In this article, the author talks about the use of punctuation and describes a study that confirmed her growing sense that all students need exposure to and instruction on the full repertoire of punctuation. In an attempt to assess how much of the eleventh graders know about the way professionals use punctuation, all teachers at Webster Thomas…

A retired professor considers a semicolon as a nuisance as we can never get to the good part. He states his preferences for a comma and a colon over a semicolon.

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)

The rhetorical power of punctuation conventions as well as the effect of violating those conventions should be explained to the students. The craft in conventions can be found anywhere and all good writers use it in their work.

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)

Examines four common student misconceptions in grammar and punctuation, suggests the reasons for these misconceptions, and argues that teachers need to help students develop a thorough understanding of the English language system. (MM)

Argues that recent teaching strategies geared toward improving student writing through positive reinforcement have resulted in mediocre writing products. Suggests that mechanics be given the same value as content in the evaluation process. (KEH)

Suggests that in evaluating student papers audiotapes have several advantages over written comments: audiotapes make for a holistic instead of myopic evaluating approach, and make it easier to make positive comments. Explains system for transferring responsibility for grammatical errors from the teacher to the student. (TB)

Presents a potpourri of classroom techniques used by 28 teachers to develop skills in paragraph composition, public speaking, classroom discussion, the examination of specific literary works, and other language arts activities. (RL)