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The Wonderful World of Semicolons and Colons
Semicolons and colons. Where do I begin? I often see people run amok with semicolons (;) and colons (:), constantly using them like commas. At other times, it seems as if many folks believe colons and semicolons are interchangeable. Let me set something straight right now: semicolons and colons are not interchangeable! You wouldn’t consider…
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Writerly Friday: Prompt
The story is titled The Man from Sparta. Write an opening line and/or a short 500-word story.
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Common Comma Problems, Pt. 3
Commas, commas, commas. They really are some annoying little jokers, aren’t they? Commas can mean the difference between a clearly written sentence and a sentence that makes little to no sense. Let’s take a look at a few more general rules of comma usage:
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Writerly Friday: Prompt
Premise: A family moves into an old Victorian house in a sleepy town where everybody knows everybody. The house has been vacant for the last five years, and nobody knows why the previous family left so suddenly. Prompt: Write a 500 word story, but write it from the perspective of the house not the family. …
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Common Comma Problems, Pt. 2
Commas are annoying but a fact of life in the English language. Last week, I discussed a few straightforward comma usage rules. Today, let’s look at a few more rules of comma usage: 1. Commas used to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series. Ex. Jimmy made sure to wear a suit, tie, blazer…
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Writerly Friday: Prompt
Write a story or poem based on this character and premise: a 71 year old widow who lives alone in her suburban home; she has no friends other than two old dogs and a cat; and she starts receiving visits from a strange young man who claims to be her son.
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Common Comma Problems, Pt. 1
No matter how skilled the writer or student, commas often remain a common source of frustration and anxiety. Part of the frustration stems from the fact that there are few fixed rules pertaining to correct comma usage. Although many folks can pinpoint instances of clunky or incorrect comma usage, few can identify more than a…
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Writerly Friday: Prompt
Write an opening story line (or paragraph) based on this story title: The Forest at Beacon Point.
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The Art of the Sentence: Compound Complex Sentences
So far, we’ve covered three of the four types of sentences: simple sentences, compound sentences, and complex sentences. Today’s Grammar Monday post revolves the compound complex sentence, the fourth type of sentence in the English language. A compound-complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. Put another way, a…
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The Art of the Sentence: Complex Sentences
Another important type of sentence, a complex sentence, requires close attention on this week’s Grammar Monday. A complex sentence contains an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. As you learned in last week’s discussion of compound sentences, an independent clause is essentially a simple sentence; at the very minimum, an independent clause contains…
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By Berneta L. Haynes
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