[MUSIC] Welcome back.

In our previous lesson, we looked at

some of the basics of an email and at ideas to keep your emails brief and
clear. We also looked at some of
the words we have to avoid. Now, let's turn to some of
the more common capitalization and punctuation errors in English. So punctuation is
the little marks in
written language, like a period or common. It's like road signs. If drivers ignore
the road signs,
then there would be worse traffic and many accidents. Just like road signs in any
country,
punctuation rules and symbols may be different. So, it's important to understand
the rules when your writing in English. As for punctuation, I want to focus on
six errors that are most common and easy to see quickly. These six are the
apostrophe,
the exclamation point, commas, the dreaded semicolon, quotation marks. And finally,
emoticons or text symbols. Before we go into the details of each of
these, let's quickly test your knowledge. Good job. Now, let's get into
the details of punctuation. >> First, the apostrophe. It is used for possession,
like Suzi's laptop or Gerry's address. If you use it in a contraction
like can't or wouldn't, you should not put it in an email. Second, the exclamation
point is one of
the most overused symbols in punctuation. Frankly, it should almost never
be used in professional emails. It should never be used more than once. My nephews
use these in
messages on Facebook, but I almost never use them at work. Third, commas. The best
rule for
these is to read your email aloud. For example, hey Suzi For
our meeting later today, I will bring all of the supplies. If you have time, could
you pick up
the coffee and snacks on your way? Thanks, Gerry. If you pause,
that is where a comma should go. Also use commas with FANBOYS,
for, and, nor, but, or yet, and so, when you use these
words to connect two sentences. Next, a list is where
you would need commas. Look at how I wrote all of the FANBOYS. I had to put a comma
in between all
of them, because they are a series or a list of things. You also use commas to set
off all geographical names, like Moscow, Russia or Paris, France. Or for items in
dates,
except the month and day, like October 10, 2011 and for titles in names such as
Philip Hollingsworth, MD. This is just basic
information about commas, but you can find more information all
over the internet on this topic. One of my favorite sites
is The Owl at Purdue, where you can find information on pretty
much anything related to grammar and information is geared
toward an ESL audience. Fourth, this is another thing I
tell my students all the time. The semicolon is used wrong
more than it's used correctly. I avoid it, seriously. Even if I'm slightly unsure,
I find
a different way to write my thought. But if you must use one, this is one
of the main rules from the Owl website. Use a semicolon to join parts of a series
when some items in the series
already include commas. Fifth, quotation marks. These are not to be used for
emphasis, like in this example. I would really like to meet you. They're only
supposed to be used when
you're telling your reader exactly what someone said. Take a look at this example.
He said, I would really like to meet you. The punctuation for
using them is really tricky. It should be a very rare instance
when you should use these, as well. Again, if you absolutely must use them, you
should consult the online
writing lab at Purdue. Finally, do not use emoticons
like you do in a text message. If you knew your reader
well enough to send a text, you would not be sending an email. Do not mix up the
writing styles. Here's another example of how not
to use the semicolon in an email. There's one punctuation
item I didn't mention, because I thought it might be too easy for
you, it's the period. Don't forget to add it at the end of
every sentence, unless it's a question. So we've now looked at how and
when to use the apostrophe, not over using the exclamation point and
where to place commas. We've also learned about that semicolon,
how to use quotation marks properly. And finally, not using emoticons or
text message type stuff in our emails. You should now be more comfortable
with your punctuation. [MUSIC]