Master 01: Protection of

ecosystems _ applied
biochemistry
Reading comprehension

1.What is reading comprehension?

 it is the process of making meaning from
text.
 The goal is gain an overall understanding of
what is described in the text rather than to
obtain meaning from isolated words.
2. Techniques of reading.

 Generally, there are two basic techniques of reading used to facilitate the understanding of a text:
skimming and scanning

a) The technique of skimming:

 the skimming technique is used to understand the essence of the given topic.

 It is used to quickly gather the most important information.

 It involves reading rapidly in order to get a general overview of the material (text, article, book…
etc).

 It is not essential to understand each word when skimming.

 When to use skimming?

 To quickly review long documents.

 When you have lots of material to read in a limited

time.

 To see if you find the topic interesting enough to

read thoroughly (example: newspaper
 Strategy to skim:

 read the titles, subtitles, and illustrations.

 Read the first and the last paragraph.

 Read the first sentence (topic sentence) of each paragraph.

 Ignore the details and look for the main ideas (paragraph
ideas for instance).

 Look for key words.

b) Technique of scanning:
 Scanning is rapidly covering a great deal of material in order to
locate a specific fact or piece of information.

e.g. looking for an answer in a particular question in a text.

 Scanning is very useful for finding a specific name, date, statistic, or

fact without reading the entire text or article.

 To do so, it involves moving your eyes quickly down the page (text)
seeking specific words or phrases.
 The procedure of scanning:

 Keep in mind only the particular information to be found out .

 Make a choice, which clues would support the finding of the

required information (key words, titles, subtitles…etc).

 Don’t try to read every word, instead let your eyes move quickly
across the page until you find what you’re looking for.
The role of context in understanding text

 What is context?

 It is the background, environment, setting, framework, or surroundings of events or occurrences.

 It is the circumstances forming a background of an event, idea, or statement in such a way as to enable
readers to understand different texts.

 Context within a text is the lexical environment surrounding a word or sentence.

 Context helps readers understand what they otherwise would not be able to comprehend.

 It is a much needed assistant, helping readers define unknown words or make sense of the information
presented.
 Identifying context: the context of a given text can be
identified by considering the following:

 Participants (speaker, agents or actors, audience).

 Message content (topic, the main idea/S).

 Setting (where the event or occurrence take place).

 The genre(type of text).

 The use of context clues

 When we encounter an unfamiliar word in reading, we may make

use of context clues to help us understand it.

1. Context clues: are the hints that the author gives to help define a
difficult or unusual word.

 The clue may appear within the same sentence as the words to
which it refers, or it may follow in a preceding sentence.
2. Types of context clues:

there are at least four kinds of context clues that are quite common.

a) Synonyms: a synonym, or a word with the same meaning , is used in the sentence.

e.g. My opponent’s argument is fallacious, misleading, and plain wrong.

b) antonyms: a word (or group of words) that has the opposite meaning reveals the meaning of an
unknown term.

e.g. Although some men are loquacious, others hardly talk at all.

c) explanation: the unknown word is explained within the sentence, or in a sentence immediately
preceding.

e.g. the patient is so somnolent that she requires medication to help her stay awake for more
than a short time.

d) examples: specific examples are used to define the term.

e.g. celestial bodies, such as the sun, moon, and stars, are governed by predictable rules.
Understanding the text
1) skimming:

 Title: ecosystems

 subtitles: none

 Illustrations: none

 First paragraph’s main idea: the definition of an ecosystem; its composition.

 Second paragraph’s main idea: ecosystems and their use of energy…nutrient

cycle.

 Third paragraph’s main idea: the factors that control (or affect) ecosystems.
 First paragraph’s topic sentence: An ecosystem is a community
made up of living organisms and nonliving components such as air,
water, and mineral soil.

 Second paragraph’s topic sentence: Energy, water, nitrogen and soil

minerals are essential abiotic components of an ecosystem.

 Third paragraph’s topic sentence: Ecosystems are controlled by both

external and internal factors.

 Key words: ecosystems, organisms, biotic, abiotic, energy, nutrient

cycling, balance, factors…etc.
2) scanning:

 Particular information: where does the energy used by ecosystems

come from?

