Punctuation

When speaking, we can pause or change the tone of our voices to indicate emphasis. When writing, we use punctuation to indicate these places of emphases.

In English, commas are used much less frequently than in Ukrainian. The main rules of the use of commas that differ from the Ukrainian rules are as follows:

1. Do not separate with a comma (commas) identifying clauses (identify persons or things):

The water that we are using now is the very same water that the dinosaurs used millions years ago.

An online dictionary is useful for a student who needs to quickly check the meaning of unfamiliar words.

2. Separate with a comma (commas) non-identifying clauses:

The basic set of principles, which this book presents, allows the deviation of conclusions.

Dr. John Harris, who came on a research visit to our University, gave an interesting lecture.

3. Do not separate with a comma infinitival, participial, prepositional phrases, and adverbial clauses if they come at the end of the sentence:

You need the right kinds of food in the right amounts to have a healthy life.

The dominant culture sets the standards and norms for day-to-day living in many countries around the world.

4. Separate with a comma infinitival, participial, prepositional phrases, and adverbial clauses if they come at the beginning of the sentence.

To have a healthy life, you need the right kinds of food in the right amounts.

In many countries around the world, the dominant culture sets the standards and norms for day-to-day living.

5. Put a comma between two independent clauses if they are connected by and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so.

Lomonosov worked in many fields of science, but everywhere he brought something new and original leaving his century far behind.

6. Separate with a comma logical connectors at the beginning of the sentence:

For example, 148 million people worldwide are communicating across borders via Internet.

However, real language does not consist solely of questions from one party and answers from another.

7. Put a comma in case of enumeration in a series of 3 or more words and even if the last item is preceded by and:

Pollutants may be chemicals, industrial waste, and small particles of soil.

8. Put a comma after a person's family (last) name if it is written before the first name:

On a job application, one must write his/her last name first, e.g.: Roberts, David.

9. Put a comma in a direct quotation to separate the speaker's exact words from the rest of the sentence:

The widespread definition of clinical genetics is, "The science and practice of the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of genetic disease."

10. Full stops (periods) and commas should always be put inside the close of quotation marks (sometimes called inverted commas):

"Students," he writes, "should not be forbidden to study literature."

11. Use a comma in a date:

October 25, 1999

Monday, October 25, 1999

12. Use a comma in a personal title:

Pam Smith, PhD.

Mike Rose, Chief Financial Officer for Operations, reported the quarter’s earnings

13. Use a comma to separate a city name from the state (writing an address):

West Lafayette, Indiana

Dallas, Texas

Semicolon

1. Use a semicolon to join 2 independent clauses when the second clause restates the first or when the two clauses are of equal emphasis:

Road construction in Dallas has hindered travel around town; streets have become covered with bulldozers, trucks, and cones.

2. Use a semicolon to join elements of a series when individual items of the series already include commas:

Recent sites of the Olympic Games include Athens, Greece; Salt Lake City, Utah; Sydney, Australia; Nagano, Japan.

Colon

1. Use a colon to join 2 independent clauses when you wish to emphasize the second clause:

Road construction in Dallas has hindered travel around town: parts of Main, Fifth, and West Street are closed during the construction.

2. Use a colon after an independent clause when it is followed by a list, appositive (an appositive is a word that adds explanatory or clarifying information to the noun that precedes it), or other idea directly related to the independent clause:

I know a perfect job for her: a politician.

Julie went to the store for some groceries: milk, bread, coffee, and cheese.

3. Use a colon to separate the hour and minute(s) in a time notation:

12:00 p.m.

Dash

Dashes are used to set off or emphasize the content enclosed within dashes or the content that follows a dash:

Perhaps one reason why the term has been so problematic – so resistant to definition, and yet so transitory in those definitions – is because of its multitude of applications.

To some of you, my proposals may seem radical – even revolutionary.

Elements of Academic Texts

Paragraph

The division into paragraphs is an important feature of any type of writing. A paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic (Another definition: a paragraph may be defined as a textual unit usually consisting of a number of sentences which deal with one main idea). Skillful paragraph division greatly assists readers in following a piece of writing. The basic rule of thumb with paragraphing is to keep one idea to one paragraph. If you begin to transition into a new idea, it belongs in a new paragraph. You can have one idea and several bits of supporting evidence within a single paragraph.

In writing, a paragraph is defined by indentation. Indentation means starting a line (of print or writing) farther from the margin than the other lines. Indentation signals the beginning of some kind of a change. In English academic writing, all paragraphs with the exception of the first one should be indented.

The length of a paragraph is often between 75 to 125 words (although it can be much longer). In a short piece of academic writing (for example, the conference abstract or text summary), each major point may be developed into a separate paragraph. In longer types of papers (e.g., the journal paper), several paragraphs may be necessary to develop one point.

Paragraphs should be short enough for readability, but long enough to develop an idea. Overly long paragraphs should be split up, as long as the cousin paragraphs keep the idea in focus. One-sentence paragraphs are unusually emphatic, and should be used sparingly. Articles should rarely, if ever, consist solely of such paragraphs.

A paragraph is a group of closely related sentences dealing with a single topic or idea. Usually, one sentence called the topic sentence states the main idea of the paragraph. All the other sentences must be related to this topic sentence. These sentences further explain or support the main idea and give the paragraph a feeling of unity.

The topic sentence of a paragraph tells what the paragraph is about. It indicates in a general way what idea or thesis the paragraph is going to deal with. A topic sentence can be put in any place in the paragraph, but putting it at the beginning guides paragraph development. Sometimes the main idea is implied rather than stated.