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| Bette Frick
The Text Doctor®
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| Free grammar training in 2011 |
Watch this monthly newsletter for these future lessons:
- Four uses of commas
- Two uses of semicolons
- Five uses of colons
- Two uses of hyphens
- Two uses of apostrophes
- Punctuation placement
- Punctuation of vertical lists
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| Quote of the Month | About editing
"Will you tell me my fault, frankly as to yourself, for I had rather wince, than die. Men do not call the surgeon to commend the bone, but to set it, Sir."
Emily Dickinson 1830-1886 |
| Yes, I have my own editor | |
Special thanks to my faithful editor, Liz Willis, who improves my newsletter every month.
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Quiz on using commas to set off nonessential information
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| The Text Doctor's Diagnosis
April 2011
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Greetings!
I hope spring has arrived where you live! Here in the Foothills, the tulips and daffodils are poking up from our most recent snowfall. In another hopeful sign, our spring clouds are reminding me of "cloud tools" for writers. See "Brainstorming in the cloud" and "Dropbox" in this issue. |
Brainstorming in the cloud
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I teach writers to improve productivity by brainstorming (prewriting) their ideas before going to their keyboards. I preach a method of "clustering" that allows writers to explore ideas on paper before outlining and writing an important document.
Often, learners ask if there is software that can help them in the clustering process. Thanks to a tip from Marie Chamberlin of Medtronic, I just found a new cloud toy called Mindmeister. I signed up for the free level, but there are other, more robust levels of subscription that allow for collaboration.
Here's the opening screen for creating a cluster:
Whether you use software or work on paper, clustering helps you see the big picture, organize your thoughts, and structure your message most effectively. It also makes it more likely that you'll include everything you need to say and not leave out important points.
Let me know how Mindmeister works for you!
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Quiz results: Comma to separate independent clauses
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Thank you to the 54 readers who participated in March's quiz on using the comma to separate independent clauses. Only 9.2% of you agreed with me! I think this reader expressed it best:
Although an argument can be made to place a comma after "today," too much of a good thing is too much--I would leave that comma out.
I have to agree, and I have changed my mind about the need for a comma after "today." Thanks for helping me see the light.
See the quiz results here.
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| This month's grammar lesson: Commas to set off nonessential information | |
 This lesson will show you the fourth most common use of the comma: inserting (embedding) information that expands the meaning of the sentence but is not completely necessary to understand the sentence.
Use a pair of commas to separate nonessential words, phrases, or clauses that add information and have a close logical relationship to the sentence.
Specific uses of the pair of commas
Appositives [two elements, normally noun phrases, placed side by side, with one element serving to define or modify the other]: Jan Munson, the Sheriff's secretary, totals the hours and submits them to the auditor's office for payment.
Direct address: Call me at any time, Kenton, with your questions or concerns.
Geographical names: We opened a new plant in Huntingdon, Minnesota, in January.
Items in dates: Please review the minutes of the December 16, 2010, meeting.
Titles in names: Samuel T. Hanson, M.D., will speak on Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy.
Phrases introduced with "i.e." or "e.g.": Clean all storage areas, e.g., storage racks and shelves.
Embedding information within commas will allow you to vary your sentence structure, which will make your writing more interesting. Punctuating embedded elements correctly and consistently will make you look smarter.
Ready for your quiz? How would you punctuate this sentence?
The largest product categories speakers and in-dash CDs were combined.
Click here to take the one-question quiz on this lesson.
Next month: We'll explore dashes and parentheses to set off nonessential information.
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Favorite things: Dropbox
| | I'm in the cloud! At least, some of my files are, because I store them at Dropbox. I use this cloud storage application to upload files that I want to share (for now, webinar recordings and PDFs of slides and other documents) and then invite people to access the files.
Here's what Dropbox looks like:
Dropbox does much more than just store files: It allows you to sync changes to files between computers and access your files from mobile devices.
Join and install Dropbox here and we'll both get free space. |
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I'm pleased to tell you that this month, I earned my Distinguished Toastmasters (DTM) designation, the highest award conferred by Toastmasters International (entailing 40 speeches and 3 leadership projects that were each a year's length. As I've written before, I have great respect for Toastmasters and have improved my speaking and leadership skills greatly by working hard in this program. Let me know if you'd like to hear more about Toastmasters.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth (Bette) Frick, PhD, ELS
The Text Doctor®
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