Tools of the Trade

1. Tools of the Trade Grammar, Spelling & mechanics for Writing.

2. Capitalization: MTDFPPPILQ • Mom took Dad from Peter Piper’s Pizza. Ilove quiet! • M-Months of the year • T-Titles of books, movies, stories, and people (This excludes articles a, an, the, of, and, of, on, in) • D-Days of the week • F-First word in a sentence • P-People/Pets • P-Proper Nouns (people, places, or things) • P-Proper adjectives or culture names (African American, Mexican) • I-”I” stands alone & with contractions • L-Letter opening opening and closing (Dear Susan…Sincerely, SaMantha) • Q-First word in quotations

3. You’ll Learn End Punctuation. Okay? YEs! • Four types of sentences: • Exclamatory-the sentences attempt to powerful feelings, or emotions: • I won! • It’s a werewolf! • Imperative- the sentences that form a command: • Stop jumping on the bed. • Clean your room. • Interrogative-the sentences that form a question: • How are you? • What time is it? • Declarative-the sentences that form a statement: • Tomorrow I will go to the store. • Yesterday I left school early.

4. More Punctuation…it’s not only at the end. AWEYDLCSAQ • Awe, your dad loves cookies, sleep, and quiet! • A-Apostrophe…possessives and contractions • ***Remember we use apostrophes to show ownership (that’s called possessives) and when we shorten two words into one (that’s called contractions).*** • (Ex: Lucy’s dog just can’t seem to sit still!) • W-Words in a series (Ex: I love to eat, sleep, and play baseball.) • E-End marks (Ex: I am so excited to see that play! Are you excited too?) • Y-Yes/No/Well/Transition words • ***Remember that these always show up at the beginning of sentences*** • (Ex: Yes, I think I would like to go to the park with you. John, can you take out the trash?) • D-Date with the year (Ex: I was born on December 9, 1993.)

5. AWEYDLCSAQ • L-Letter opening and closing. • (Ex: Dear Susan, I miss you. Your friend,Keisha) • C-City, State (Ex: I grew up in Houston, Texas.) • S- Said words….followed by quotation marks. • ***Remember when you see a word that means the same thing as “said,” such as “shouted, exclaimed, yelled, asked, questioned, told” put a comma between that word and the quotation marks that come after it.*** • (Ex: Marcus asked, “Do I have to eat my vegetables?”) • A-Abbreviations (Ex: Dr. Davis moved from Polo St. to West Fuqua.) • ***Remember when you shorten a word, you must put a period at the end, EXCEPT with the abbreviations of states. So, “Street” becomes “St.” but “Texas” becomes “TX”*** • Q-Quotation marks (Ex: My Mama always said, “Life is like a box of chocolates.”) • ***Remember to use quotation marks whenever you are quoting exactly what someone said.***

6. “Quotations are Used to indicate dialogue,” said Ms. Shields • The primary function of quotation marks is to set off and represent exact language (either spoken or written) that has come from • somebody else. The quotation mark is also used to designate speech acts in fiction and sometimes poetry. Here are some tips to help. • Use a comma to introduce a quotation after a standard dialogue tag, a brief introductory phrase, or a dependent clause. • The detective said, "I am sure who performed the murder." • As D.H. Nachas explains, "The gestures used for greeting others differ greatly from one culture to another.” • He said, "I may forget your name, but I never forget a face." • History is stained with blood spilled in the name of "civilization." • Mullen, criticizing the apparent inaction, writes, "Donahue's policy was to do nothing" (24). • Place colons and semicolons outside closed quotation marks. • Williams described the experiment as "a definitive step forward"; other scientists disagreed. • Benedetto emphasizes three elements of what she calls her "Olympic journey": family support, personal commitment, and great • coaching. • Place a question mark or exclamation point within closing quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the quotation itself. Place • the punctuation outside the closing quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the whole sentence. • Phillip asked, "Do you need this book?" • Does Dr. Lim always say to her students, "You must work harder"?

7. Quotations Part two: “…They do other stuff too,” she continued. • Writing Dialogue • Write each person's spoken words, however brief, as a separate paragraph. Use commas to set off dialogue tags such • as "she said" or "he explained." If one person's speech goes on for more than one paragraph, use quotation marks to • open the dialogue at the beginning of each paragraph. However, do not use closing quotation marks until the end of the • final paragraph where that character is speaking. • Quotation Marks with Titles

