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…

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)

A step-by-step account of a direct, different, and individualized method of teaching the use of commas and semicolons to high-school students. (SP)

Phonological rules based on "stress-terminal pattern" (the principle that a phonological phrase has one primary stress and one terminal juncture requiring a mark of punctuation) can be used to improve punctuation in composition. These rules require that the writer be able to speak sentences at a normal pace with intonation appropriate to the…

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)

Argues that emphasis on process has reduced the amount of time teachers spend teaching basic editing skills. Offers eight suggestions for incorporating instruction in punctuation into a process approach to writing. (MS)

To minimize inconsistencies in hyphenation practices, written English should accurately transcribe spoken English by indicating every open- or plus-juncture with a hyphen ("Plus-juncture" is the special transition the speaker makes between two compound nouns.). Even young native speakers of English can readily perceive semantic and phonological…

Presents an assignment in which students are instructed to produce a complete, accurate, and readable collection of rules and sentences that illustrates the multiple uses of each mark of punctuation, in other words, to write their own workbooks. (EL)

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)