 Clues or key words: energy, used, ecosystems.

 Particular information found: the energy used by ecosystems

comes primarily from the sun, via photosynthesis (paragraph 02).
 Identifying context:

 Participants: blogger (author), learners or researchers (audience).

(no agents or actors).

 Message content: defining what an ecosystem is.

 Setting: earth.

 The genre: expository text (informative)

 Context clues:

a) synonyms: living = biotic…. Nonliving = abiotic.

b) Antonyms: biotic…..abiotic

c) Explanation: photosynthesis = uses energy from the sun and also

captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

d) Examples: nonliving components [in an ecosystem] such as air,

water, and mineral soil…
Scientific text
1) What is a text?
 A book or other written or printed work, regarded in terms of it content rather than its
physical form.
2) What is a scientific text?
 Scientific texts are part of expository texts as they provide information for their readers.
 Expository texts exist to provide facts in a way that is educational and purposeful.
 The text is fact-based and expresses the truth through a reliable resource.
 Therefore, the purpose of scientific texts is to discuss a scientific topic which should be
stated clearly in order to make readers comprehend the crucial points of the research.
 Scientific texts enable readers to get knowledge on a specific scientific issue.
 They are a coherent set of statements (sentences) related to science or scientific language.
3) The distinctive features of scientific text:
 Scientific texts have some distinctive characteristics of which the most important are the
use of terms , objectivity, accuracy, and expertise.
a) objectivity:
 the emphasis is on the information that the author wants to give and the arguments he or
she wants to make, rather then on the author him/herself.
 The reader is not interested in what the author “thinks” or “believes”.
 The reader is interested, instead, in what the author has studied and learned and how this
has led him/her to various conclusions.
 The ideas presented in a scientific text are based on lectures, readings, discussion,
research…etc. all of which are presented in the clearest way possible.
 B) impersonality:
 Characteristically, scientific writing has an objective tone; the language of the written texts
sound independent from the writer and reader.
 An objective tone is achieved through the use of impersonal language.
 Impersonal language requires the writer to avoid the use of personal language such as:
1. The use of personal pronouns like: ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘you’, ‘our’, ‘us’…etc.
2. Using judgmental words that indicate feelings about a subject e.g. “I am convinced”, “I
think”, “I like”, “I prefer” “beautiful/ugly”…etc.
3. Using words that are emotive such as “adore”, “agitate” “afraid” “happy”…etc.
c) explicitness:
 Scientific writers focus on showing , clearly, how the ideas of the text are connected. They
make this explicit by using different signaling words:
1. To show that the line of arguments is going to change, they use “however”, “on the other
hand”…etc.
2. If they think two ideas are the same, they say so by using words like “similarly”,
“likewise”, “correspondently”…etc.
3. If one sentence gives reasons for something in another sentence, they use “because” “thus”
“therefore”…etc.
4. If they intend their sentence to give extra information, they use “in addition” “besides”
“furthermore”….etc.
5. If they want to give an example, they do it explicitly by using “for example” “for
instance”.
6. They explicitly state the sources of the ideas in the text through the use of quotations,
references and footnotes.
e) The use of terms:
 Terminology in scientific prose is in constant development as the new scientific disciplines
emerge and develop e.g. the term ecology was coined in 1866 by the German biologist
Ernst Haeckel.
