Punctuation Notes

Punctuation: Commas, Comma Splices, Quotations

1.     Comma Splices: Go to Grammar Bytes (link on the blog), click on Exercises.

a.     Start with Comma Splices “Interactive Exercises”

b.     Click “Start Now” and follow the directions.

c.      If you click the incorrect answer, be sure to click “Get an Explanation” before moving on to the next.

2.     Commas: Back on the main page, click Commas, Exercise 1 Interactive Exercise.

a.     Select the appropriate answer and work through all 20.

b.     If you mark one incorrectly, be sure to click on the “Comma Tip” that  pops up at the top of the page.

c.      If you finish all 20, move on to Exercise 2, then 3, and so on…

*Questions from these exercises will be on a quiz on Monday—be sure to continue practicing and studying this weekend.

3.     Properly Punctuating Quotes

a.     Direct (word for word quotations): Use Double Quotes (“…”)

b.     End punctuation--Periods and commas always go INSIDE quotations

                                               i.     Scout says, “Hey yourself,” and Jem walks away.

c.      Quotes within quotes—use single quotation marks (‘…’)

                                               i.     Harper Lee writes, “Then Dill said, ‘I dare you to go in there.’”

d.     Don’t use “scare” quotes—do not use quotation marks around anything that is not a direct quote from the text, unless it is a title of a short work.

                                               i.     Harper Lee likes to use “subtle images” in her writing.

e.     Always write in the PRESENT TENSE when doing literary analysis.

                                               i.     Jem says… NOT Jem said…

f.      Be sure to include a signal phrase that signals the coming of a quote

                                               i.     Walter Cunningham, for example, tells Atticus that he has to “stay out ever’ spring an’ help Papa with the choppin.’”

                                              ii.     Notice how the quote flows from the sentences’ syntax.

g.     MLA in-text citation: page number(s) in parenthesis after the quote but BEFORE the period.

                                               i.     Walter Cunningham, for example, tells Atticus that he has to “stay out ever’ spring an’ help Papa with the choppin’” (32).

ANNOTATE any necessary changes to the paragraph below, considering commas, comma splices, and/or quotation usage.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the conflict between Walter Cunningham and Miss Caroline represents misunderstanding between the lower class and middle class in Alabama. The Cunningham’s place more value on survival than on school. Walter Cunningham, for example, tells Atticus that he has to “stay out ever’ spring an’ help Papa with the choppin’” (32). When Walter refuses to accept a quarter for lunch from Miss Caroline, Scout says, “he’s a Cunningham,” as if just the name proves her point (26). It is common knowledge in Maycomb county that the Cunningham’s are “country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them hardest” (27). However, since Miss Caroline punishes Scout for sharing this knowledge, it is evident that Miss Caroline misunderstands the Cunningham’s status in society. Harper Lee uses Miss Caroline and the Cunningham’s to represent the deep conflict between lower and middle classes in Alabama.