8. Paragraphing: It’s all in the timing…and action, effect & Dialogue • There are a few standard times to make a new paragraph: • 1. When you start in on a new topic: • This one's mainly for essays. Every time you go on to a new topic, you should make new paragraph. • 2. When you skip to a new time: • This one--and the rest--are mainly for use in short stories. Whenever you skip some time, that will probably be the right place to make a new paragraph. If you • find yourself using phrases or sentences like these, you are skipping some time: Later that day, The next morning, Five hours passed. They waited and waited. • Life in Dullsville remained unchanged. The seconds seemed like hours. • 3. When you skip to a new place: • Scenes in stories generally happen in one place. When the characters go to a new place, a new scene happens. At the very least, a new paragraph happens. • Any time you have a "Meanwhile, back at...” phrase in your story, make a new paragraph. • 4. When a new person begins to speak: • Dialogue helps bring stories to life. Every time you switch speakers, you make a new paragraph. Sometimes this means that your paragraphs are really short, • because all acharacter might say is, "Nope." If that's all he says, though, that is as long as the paragraph needs to be. Another thing to remember is that, if you • put the "he said" phrasebefore the quote, or you character does some action before he speaks, you should make that part of the same paragraph as the • quote.

9. Paragraphs continued • 5. Action That Serves As Part of the Dialogue: • A good writer will break long stretches of dialogue up with snatches of action. This is good for the • rhythm of the piece. Changing things up makes the conversation flow smoothly, at least from the • reader's standpoint. It also helps make a picture in the reader's mind by inserting just the right detail • to bring the scene to life. The last reason for using this kind of paragraph break is that people don't • always reply with words. Sometimes they shrug or make a face or ignore the other speaker entirely. • 6. When you want to produce a dramatic effect: • Sometimes you simply want a paragraph to stand out, or you want to slow the reader down and • control the pace of the story. At times like this, you can make a brief sentence--or even a word--an • entire paragraph. Just don't overdo it; this gets old fast.

10. Spelling Part I: YDSSFS • Y- Y rule • If you want to make the plural of a word that ends with “y”, you may need to change the “y” to an “i” and add “es.” Just follow these easy steps.: • Does the word end with “y”? • Look at the letter next to the “y”. 2.If that letter is a vowel, just add “s” and you’ll be finished. If that letter is a consonant, go on to step 3. Change the “y” to an • “i” and add “es.” So, if you’ve got a word like monkey or toy, you can make these plural just by adding “s” Monkeys like to play with toys.  But, if you’ve got a word • like baby or fly, you can make them plural by changing the “y” to an “i” and adding “es.” Babies hate when flies get in their soup. • D-Double the consonant rule • If you start off with a word like “drop,” you may need to double the consonant before you add “ing” or “ed.” Follow these steps: • Is the word only one syllable? (Yep, “drop” is just one syllable.) 2. Does the vowel make a short vowel sound? (Yep, the “o” makes the /aw/ sound.) 3. Is • there only one vowel in the word? (Yep, just the letter “o”)4. Is the vowel next to the last letter? (Yep, “o” is next to the “p”.) If you answered “yes” to all four • questions, then you need to double the consonant! So, “drop” becomes “dropped” and “dropping” • “S-Silent “e” rule • Some words have a silent “e” on the end, such as “smile, come, hike, take.” If you want to add “ing” to these words, you’re going to need to drop the silent “e” from • the word before you add “ing.”So, “smile” becomes “smiling,” “come” becomes “coming,” and “take” becomes “taking.”

11. YDSSFS • S-Sound alike rule • There’s no trick to this rule, you just have to learn the most common homophones. Remember, just because words sound alike, doesn’t • mean that they are spelled the same way and mean the same thing. • The most important sound alike you need to know are: • It’s- it is and its- possession • Their-possession, there-place and they’re-they are • Two-number, to-preposition, and too-also or many • No- and know-understanding or comprehension • You’re-you are and your-possession • F-F and Fe rule • When a word ends with “f” or “fe” you may need to do some switching before making the word a plural. Before you add the “s” don’t forget • to change the “f” to a “ve” and the “fe” to a “ve.So, “wife” becomes “wives.And instead of one “loaf” of bread, you get two “loaves”. • S- Es Rule • For most words, you can make a plural—that means more than one— just by adding “s” to the end. There are some tricky spelling patterns, however, that • require an “es” at the end. If a noun ends with “s, x, ch, or sh” you’ll need to add “es.” • Bus buses Fox foxes Lunch lunches Wish wishes

12. Technology not always the answer • What Spell Check CANNOT fix • Affect versus Effect • Would Have NOT Would of • Through versus Threwversus Thorough • Then versus Than • Supposed To NOT Suppose To • Sales versus Sails • Compliment versus Complement • Wonder versus Wander • Farther versus Further • Homonyms