 Words in scientific prose will always be used in their primary logical meaning e.g.
a)interaction = reciprocal action or influence.
b) interaction = in physics, a particular way in which matter, fields, and atomic and
subatomic particles affect one another.
 Terms are coined so as to be self-explanatory to the greatest possible degree e.g.
biodiversity = bio+diversity = the diversity of life.
 The terms have narrow meaning and limited usability.
 Selection of lexical units complies with the requirement of precise transmitting of thoughts
and ideas.
 Terminology is neither emotional nor ambiguous.
f) Grammar and syntax of scientific writing:
 Scientific texts adopt a simple grammar and syntax.
a) Sentence pattern: relies primarily on the simple and direct sentence e.g. S+V+O/C =
biochemistry unites biology and chemistry.
 The subject should be close to its verb.
 The simple sentence starts with a subject. The subject is immediately followed by a verb, and
it may contain an object.
b) Active vs. passive voice:
 Scientific writing favors active voice over passive voice.
 the passive voice emphasizes the object receiving the action e.g. the relations of organisms to
one another are studied by ecology.
 The active voice emphasizes the subject performing the action e.g. ecology studies the relation
between organisms to one another.
 Because the active voice sentence is clearer, livelier and often more concise than the passive
voice sentence, scientific writers are advised to use the active voice.
 Although, balancing the two voices is very common in scientific writing.
c) The use of tenses:
 When writing a scientific text (experimental report, a thesis, chapter…etc.) one needs to
choose which tense or tenses to use.
 From the chosen tense, the reader of the text receives two kinds of information: one
concerns time “when” (present, past, future) and whether an event or process is open or
closed.
 An example of using tenses in a thesis (or research paper):
a) abstract: this usually refers to the unpublished results of the paper and uses the past tense
e.g. this paper focused on…
b) Introduction: it is usually presented in the present simple. It includes:
 Background information which is generally accepted as a fact in the discipline e.g. it is
known that…
 Explaining why the research is important e.g. this research is important because…
 Sometimes the present perfect is used to indicate “recency” or “currency” e.g. a great deal
of research in the matter has been conducted…
c) method:
 The past tense is used to describe what was done and how.
 The passive voice is often used e.g. a particular method in this study was followed.
 The present tense is used for diagrams and figures e.g. table 01 demonstrates…
d) results:
 in the result section, the past tense is used to detail the results obtained.
e.g. the results indicated that….
e) Discussion:
 In the discussion section, the present tense is used to explain the significance of the results.
e.g. the findings prove that….. They are important because…
f) conclusion:
 A combination of tenses is used to highlight past research and future directions e.g. the
research showed that...
these findings will be further developed if….
Jennifer Peat “Scientific writing: easy when you know
how” BMJ books, 2002
sentences
 Sentence patterns in English
 Sentence pattern:
• is the way words in a sentence are arranged grammatically. For instance, where the noun,
the verb, and adjective…etc. fall within an individual sentence.
 There are generally 05 sentence patterns in English:
1) Subject + verb (S.V):
• This is the simplest of sentence patterns and it is composed of a subject and a verb without
a direct object or subject complement. It uses an intransitive verb; that is a verb requiring
no direct object. E.g. she laughed, they were dancing, he is singing ….etc.
2) Subject + verb + subject complement (S.V.C):
• Another simple pattern which uses the linking verb (any form of the verb “to be”) without
