The importance of commas!

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

“Why?” asks the confused waiter as the panda exists. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual “I’m a panda,” he says. “Look it up.”

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

“Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

Efficient English

Adjective PunctuationOutlines and Abstracts?”

Lecture 5

Spring 2012

Adjective Punctuation

a highly regarded experimental scientist

a new high tensile strength polystyrene butadiene block polymer

a new, high-tensile-strength, polystyrene-butadiene block polymer

a new high-tensile-strength polystyrene-butadiene block polymer

Adjective Punctuation

a low surface area gold alumina catalyst

a low-surface-area gold-alumina catalyst

the by-product forming terminal step in the process

the by-product-forming terminal step in the process

Adjective Punctuation

the easily accessible intermediate

the polymer derived hydrogenation catalyst

the polymer-derived hydrogenation catalyst

Controlling Meaning - 1

• little used car dealer little used car-dealer

a small busy person who sells cars

• little, used car dealer little, used car-dealer

a small and busy person who sells cars

(comma is confusing and extraneous, unless reversing order emphasizes you

have coordinate adjectives )• used, little car dealer

SIZE PARTICIPLE

Controlling Meaning-2

• little used, car dealer little used, car-dealer

business is bad for person selling cars

(Comma is misleading with compound noun)

• little-used car dealer little-used car-dealer

business is bad for person selling cars

Controlling Meaning - 3

• little-used, car dealer

business is bad for people who sell cars

Comma is extraneous because adjectives are cumulative

• little used-car dealer little used-car-dealer

small person who sells pre-owned cars

Controlling Meaning - 4

• little, used-car dealer

small person who sells pre-owned cars

• Comma is extraneous because adjectives are cumulative

• little-used-car dealer

person sells low mileage, previously owned cars

Outlines and Abstracts (14-21)

Five stages in developing an outline for an abstract

Four components to an abstract 

Three Types of Precis

Executive Summary

Informative Summary

Technical Abstract

Abstracts (ACS Style Guide)

1. Briefly state the problem or the purpose of the research.

2. Indicate the experimental plan used.

3. Summarize the principal findings.

4. Point out the major conclusions. Include safety information if applicable. Do not

supplement or evaluate the conclusions

Outlining Process

1.  Develop a complete database

2. Organize the topics into a logical flow  

3. Restructure the topics if necessary

4. Consider style at the sentence level

5. Write the first draft

ACS Webinar suggests 80% of time should be spent on these components.

Develop a complete database

All inclusive - include VERBS with the ideas

Linear, or diagram (concept map), - any way you can get the ideas down

Inadequate databases cause writer’s block

 200 words at 12-15 words/sentence

13-16 sentences and ~18-20 ideas in database

Organize the database

Logical flow of main ideasHow will you present the argument and ideas?

Place each item from the database in one of the topics

What is your topic sentence?

What is your closing sentence?

Restructure the outline

Regroup the ideas so that each is in context

Look for balance and well-developed arguments

Consider style

Decide if ideas can be combined in sentences to give balance and/or emphasis.

Plan a short sentence if there are several long ones.

Write

Write the first draft from your outline

Double or triple space, print

Read it aloud

Edit for clarity and conciseness

Assignment for April 16

Write an abstract of EITHER the article on page 64 of the manual OR the handout. Limit your abstract to no more than 200 words.

Turn in your database list, organized and annotated outline, and first and last draft.

Friday April 13

Individual appointments

Bring work and “book” with you

I will have an analysis of your “ideal lab” essay.

Adjectives, Predicate Adjectives, and Adverbs

An ideal lab is equipped well. (passive)

An ideal lab is well-equipped. (linking)

A well-equipped lab facilitates efficient research. (active, specific word choice defines what the

author means by “ideal”)