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Week 6 :“English Punctuation & Spelling “

Matakuliah : EDITING

Tahun : 2006

Versi : 01/01

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Learning Outcomes

The students are expexted to be able to use editing system to find and correct the mistakes in English punctuation & spelling.

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Editing Punctuation & Spelling

The students are expected to understand that: The most common mistake people tend to make

while writing is in the use of Punctuation. Wrong  punctuation can damage the flow of ideas and change meaning, but properly used punctuation not only helps readers understand your meaning but also makes them engrossed in your writing.

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Editing Punctuation The students are expected to understand: Use of Apostrophe: Use an apostrophe to show possession, but never put

apostrophe in case of possessive pronouns. Always remember that when the word "it's" is used, it is actually for the contraction for the two words: "it has" or "it is". On the other hand, "its" is a possessive pronoun, and the word being already possessive should not contain an apostrophe in it. Example: 

It's the same thing happening over and over again.(Contraction of It and is: It is the same thing happening over and over again). 

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Use of Comma - Use commas to separate three or more items in a list. Though journalists most of the times omit the final comma before the word "and", but retaining the final comma avoids confusion. Example:  

– Poor: In this website, you can read articles about how to do business online, the woman who daily eats 45 eggs and Tom Cruise. 

– Better: In this website, you can read articles about how to do business online, the woman who daily eats 45 eggs, and Tom Cruise. 

Editing Punctuation

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Use of Quotation Marks – Use quotation marks to indicate direct

quotation.  Example:

"That guy knows me," Mr. Wong said, "very well." 

– Note: Never use it for indirect quotation (a restatement of someone’s words). 

– According to Mr. Wong, that guy knows him very well.   

Editing Punctuation

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Editing Punctuation

There are many other frequently used punctuation errors, but the above-discussed ones are those I have mostly encountered in several writings. Before putting punctuation marks in your sentences, always ask yourself what meaning you want to convey to the readers. Accordingly, put the marks. In case the sentence becomes difficult to punctuate, consider rewriting it, because when a sentence is well written, it almost punctuates itself.

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Editing Spelling

At its best, English spelling can be perplexing, especially for non-native speakers and writers. The following rules and suggestions are offered as aids. You will always be able to find exceptions to these rules, but most writers find them helpful.

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i before e, except after c . . . . achieve, believe, bier, brief, hygiene, grief, thief, friend,

grieve, chief, fiend, patience, pierce, priest ceiling, conceive, deceive, perceive, receipt,

receive, deceit, conceit

and in words that rhyme with hay. . . neighbor, freight, beige, sleigh, weight, vein, and weigh

. . . and some other exceptions. . . .either, neither, feint, foreign, forfeit, height, leisure, weird, seize

Editing Spelling

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When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant, we double that consonant when the ending begins with a vowel and the last syllable of the word is accented and that syllable ends in a single vowel followed by a single consonant. Example:

ADMIT + -ed = ADMITTED

Editing Spelling

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Editing Spelling

Becoming a better speller is a matter of personal commitment and finding your own method to add this important skill to your writing arsenal. Refer to the “Better Writing through Editing for recommendations on working on spelling. Also, take the spelling exercise there.

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Editing Spelling

There are many other frequently used spelling rules, but the above-discussed ones are those I have mostly encountered in several writings. Before editing spelling errors in your sentences, always rimember the spelling rules.