describe the commands; though of course we cannot do this everywhere. You should view both the .tex code and the output (either .pdf or .dvi) simultaneously. CONTENTS 1. First Steps 2 1.1. General Mathematics 2 1.2. One Line Equations 3 1.3. Labeling Equations 4 1.4. Multi-Line Equations: Eqnarray 5 1.5. Lemmas,Propositions,TheoremsandCorollaries 6 1.6. Using Subsubsections 7 1.7. Tables 10 1.8. Matrices and Shortcuts 10 2. Environments I 13 2.1. Shortcut Environments 13 2.2. Enumeration, Itemizing, and General Latex and Linux Commands 13 3. Graphics and Color 14 3.1. Inserting Graphics 14 3.2. Color 14 4. Environments II 15 4.1. Lists 15 4.2. Emphasize and Bolding 15 4.3. Centering Text 15 4.4. Refering to Bibliography 15 4.5. Font sizes 15 5. Documentclassandglobalformatting 16 6. Further Reading 16 Acknowledgements 17 Date: October 14, 2011. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. 11M06 (primary), 12K02 (secondary). Key words and phrases. How to use TeX. The author would like to thank to Daneel Olivaw for comments on an earlier draft. The author was supported by a grant from the University of Trantor, and it is a pleasure to thank them for their generosity.
    [Show full text]
  • Vol. 123 Style Sheet
    THE YALE LAW JOURNAL VOLUME 123 STYLE SHEET The Yale Law Journal follows The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (19th ed. 2010) for citation form and the Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed. 2010) for stylistic matters not addressed by The Bluebook. For the rare situations in which neither of these works covers a particular stylistic matter, we refer to the Government Printing Office (GPO) Style Manual (30th ed. 2008). The Journal’s official reference dictionary is Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. The text of the dictionary is available at www.m-w.com. This Style Sheet codifies Journal-specific guidelines that take precedence over these sources. Rules 1-21 clarify and supplement the citation rules set out in The Bluebook. Rule 22 focuses on recurring matters of style. Rule 1 SR 1.1 String Citations in Textual Sentences 1.1.1 (a)—When parts of a string citation are grammatically integrated into a textual sentence in a footnote (as opposed to being citation clauses or citation sentences grammatically separate from the textual sentence): ● Use semicolons to separate the citations from one another; ● Use an “and” to separate the penultimate and last citations, even where there are only two citations; ● Use textual explanations instead of parenthetical explanations; and ● Do not italicize the signals or the “and.” For example: For further discussion of this issue, see, for example, State v. Gounagias, 153 P. 9, 15 (Wash. 1915), which describes provocation; State v. Stonehouse, 555 P. 772, 779 (Wash. 1907), which lists excuses; and WENDY BROWN & JOHN BLACK, STATES OF INJURY: POWER AND FREEDOM 34 (1995), which examines harm.
    [Show full text]
  • Punctuation Guide
    Punctuation guide 1. The uses of punctuation Punctuation is an art, not a science, and a sentence can often be punctuated correctly in more than one way. It may also vary according to style: formal academic prose, for instance, might make more use of colons, semicolons, and brackets and less of full stops, commas, and dashes than conversational or journalistic prose. But there are some conventions you will need to follow if you are to write clear and elegant English. In earlier periods of English, punctuation was often used rhetorically—that is, to represent the rhythms of the speaking voice. The main function of modern English punctuation, however, is logical: it is used to make clear the grammatical structure of the sentence, linking or separating groups of ideas and distinguishing what is important in the sentence from what is subordinate. It can also be used to break up a long sentence into more manageable units, but this may only be done where a logical break occurs; Jane Austen's sentence ‗No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would ever have supposed her born to be a heroine‘ would now lose its comma, since there is no logical break between subject and verb (compare: ‗No one would have supposed …‘). 2. The main stops and their functions The full stop, exclamation mark, and question mark are used to mark off separate sentences. Within the sentence, the colon (:) and semicolon (;) are stronger marks of division than the comma, brackets, and the dash. Properly used, the stops can be a very effective method of marking off the divisions and subdivisions of your argument; misused, they can make it barely intelligible, as in this example: ‗Donne starts the poem by poking fun at the Petrarchan convention; the belief that one's mistress's scorn could make one physically ill, he carries this one step further…‘.
    [Show full text]