ENG 102SP15

Apostrophes
Commas
MLA lab activity

APOSTROPHES

APOSTROPHES

THERE ARE ONLY TWO BASIC RULES

FOR APOSTROPHE USE!!!!

Show possession
Show omission

APOSTROPHES
Singular one cat
Cat
Singular possesive - One cat, one bowl
The cats bowl is empty.
Plural more than one cat
There are two cats.
Plural possessive two cats own a bowl
The cats bowl is empty.

APOSTROPHES
Use

an apostrophe to indicate that a noun

is possessive
The hat of Tim
Tims hat
The desk of the lawyers
The lawyers desk
The camper of Joyce and Greg
Joyce and Gregs camper
The memoir of my father-in-law
My father-in-laws memoir

APOSTROPHES
Use

an apostrophe and s to indicate that

an indefinite pronoun is possessive
(everyone, someone, no one, something)

The raincoat of someone

Someones raincoat

APOSTROPHES
Use

an apostrophe to mark omissions in

contractions and numbers
Its = it is
Its
_____ raining outside.
Each area had _____ own desk.
Use an apostrophe to mark omissions of
the first two digits of a year or years
The class of 08
The 60s generation (notice it isnt 60s)

APOSTROPHES
Do

not use an apostrophe to form the

plural of numbers, letters, abbreviations,
and words mentioned as words
Oksana skated nearly perfect figure 8s.
The 1920s are known as the Jazz age.
He received two Ds for the first time in his
life.
Beginning readers often confuse bs and ds.
Students with straight As earn high honors.
The Is in the sign are crooked.
There are exceptions for Js, js, Ps, and ps.
Harriet has thirty DVDs on her desk.

APOSTROPHES
Avoid

common misuses of the apostrophe.

Some outpatients have special parking
permits.
The House on Mango Street was written by
Sandra Cisneros, whos work focuses on the
Latino community in the United States.

APOSTROPHE SONG
Watch the following video.
Write down examples of apostrophe misuse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc2aSz9Ficw

GRAMMAR TASKS
Write three sentences that each use a
singular possessive ( s).
Write three sentences that each use a
plural possessive (s).
Write three sentences that each use a
plural word (no apostrophes).

ENG 102
Commas

TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBORS

When do you use a comma?

COMMAS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHnl1O3NGJ
k

COMMAS
Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction
joining independent clauses
*coordinating conjunctions = FANBOYS
The department sponsored a seminar on college
survival skills and it also hosted a barbecue for
new students.
Do NOT use a comma to separate coordinate
word groups that are not independent clauses
A good money manager controls expenses, and
invests surplus dollars to meet future needs.
*not two complete sentences

COMMAS
Use a comma after an introductory clause or
phrase
When Irwin was ready to iron his cat tripped on
the cord.
*an easy way to determine an introductory clause
is if it can be placed at end of sentence
His cat tripped on the cord when Irwin was ready
to iron.
*no comma needed.
In no time we were at 2,800 feet.
We were at 2,800 feet in no time.

COMMAS
Use a comma between all items in a series
Bubbles of air leaves ferns bits of wood and insects
are often found trapped in amber.
*MLA uses the Oxford comma
*APA does NOT use the Oxford comma

COMMAS
Use a comma between coordinate adjectives not
joined with and. Do not use a comma between
cumulative adjectives. (use the and test)
Roberto is a warm gentle affectionate father.
Three large gray shapes moved slowly toward us.

COMMAS
Use commas to set off nonrestrictive (nonessential)
elements (gives extra information)
The campers need sturdy shoes which are expensive.
How do the meanings of these two sentences differ
because of the commas?
The dessert made with fresh raspberries was delicious.
The dessert, made with fresh raspberries, was delicious.
In the first example, the phrase made with fresh
raspberries tells readers which of two or more
desserts the writer is referring to. In the example
with commas, the phrase merely adds information
about the dessert.

COMMAS
Use commas to set off transitional and
parenthetical expressions, absolute phrases, and
word groups expressing contrast
*think of it as stuff that isnt needed in the
sentence
Minh did not understand our language; moreover
he was unfamiliar with our customs.
As a matter of fact American football was
established in the mid-nineteenth century.

COMMAS
Use commas to set off nouns of direct address,
the words yes and no, interrogative tags, and
mild interjections
Forgive me Angela for forgetting your birthday.
Use commas with expressions such as he said to
set off direct quotations
If you learn the basic rules of commas, people will
think you are a writing genius Jeannine
advised.

COMMAS
Use commas with dates, addresses, titles, and
number
On December 12 1980 orders were sent out for the
arrest of Sitting Bull.
The security alert system went into effect on 15
April 2009.
Use a comma to prevent confusion
Patients who can walk up and down the halls every
day.
To err is human; to forgive divine.
*avoid overuse

TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBORS

When do you use a comma?

GRAMMAR PORTFOLIO

Give an example for each comma rule (there

are 11 typed in green)

MLA LAB ACTIVITY

IN LAB
Log on to a computer
Pull up a word document

HOW TO CREATE A WORKS CITED PAGE

First, adhere to all of the basics as outlined in

the previous slides
Second, determine the type of source (book,
periodical, electronic source, other [interview,
lecture, visual art, film, audio, digital file) being
cited
Third, find the appropriate formula to document
the necessary information of the source
OWL@Purdue
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/0
5/
Online Bib Generators - WARNING

Not always correct

Inaccurate information
Not up-to-date with current MLA
User error
MAKE SURE YOU DOUBLE CHECK YOUR WORK
FOR ERRORS

REVIEW

GRAMMAR PORTFOLIO
Your essay is 9 pages in length. Create a complete
MLA Works Cited Page using sources listed on
Weebly.

interview in person with Robert Akins, November 19, 2010

Website article by Dr. Joshua Smith entitled The Many Uses
of Pencils. It was published March 22, 2010 and viewed
August 3, 2012. The URL is
www.articlesonline.smith/pencils.html
Pens vs. Pencils written by Henry Goldman and Elizabeth
Howard. Published by Gold House in Philadelphia in 1989.
The Beauty of Mechanical Pencils by Alexander Morrow,
published by Westing Forge in Denver, CO in 2011.
Short video called The Ink of Mystery, directed by Bernard
Howard and starring Kurt Sherman, distributed by Public
Video in November 2009.
Encyclopedia of Style article, Writing Utensils, by John
Gruber, published in 2008, 5th edition

NEXT WEEK...
Portfolio #1 due
Read chapter 6 Analysis

NEXT WEEK...

Using the fake sources used in class, create

the following for each source

Citation
One made up quote with an attributive tag.
Page numbers will also be made up.
One made up quote without an attributive
tag. Page numbers will also be made up.