an action verb.
e.g. the weather is beautiful, he seems tired, she is a teacher, they are Chinese…etc.
3) Subject + verb + Direct Object (S.V.O):
• this pattern uses an action verb and a direct object.
e.g. Silicon conducts electricity in an unusual way.
he did his homework.
4) Subject + Verb + Indirect Object+ Direct Object:
• This pattern is similar to the preceding pattern with the addition of the use of Indirect
object.
e.g. we will send you the report tomorrow
she bought her mother a gift
he gave me a book.
5) Subject + Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement:
• This pattern that uses the direct object and object complement is not very common but it is
worth knowing.
e.g. he painted his room blue.
that case made the lawyer famous.
we found the house empty.
1) What is a sentence?
 It is a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate,
conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command.
 It consists of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.
2) The difference between a clause and phrase:
 A phrase is a set of words. It acts as a single unit but does not have a subject and predicate
e.g. she lives [in Tissemsilt] = [in Tissemsilt] is a phrase.
 A clause is also a group of words which contain a subject and predicate e.g. [she lives in
Tissemsilt] = a clause.
 A clause can be independent (stands alone) or dependent _also called subordinate_ (cannot
stand alone).
1) Simple sentence:
 A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb (predicate).
 It expresses a single complete thought that can stand on its own.
e.g. I am a student = S+V+C.
 The simple sentence is the most basic type of sentences, which contains only one
independent clause.
 An independent clause is comprised of a subject and a verb and a complete thought.
e.g. I received my master’s degree last year.
 A dependent (subordinate) clause is comprised of a subject and a verb, but an incomplete
thought.
e.g. after I received my master’s degree last year.
 A predicate: the part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and stating something about
the subject e.g. he studies ecology = [studies ecology] is the predicate (simple predicate).
 A predicate can be simple or compound.
 A simple predicate can be just the verb e.g. she sings.
 A compound predicate gives two or more details about the same subject and has two or
more verbs joined by a conjunction e.g. he studies ecology but wants to change to biology
= [studies ecology] but [wants to change to biology].
 A simple sentence can have one or more verbs (only one complete thought).
2) Compound sentence:
 A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses.
 Basically a compound sentence contains two simple sentences or more.
 These sentences (or clauses) are joined by coordinating conjunctions such as: for, and , or,
but, nor, yet, so…etc.
e.g. [English is a very easy language] but [it requires practice to be learned.]
[they spoke to him in Spanish] yet [he answered in English.]
3) Complex sentence:
 It is a sentence which contains an independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
 The dependent clause is introduced by either a subordinate conjunction or a relative
pronoun.
 Subordinate conjunctions: as, because, since, after, although, when…etc.).
 Relative pronouns: who, that, which, whose.
e.g. [after I finished my master’s degree], [I started a job.]
[although I love chemistry], [I cannot study it.]
4) compound-complex sentences:
 It is a sentence that has two independent clauses joined to one or more dependent clauses.
 The clauses maybe joined by coordinating conjunctions or by conjunctive adverbs.
 Conjunctive adverbs: furthermore, meanwhile, therefore, hence, moreover, thus, however
and nevertheless.
e.g. [I am a second-year master student];[ thus , I will receive my degree this year] and [I will
start a job.]
 Passive voice Vs. Active voice:

 Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms.

1. Active voice:
 In most English sentences with an verb, the subject performs the
action denoted by the verb.
 This example shows that the subject is doing the verb’s action:
she mailed the letter (she (subject) is doing the mailing (verb)).
 Because the subject does or “acts upon” the verb in such sentences,
the sentences are said to be in the active voice. The sentence pattern
is S+V+O
2) Passive voice:
 One can change the normal word order of many active sentences (those with a direct object
(transitive verb)).
 When changing the active sentences into passive, the subject is no longer active but is,
instead, acted upon by the verb’s object; thus, it becomes passive.
 In this example the subject-verb relation has changed:
the letter was mailed by her ( the letter (subject) was being mailed (verb)).
 Because the subject is being “acted upon” (or in passive) such sentence are said to be in
the passive voice.
 The sentence pattern remains the same (S+V+O) but the subject and object are reversed.
 Note: sentences containing intransitive verbs cannot be changed to the passive voice
because they do not have a direct object e.g. I am a student, they cried, the dog ran, she
sang, a light was shining.
 Exercise 01: Read the following sentences and state whether they are simple, complex or
compound.
1. The girl looked at her brother and smiled.
2. Janet went to the library to borrow some books.
3. The water was so cold that we could not swim in it.
4. The little girl started crying when she could not find her toy.
5. I live in a large city.
6. We saw a film which was based on the life of Nelson Mandela.
7. Jane and Alice had their dinner and went for a walk.
8. The sun is shining through the clouds, so I think that we can go swimming.
9. Although I like to go camping, I haven't had the time to go lately, and I haven't found
anyone to go with.
 Exercise 02: State whether the verbs in the following sentences are transitive or
intransitive.
1. She advised me to consult a doctor.
2. Let’s invite your cousins as well.
3. I waited for an hour.
4. I received your letter in the morning.
5. I am going to send her some flowers.
6. He has changed a lot since he got married.
7. Suddenly the child woke up.
8. The loud noise woke me.
9. Let’s discuss your plans.
10. I heard a lovely song in the morning.
 Exercise 03: Sentences are given in the active voice. Change them into the passive voice.
1. He teaches English. / English ................... by him.
2. The child is eating bananas. / Bananas .................... by the child.
3. She is writing a letter. / A letter ....................... by her.
4. The master punished the servant. / The servant ......................... by the master.
5. He was writing a book. / A book ....................... by him.
6. Who wrote this letter? / By whom ......................?
7. Somebody cooks meal every day. / Meal ...................... by someone every day.
8. He wore a blue shirt. / A blue shirt .................... by him.
9. May God bless you with happiness! / ................... with happiness.
10. They are building a house. / A house ...................... by them.
 Sentence Types: Declarative, Imperative, and Interrogative Moods
• English sentences are sometimes classified according to the mood of their verbs.
1. Declarative:
• A sentence whose main verb is indicative is called a declarative sentence.
• Most English sentences are declarative; they simply make statements.
Example:
 He drives a car.
 She is a teacher.
 they traveled to the U.S.
2. Imperative:
• A sentence whose main verb gives a command is an imperative sentence.
Example:
 Listen carefully to what he says.
 Cut a slice of pie for your grandmother.
3. Interrogative:
• An interrogative sentence asks a question.
• Interrogatives always end in a question mark (?)
a) Inversion:
• one common way of asking a question involves inversion, that is placing the verb in front
of the subject.
• Simple present- and past-tense verbs require the addition of the auxiliary verb do for
inversion.
example:
Declarative: Tom is going to the store.
Interrogative: Is Tom going to the store?
Declarative: Nikita loves pineapple cake.
Interrogative: Does Nikita love pineapple cake?
• Inverted questions typically require a yes or no answer.
b) Wh- words/questions:
• Another way of asking a question involves wh- words (who, whom, whose, what, which,
where, why, when, and how).
• The wh- word comes in front of the inverted verb.
Example:
 How do you feel? What are you making for dinner?
 Why did you call him?
 Where is the movie playing?
• Wh-word questions require a specific piece of information as an answer.
c) Tag questions:
• Another way of asking a question involves tag questions.
• A tag question comes at the end of an otherwise declarative sentence.
• Tag questions have inverted verbs, but they use only the auxiliary, not the main verb of the
sentence.
Example:
• You know him.
You know him, don’t you?
• Tag questions expect confirmation of what the declarative sentence says.
• If the declarative sentence is positive, the tag question is negative.
• If the declarative sentence is negative, the tag question is positive.
Example:
 Giulio is going to the show, isn’t he?
 Giulio isn’t going to the show, is he?
Exercise: Change the following declarative sentences into questions using the method
indicated.