13. Apostrophe’s Rules…so possessive • The apostrophe has three uses: to form possessives of nouns, to show the omission of letters, to indicate certain plurals of lowercase • letters To see if you need to make a possessive, turn the phrase around and make it an "of the..." phrase. For example: the boy's hat = the • hat of the boyIf the noun after "of" is a building, an object, or a piece of furniture, then noapostrophe is needed! door of the car = car door • Once you've determined whether you need to make a possessive, follow these rules to create one. • add 's to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in -s): the owner's car • add 's to the plural forms that do not end in -s: the children's game • add ' to the end of plural nouns that end in -s: two cats' toys • add 's to the end of compound words: my brother-in-law's money • add 's to the last noun to show joint possession of an object: Todd and Anne's apartment • Don't use apostrophes for personal pronouns, the relative pronoun who, or for noun plurals. • wrong: his' book 
correct: his book
correct: one's book
correct: anybody's bookwrong: Who's dog is this?correct: Whose dog is this?



14. They’re Tricky, commas, but they’re needed. • Rule No. 1: In a simple series, use a comma to separate the elements, but don’t put a • comma before the conjunction. The flag is red, white and blue. He would nominate Tom, Dick or Harry. • Rule No. 2: Use a comma to separate two independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction. The student opened her book, and then she read the chapter. • Rule No. 3: Use a comma following an introductory phrase of four words or more. When he had tired of the mad pace of New York, he moved to Dubuque. • Rule No. 4: Use commas to set off modifiers that are not essential to the reader's ability to identify a particular person, place or thing. The violinist who doesn't work hard in practice doesn't get a chance to solo. • Rule No. 5: Use commas to separate adjectives of equal rank. She spoke in a thoughtful, precise manner. • Rule No. 6: Use commas to set off words that add emphasis, shift attention or provide a fuller explanation (parentheticals, "yes," "no," names in direct address).It was, after all, only a game.Yes, I will be there.Jane, it's time to go.Put me in, coach. I'm ready to play. • Rule No. 7: Use a comma, carefully, to set off quotes or paraphrases. "That's simple," the student said. • Rule No. 8: Use a comma with hometowns, ages, names of states and nations used with city names, affiliations, and most large numbers. His journey will take him from Dublin, Ireland, to Fargo, N.D., and back. Nov. 7, 1955, was her date of birth. • Rule No. 9: Use a comma to separate duplicate words to eliminate confusion. What the problem is, is not clear.

15. Semicolons are like end punctuation; colons: tell time, indicate lists and sound like a body part. • Semicolon Used to Join Two Complete Sentences: Mary ate dinner; the dinner tasted exquisite. • Semicolon Used with Words Like 'however" and Phrases Like "for example”: Mary ate dinner; however, she was hungry an hour later. • Semicolon Used to Clarify a List of Items When Each Item has Punctuation Within Itself: Mary's favorite dinner • foods are chicken, with Cayenne pepper; salad, with Italian dressing; toast, with garlic and butter; and soup, with • scallions, cheese, and mushrooms. • Colon Used to Further Explain or Introduce a List:Mary's dinner consisted of the following: salad, soup, chicken, and • toast. • Colon Used with Ratios, Titles and Subtitles of Books, City and Publisher in Bibliographies, Hours and Minutes, and • Formal Letters: • Ratio: Mary's ratio of carbohydrate intake to protein was 3:1. • Titles and Subtitles: Mary enjoys reading the book Tastebud Heaven: Homemade Meals for the Distinguished Palette. • City and Publisher in Bibliography: New York: Norton, 1999 • Hours and Minutes: Mary ate dinner at 9:12. • Formal Letters: Dear Editor:  

16. Other Punctuation: What the –()/ {} [] are those for? • Use PARENTHESES:For supplemental material or digressions. I learned I could learn something from anybody and that everyone • (including 4”0 sixth graders) has somethingto offer. • Use BRACKETS:To enclose words or phrases of your own that you are inserting in a direct quotation. The senator asserted, "He • [Judge Thomas] is a worthy candidate for the Supreme Court, the charges against him notwithstanding.” • Use HYPHENS:To assist readers' comprehension by connecting multiple-word modifiers (like that one). The exception is for "ly" • modifiers. The ninety-year- old man drove the slowly moving Buick LeSabre in the wrong direction down the four-lane highway, • straight into the rapidly approaching traffic. • Use DASHES:To set off parenthetical material that deserves emphasis. All four of them—Leslie, Sherry, Maria and Tina—all • graduated from college. • Use SLASHES:To separate lines of poetry that you quote in your text. The beginning of the "Eolian Harp" is filled with traditional • Romantic pastoral imagery, "Our cot o'ergrown/ With white-flowered Jasmin, and broad-leav'd Myrtle,".