Punctuation Standards
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- Mary WhiteFace
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Punctuation Standards
Example:
A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Even a tiny little comma can make a big difference.
Let's eat grandpa.
Let's eat, grandpa.
The Oxford comma has been the topic of great debate. Should we use that last comma before the word and?
You decide:
Our scarves come in red, white and blue.
Our scarves come in red, white, and blue.
In the end, it all depends on the message you're trying to convey. Are all the colors on one scarf, or are there three scarves of different colors?
There are so many resources for help with punctuation. Through much toil and tribulation, I have found one particular website to be invaluable.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writ ... rview.html
Where do you go when you have a punctuation question?
- Yssimnar
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- Mary WhiteFace
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You're welcome. I'm actually hoping that eventually we will have an official guidebook here. One that is listed within the Review Team Guidelines. It would be easy to find, and save everyone alot of frustration. Reviewers and Editors would all have the same reference to go to for grammar and punctuation standards.
- Yssimnar
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Tiny_Turtle wrote: ↑06 Aug 2018, 06:57That would be my dream come true!Yssimnar wrote: ↑04 Aug 2018, 17:34 I'm actually hoping that eventually we will have an official guidebook here. One that is listed within the Review Team Guidelines. It would be easy to find, and save everyone alot of frustration. Reviewers and Editors would all have the same reference to go to for grammar and punctuation standards.
- Mary WhiteFace
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Yssimnar wrote: ↑06 Aug 2018, 23:22It would be niceTiny_Turtle wrote: ↑06 Aug 2018, 06:57That would be my dream come true!Yssimnar wrote: ↑04 Aug 2018, 17:34 I'm actually hoping that eventually we will have an official guidebook here. One that is listed within the Review Team Guidelines. It would be easy to find, and save everyone alot of frustration. Reviewers and Editors would all have the same reference to go to for grammar and punctuation standards.
- bellaterrabooks
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I agree that a style book specific to the Online Book Club would be beneficial for all of us. As it is, sometimes I have to guess about some minute point of grammar and hope.bellaterrabooks wrote: ↑24 Oct 2018, 19:02 I would very much like a universal standard for grammar and punctuation that can be used by reviewers and editors. I had asked on a previous forum if there was a particular grammar book that the editors used for their reference so that the reviewers would be able to use the same guide, but thus far I haven't received a response in any direction. When I am writing my reviews I use several grammar websites and college grammar textbooks so I have access to several of the "standard textbooks" that are utilized by English professors in the university system. In the interest of full disclosure, I am speaking of more than one university system as well. So I would really appreciate a standard from which we can all work collectively in order to give forth the best work to the authors on their own hard work.
― Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays
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- jgraney8
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The Purdue site has been updated. Here is the link to the opening page https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/about_the_ow ... w_owl.html. I hope this helps.fernsmom wrote: ↑25 Oct 2018, 23:39 Tiny_Turtle, I clicked on the link you had in your post and it didn't work. You gave great examples on the comma use and how they can make the sentence mean totally different things. I too, I'm embarrassed to say, have difficulty with this part of writing. It's probably just a bad excuse but I feel it is partly do to my age. It has been a long (very) since I have been in school. I've tried gammarly and a couple other sites but it seems like they don't catch all the mistakes.
― Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays
- bellaterrabooks
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- Mary WhiteFace
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I would love it if that would happen. I have gotten dinged for using commas to offset a portion of a sentence. Maybe it's my age, but I was taught that commas could be used to offset a few words that emphasize the importance of that portion of the sentence, as long as the sentence made sense without that section. I was also taught that commas could be used to emphasize a place to pause, not stop, in a sentence as long as the sentence makes sense without that particular piece. I really do wish we had one set standard for us to use. It would make life so much easier.jgraney8 wrote: ↑25 Oct 2018, 23:04I agree that a style book specific to the Online Book Club would be beneficial for all of us. As it is, sometimes I have to guess about some minute point of grammar and hope.bellaterrabooks wrote: ↑24 Oct 2018, 19:02 I would very much like a universal standard for grammar and punctuation that can be used by reviewers and editors. I had asked on a previous forum if there was a particular grammar book that the editors used for their reference so that the reviewers would be able to use the same guide, but thus far I haven't received a response in any direction. When I am writing my reviews I use several grammar websites and college grammar textbooks so I have access to several of the "standard textbooks" that are utilized by English professors in the university system. In the interest of full disclosure, I am speaking of more than one university system as well. So I would really appreciate a standard from which we can all work collectively in order to give forth the best work to the authors on their own hard work.
- Mary WhiteFace
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Thank you for the updated link.jgraney8 wrote: ↑26 Oct 2018, 13:52The Purdue site has been updated. Here is the link to the opening page https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/about_the_ow ... w_owl.html. I hope this helps.fernsmom wrote: ↑25 Oct 2018, 23:39 Tiny_Turtle, I clicked on the link you had in your post and it didn't work. You gave great examples on the comma use and how they can make the sentence mean totally different things. I too, I'm embarrassed to say, have difficulty with this part of writing. It's probably just a bad excuse but I feel it is partly do to my age. It has been a long (very) since I have been in school. I've tried gammarly and a couple other sites but it seems like they don't catch all the mistakes.
- jgraney8
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I agree. Even stylebooks such as the AP, Chicago Manual, and the APA stylebook differ. We are writing for reviewers who may have different standards in mind that we are not aware of until we get dinged for something by one reviewer but not another. When it causes a loss of points, it can be very frustrating. It's like trying to hit a moving target.Tiny_Turtle wrote: ↑27 Oct 2018, 12:09
I would love it if that would happen. I have gotten dinged for using commas to offset a portion of a sentence. Maybe it's my age, but I was taught that commas could be used to offset a few words that emphasize the importance of that portion of the sentence, as long as the sentence made sense without that section. I was also taught that commas could be used to emphasize a place to pause, not stop, in a sentence as long as the sentence makes sense without that particular piece. I really do wish we had one set standard for us to use. It would make life so much easier.
― Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays
- Mary WhiteFace
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jgraney8 wrote: ↑27 Oct 2018, 12:46I agree. Even stylebooks such as the AP, Chicago Manual, and the APA stylebook differ. We are writing for reviewers who may have different standards in mind that we are not aware of until we get dinged for something by one reviewer but not another. When it causes a loss of points, it can be very frustrating. It's like trying to hit a moving target.Tiny_Turtle wrote: ↑27 Oct 2018, 12:09
I would love it if that would happen. I have gotten dinged for using commas to offset a portion of a sentence. Maybe it's my age, but I was taught that commas could be used to offset a few words that emphasize the importance of that portion of the sentence, as long as the sentence made sense without that section. I was also taught that commas could be used to emphasize a place to pause, not stop, in a sentence as long as the sentence makes sense without that particular piece. I really do wish we had one set standard for us to use. It would make life so much easier.
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