 She dyes her hair. (inversion)

 You could help me. (inversion)

 Ben bought a car. (tag question)

 The teacher told the class. (“what” question)

 You will come. (“when” question)

Reported speech (Direct and Indirect speech)
 The direct/indirect speech
• There are two ways of reporting what a person says or had said i.e. Direct and indirect.
1) In direct speech we repeat the original speaker’s exact words
e.g. he said: “I have lost my umbrella”.
• The remark thus repeated is placed between inverted commas (“….”) and a colon (: ) is
placed immediately before the remark.
• Direct speech is found in novels, plays and in quotations.
2) In indirect speech we report the exact meaning of a remark or speech without necessarily
using the speaker’s exact words.
e.g. he said (that) he had lost his umbrella.
• There is no colon (:) after the remark nor inverted commas (“….”) in indirect speech.
• Note: “that” can be usually be omitted after “say” and “tell” + object. But it should be kept
after other verbs such as complain, explain, object, point out, protest…etc.
• Indirect speech is usually used when paraphrasing or reporting speech verbally.
 Changes from direct to indirect
• When we turn direct speech into indirect speech, some changes are necessary.
1) Pronouns and possessive adjectives:
a) First and second person pronouns and possessive adjectives normally change to the third
person except when the speaker is reporting his or her own words.
• For instance: I = He; me = him/her; my = his/her; mine = his/hers; we = they…etc.
b) Expressions of time and place in indirect speech
I. Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time are changed as follows:
• e.g. he said: “I saw her the day before yesterday.”
 he said (that) he had seen her two days ago.
• He promised: “I’ll do it tomorrow.”
 He promised that he would do it the next day.
 But if the speech is made and reported on the same day, these time changes are not
necessary.
• e.g. at breakfast this morning he said: “I’ll be very busy today.”
 At breakfast this morning he said (that) he would be busy today.
2) Statements in indirect speech: tense changes
a) When the introductory verb is in the present, present perfect and future tense, we can
report the direct speech without any change in tense.
e.g. he says: “I’m trying to get a taxi.”
he says (that) he is trying to get a taxi.
b) But indirect speech is usually introduced by a verb in the past tense; verbs in the indirect
speech have then to be changed to a corresponding past tense.
The changes are shown in the following table:
3) Questions in indirect speech
• Direct question: he asked: “where is she going?”
• Indirect question: he asked where she was going.
 When we turn direct questions into indirect questions, the following changes are necessary:
a) tenses, pronouns, possessive adjectives and adverbs of place and time change as in
statements.
b) The interrogative form of the verb changes to the affirmative.
c) The question mark is omitted in indirect question.
 If the introductory verb is “say”, it has to change to a verb of inquiry such as: ask, wonder,
want to know…etc.
e.g. he said: “what have you got in your bag?”
he asked (me) what I had in my bag.
 If the direct question begins with a question word (when, where, who, how, why…etc.) the
question word is repeated in the indirect question.
e.g. she said: “why didn’t you put on the brakes?”
she asked (him) why he didn’t put on the brakes.
 If there is no question word then “if” or “whether” must be used.
e.g. he asked: “is anyone there?”
he asked if/whether anyone was there.
4) command, request, advice in indirect speech
• Direct command: he said: “give me back my book!”
• Indirect command: he said to give him his book back.
 Indirect commands, requests, advice, are usually expressed by a verb of
command/request/advice + object + infinitive:
e.g. he advised: “go to the doctor.”
he advised (him/her/me) to go to the doctor.
 Negative commands/requests/warning…etc. are usually reported by “not” + infinitive:
e.g. I said: “don’t swim out too far.”
I warned (her/him/them) not to swim out too far
• Exercise: Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a statement or a question.
1.He said, "I like this song."
→ He said
2."Where is your sister?" she asked me.
→ She asked me
3."I don't speak Italian," she said.
→ She said
4."Say hello to Jim," they said.
→ They asked me
5."The film began at seven o'clock," he said.
→ He said
6."Don't play on the grass, boys," she said.
→ She told the boys
7."Where have you spent your money?" she asked him.
→ She asked him
8."I never make mistakes," he said.
→ He said
9."Does she know Robert?" he wanted to know.
→ He wanted to know
10."Don't try this at home," the stuntman told the audience.
→ The stuntman advised the audience
Punctuation
• Punctuation marks are a set of standardized symbols including periods, commas,
apostrophes, semicolons, and colons.

• Punctuation is used to make text easier to read and to convey specific meaning.

• Its proper use is governed by a unique combination of grammatical rules and stylistic
guidelines.

• Punctuation is used to divide words into grammatical units, such as sentences, phrases, and
clauses in sentences.

