Discusses the vocabulary of English punctuation terms, largely unchanged since the Norman conquest in 1066. Discusses the meaning of the period, colon, comma, question mark, exclamation point, slash, parenthesis, brackets, asterisk, hyphen, and ampersand. (RS)

Students will have to develop a presence on the page along with mastering grammar, spelling, and punctuation in order to become accomplished writers. Students should be given opportunities to hear their own written voices and the written voices of the others, their peers, their teachers and the best authors because the voice helps them to develop…

Argues that composition teachers should accept as little blame as possible for students' errors in using the apostrophe, that a large chunk of the blame should be assigned to workbooks with oversimple rules, and that basic writers have more important things to worry about. (RS)

This article is in the form of a letter from a hypothetical former student on her first job in word processing, looking back at her educational experience and how it helped her. She shares her thoughts with her instructor and comments on areas that she feels could have been emphasized more. Grammar/punctuation, proofreading,…

A disturbing deterioration has been noticed recently in the editing of history books. They have mistakes in grammar, word usage, style, and punctuation. Specific examples are provided. (RM)

Presents a functional description of punctuation as a delimiter of words, sentences, and paragraphs, and as a semantic and extralinguistic indicator. (AM)

Suggests a system for teaching punctuation, in which the independent clause is recognized as the fundamental building block of all language. Maintains that punctuation is not based on rules but on principles governing the relationship between one independent clause and the next. (TB)

Illustrates some of the problems and the advantages of three programs designed for language arts instruction: "English Volume I" (MECC), "English SAT 1" (Microlab), and "Vocabulary Prompter" (Jagdstaffel). (AEA)

Reviews four computer programs that check grammar, punctuation, and spelling; discusses their applicability in the business writing process. (AEA)

Demonstrates the role of punctuation in relation to the syntax, communicative value, and semantics of the French sentence. (AM)

Missing apostrophes, misplaced apostrophes, and unnecessary apostrophes are all common occurrences in many forms of written American English. The fact is there is no adequate explanation--in traditional grammar or in any other grammar--that accounts for all the functions and transformations that grammarians have crowded under the heading of the…

Good writing is good sentences. It is a simple truth that many in the business of teaching writing have strayed from. Good writing is a first sentence that makes a reader want to read the second sentence, a second sentence that makes a reader want to read the third, and so on. Erika Lindemann suggests that certain types of sentence instruction can…

Discusses five "rules" of language use that can be broken: (1) don't use contractions in formal writing, (2) every paragraph should have a topic/clincher sentence, (3) never end a sentence with a preposition, (4) Avoid "I" and "you" in formal writing, and (5) never begin a sentence with "and" or "but." (EL)

Argues that grammar instruction is important and should begin early. Lists rules for using the comma, colon, and semi-colon. Notes 10 tips for top-notch writing. Notes grammatical areas often troublesome to students. Includes a short quiz. (SR)

This concluding article in a series concerning the use of the comma in Spanish gives specific examples of its use from Spanish literature. Concluding remarks outline the major purposes of the comma. (NCR)