One of the core rules that students are taught as children involves punctuation. It is impossible to succeed in writing and literature unless they understand some basic concepts about grammar. However, in the digital age, we live in, a lot of rules have changed. It’s hard to be grammatically correct in 140 characters and so on.
Teaching children how to use punctuation correctly can be difficult. Unless students have a good foundation, it will be difficult for them to develop their skills effectively.
Even older students have difficulty with certain grammatical rules because they’ve forgotten how and why punctuations are used. It is never too late to learn more and improve the way you write and ensure that you do not lose well-deserved grades because of a few careless mistakes or errors.
Punctuation Rules and How to Use Them
- Capitalization
- Understanding the rules of capitalization aresimple, but most people can’t seem to understand it because of modern technology.
- Instant messaging and e-mails don’t require any capitalization at all, so most people forget that this is essential unless it is an automatic setting on their phones.
- Hence, whatever they practice is their daily lives translates to official projects as well.
- Many teenagers have issues with capitalization because of these small changes.
- For starters, every sentence starts with a capital letter.
- This can be confusing for the avant-garde generation that has random capitalizations in the middle of words.
- Capital letters must be used at the start of proper nouns.
- Proper nouns are the names used denote specific people, places or things.
- Titles are a part or type of proper noun. For example, the title of a book, the name of a museum, the title of artwork, etc.
- Capitalizations should also be used for acronyms.
- Generally, acronyms are the first letter of a serious of proper nouns that represent a place or institute. For example, the NSA, NASA, CIA, etc.
- In regular conversation ‘he’, ‘him’ etc., are not capitalized but when religious talking about God or a deity, the first letter of words that refer to a higher spirit are capitalized.
- This rule came about because of the importance that religion used – and still – to have in society.
- End of Sentences
- End of sentence punctuations is very simple.
- There are only three types of end of sentence punctuations. These are full stops, exclamations and question marks.
- Full stops are used to end declamatory sentences.
- Full stops are technically known as periods.
- All sentences that state a fact or make a statement of any sort end with this punctuation.
- Question marks are used to denote interrogative sentences.
- Interrogative sentences begin with how, when, what, where, and why. Any sentence that starts with this is a question and must be ended
- If you want to make a really strong emphasis on something, an exclamation is a perfect way to do so.
- An exclamation can be at the end of a long sentence or even one word. For example, great! Or, that was fantastic! She was beautiful!
- The impact of an exclamation mark completely changes tone and the way a text flows from one sentence to the next.
- Commas
- Commas are one of the most versatile punctuations around.
- They are used to indicate a pause in the sentence.
- A break usually adds more information in the next part of the sentence, so a great way to introduce this information is by subtly using the comma.
- Commas are also used to separate items on a list that aren’t being written horizontally or point voice. For example, cake, frosting, slice, etc.
- This allows you to break up points and sentences and understand them without having to write whole sentences.
- Commas frequently used when separating two adjectives.
- However, keep in mind that a comma after final adjective in a sentence is incorrect.
- If you’ve noticed, commas are used to in an address. This is to separate larger geographical areas from smaller ones.
- When writing in passive voice, commas are used to separate the introductory parts of a sentence from the rest.
- When making a direct address to a person via text always use a comma. For example: Jillian, please come here.
- Other Punctuations
- There are a variety of other punctuation marks that should be known and are regularly used in every kind of text like colons, semi-colons, hyphens, apostrophes, etc.
- Learning how to use all of these punctuations and following the rules will improve your writing by leaps and bounds.
- It will also change your writing style and make essays and stories easier to read and understand.
Improving Grammar
- Read Regularly
- Read as much as possible, whenever possible.
- Read texts in different writing styles and take note of how punctuations should be used and how they can be adapted for different kinds of texts and formats.
- Learn how to utilize and incorporate different styles into your work.
- Read advice blogs by professional and established writers and authors.
- The more you read, the more information can be digested. Not only is it entertaining but your brain picks up on the little things. So, it is a learning process as well.
- Pay Attention in Class
- All of these points are basic guidelines taught in class and regularly revised as well.
- Pay attention to your teacher and the instructions given by them.
- IF there is something you can’t understand, feel free to ask.
- Google more information. The best way to learn is through different examples.
- Look up little anecdotes, use flash cards, and any other learning method to learn as much as you can.
- Actively participate in all class activities as far as possible.
- Get Some Help
- There will be many times when hurdles are too difficult to cross.
- Do not be afraid or ashamed of getting the required help.
- Ask a teacher, friend or parent for a little extra assistance.
- If necessary hire a tutor within your budget to help regularly with tough homework situations.
- There are many online sources of help as well.
- Find companies willing to do your homework or provide online tutorials for better understanding of a subject.
It is important for students to be able to distinguish modern slang and Standard English. A proper education system is the only way to instill the importance of grammar in the younger generation. This will make studying and succeeding in school much easier for them.
Cover all the basics, especially when attempting to write a college essay or even attempt story writing. However, rules have changed here and there so keep yourself updated with current times as well. Make your educational career better!