• Punctuation marks give visual cues through a set of standardized markings to give variety
to writing that might be expected from facial expressions in a person-to-person
conversation.
1. Periods (full-stop)
• Periods are the most basic of punctuation marks.
• A period is used to end a declarative sentence (a sentence that makes a statement or
answers a question).
Example:
 He is going to the store.
 she just left.
• A period is used to end an imperative sentence (a sentence that gives an order) when no
special urgency is being communicated.
Example:
 Hand me the remote control, please.
 Finish your homework so we can go to the movies.
• Periods are used within quotations marks.
• If a sentence ends with an abbreviation or acronym, do not add a second period.
Example:
 He said, “I am not going with you to town.”
 He was set to arrive at 8 p.m.
• Periods are also used after titles and as part of an abbreviation.
Example
 Title: Mr. Dr. Gov. Gen.
 Abbreviation: a.m. Mrs. Ph.D. p.m.
2. Commas
• Commas are, perhaps, the most misunderstood and misused type of punctuation.
• Their use is governed by a unique mix of strict grammar rules and style guidelines.
1. When two independent clauses are joined by one of the coordinating conjunctions and, but,
for, nor, and or, use a comma before the coordinating conjunction.
Example:
 The airplanes were built for acrobatics, and the pilots were highly skilled.
 We were told to board the ship at 11 a.m., and we arrived at the docks early, but the ship
had already departed.
2. Commas are used to separate an introductory element from the main clause of a sentence.
• One of the most common introductory elements is a participial phrase.
Example:
 Driving as quickly as they could, Bill and Kathy arrived just in time to pick me up.
 Wailing like a banshee, Chris ran past us and disappeared into the night.
3. Commas are used to set off a dependent clause that comes before the main clause of a
sentence.
Example:
 Even though the movie was boring, we stayed until the end.
 If you keep criticizing me, I will ignore you.
4. Commas are used to set off a variety of introductory words, including yes, no, oh, ah, and
adverbs such as well, at the beginning of a sentence.
Example:
 No, I can’t imagine why Stacy did that to us.
 Well, you may have another piece of candy if you will brush your teeth afterward.
5. Commas are used to set off declarative elements of a sentence from a tag question.
Example:
 You are counting on me, aren’t you?
 That concert was incredible, don’t you think?
6. Commas are used to set off a nonrestrictive sentence element from the remainder of the
sentence.
Example:
 I like these jeans, which I bought at the Gap, because they fit really well.
 The new James Bond movie kept us entertained, even though it was too long, because the
special effects were so good.
7. Commas are used to set off an appositive phrase from the remainder of the sentence.
Example:
 I saw Mrs. Gruber, the woman in the blue jacket, the last time we were here.
 My cell phone, a Samsung, gets great reception.
8. Commas are used to set off interrupter elements from the remainder of a sentence. These
interrupters appear as words, phrases, and clauses in the middle of a sentence, interrupting the
main thought or idea of the sentence.
Example:
 If Paul scores twenty points in the game tonight, and I really doubt that he will, he will be
this year’s most valuable player.
 Brenda, not Paula, was the one who really should be thanked.
8. commas are used to separate coordinating adjectives that modify a noun.
Example:
 I couldn’t help noticing her bright, mischievous, and classic smile.
3. Semicolons (;)
• Semicolons are used to separate independent clauses where the clauses are closely related.
Example:
 I have asked him for help several times; he has always been very helpful.
• Semicolons are used to join two or more independent clauses joined by coordinating
conjunctions and, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet when the clauses themselves contain
commas.
Note: Do not join clauses of unequal rank, such as independent and dependent clauses, with a
semicolon.
Example:
 It was time for Mary to close her office, pack her bags, and visit all her clients; but there
were so many of them, and they were so scattered across the country, that she would be on
the road for weeks.
• Semicolons also are used before conjunctive adverbs and transitional phrases that join
independent clauses.
Example:
 The writer worked on the project for several months, to the frustration of his editor; still,
that same editor was pleased when the final product came in.
 We had been riding around the town for hours, looking for a particular address; at the same
time, we did get to know the area quite well.
• Semicolons are used to separate a series of sentence elements (phrases and clauses) when
the elements themselves are long and contain commas.
Example:
 In his research paper, Jeff worked diligently to include as much information as possible
about Herman Melville, the acknowledged master of the sea novel; Nathaniel Hawthorne,
Melville’s friend and fellow writer; and Mark Twain, the celebrated “dean” of American
humorist authors.
• Semicolons are placed outside of quotation marks.
Example:
 Dr. Thompson told me, “You will probably feel drowsy after taking this medicine”;
however, I haven’t had any side effects.
4. Colon (:)
• Colons are used to introduce formal statements and portions of a speech.
• Note that a formal statement or quote following the colon should begin with a capital letter.
Example:
 The attorney could not help himself when he began his closing arguments: “My client is a
good man, a decent man, and should not be here on trial today.”
 If you want an opinion, I will give it to you: Children riding in cars should always be
required to wear seatbelts.
• Note that colons are used outside of quotation marks.
Example:
 Shakespeare said, “Love sought is good, but given unsought is better”: love is more
enjoyable when it is a gift.
5. Question mark (?)
• Question marks are used at the end of a sentence to signal a direct question, an
interrogative series, an interrogative question within a sentence, and to express editorial
doubt.
Example:
a. Direct question:
 Where are you going in such a hurry?
b. An interrogative series:
 What do you think of the candidate’s views on foreign policy? domestic policy? the
economy?
c. An interrogative question within a sentence:
 How soon would it happen? she wondered.
d. To express editorial doubt:
 Although Chaucer was born in 1340 (?), we do not know his exact date of birth.
6. Exclamation mark (!)
• Exclamation points are used to signal interjections most commonly associated with fear,
surprise, excitement, shock, and disbelief.
• An exclamation point can be used in place of a question mark to indicate that the overall
emotion of the sentence is surprise rather than questioning.
Example:
 Wow!
 Super!
 He hit that ball out of here!
 Do you really think I’m that smart!
7. Apostrophe (‘)
• Apostrophes are used for two primary purposes: to show possession and to indicate
shortened versions of words, known as contractions.
• Contractions use apostrophes to show that letters have been omitted from a word or phrase.
The same is true of numbers that have been left out.
Example:
 Can’t (for cannot)
 Don’t (for do not)
 It’s (for it is)
 Who’s (for who is)
 What’s (for what is)
 ’80 (for 1980)
 ’03 (for 2003)
• An apostrophe is used to show possession of an object.
Example:
 Tom’s house is beautiful. (Tom owns the house.)
 Calvin’s plush tiger is orange. (Calvin owns the tiger.)
 The skis are Susan’s. (Susan owns the skis.)
8. Quotation marks (“…..”)
• Quotation marks are used to indicate direct quotations, parts of larger works, and words
given special emphasis.
• Two marks are used: one set opens the quote and the other set closes the quote.
Example:
 He said, “Here we go again,” as a second wave of rain raced into town.
 After a few minutes he remarked, “Thank goodness the rain has stopped.”
 In an article from the morning newspaper, I read that “an astounding three inches of rain
fell in six hours in Greenville.”
 “cells” are the building blocks of all life on earth.
9. Capitalization:
• Follow these rules for correct capitalization:
a. The beginning of a sentence is always capitalized.
b. Proper names are always capitalized; this includes a person’s given name and the names of
peoples and their languages.
Example: Alex, Brittney, Carl Davidson, Germans, German, Poles, Polish, Spaniards, Spanish,
Latinos, Latin, Asians, African Americans.
c. Professional, civil, military, and religious titles are only capitalized when immediately followed
by the person’s given name.
Example:
 Professor John Lane taught our class today.
 In 1972, President Richard Nixon visited China.
 Many religious leaders, including Bishop O’Malley, Cardinal Lewis, and Rabbi Berkowitz,
attended the conference on human rights.
• The pronoun I and the interjection O are always capitalized.
Example: Do you think I should go?
O! I don’t know about that.
• Geographical names are capitalized, including unofficial but commonly accepted
nicknames.
Example: England, United Kingdom, North Carolina, Tar River, Mississippi River.
• Days of the week, months of the year, and holidays are capitalized, but the names of
seasons are not capitalized.
Example: Monday, Friday, March, October, Fourth of July, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving,
spring, summer, autumn, winter.
 Exercise: punctuate the following paragraph.

the problems that the mammalian immune system solves are not restricted to higher animals
they are faced by all forms of life and are ignored by none all organisms are connected in a
complex web of relationship although many of these are benign not all are and everything
alive devotes significant resources to identifying and neutralizing threats from other species
from bacteria through to primates the presence of some kind of effective immune system has
gone hand in hand with evolutionary success this article focuses on mammalian immunity the
challenges that it faces the mechanisms by which these are addressed and the consequences
that arise when it malfunctions
 Answer:

The problems that the mammalian immune system solves are not restricted to higher animals;
they are faced by all forms of life and are ignored by none. All organisms are connected in a
complex web of relationships. Although many of these are benign, not all are, and everything
alive devotes significant resources to identifying and neutralizing threats from other species.
From bacteria through to primates, the presence of some kind of effective immune system has
gone hand in hand with evolutionary success. This article focuses on mammalian immunity,
the challenges that it faces, the mechanisms by which these are addressed, and the
consequences that arise when it malfunctions.