Editing Special Parts of a Letter

When checking a business letter for punctuation, pay special attention to addresses, dates, the salutation, and the closing.

Use a comma . . .

• between a city and a state in an address: Phoenix, Arizona
• between the day of the month and the year in a date: May 7, 2016
• after the closing: Sincerely, Yours truly,

Use a colon . . .

• after the salutation: Dear Mr. Abrams: Dear Ms. Rodriguez:

When checking for capitalization, pay special attention to the salutation and closing.

Capitalize . . .

• the word “Dear” in the salutation: Dear Senator Ainsley:
• the first word in the closing: Yours truly, Sincerely,
• first and last names, titles, months, and addresses: Mrs. Daly

Editing In-Text Citations

Always place in-text citations in parenthesis at the end of a sentence but before the end punctuation. In a direct quote, citations come after the closing quotation mark but before the end punctuation.

• Correct: Ride wished the science part of her mission got more attention (Hurwitz 28).

• Incorrect: Ride wished the science part of her mission got more attention. (Hurwitz 28)

• Correct: “She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars” (Macy 5).

• Incorrect: “She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars (Macy 5).”

1. Thurgood Marshall changed the course of the Civil Rights Movement. (Smith 18)

Thurgood Marshall changed the course of the Civil Rights Movement (Smith 18).

2. Marshall believed in justice for all people. (Smith 24)
3. “Every day we live with the legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall.” (Feldman 45)
4. In grade school, he had to memorize the Constitution as a punishment for goofing around. (“Biography”)

Editing for Pronoun Agreement

A pronoun is used in place of a noun or another pronoun. The word that the pronoun refers to is called an antecedent. Pronouns and antecedents must agree. This means that they must both be singular or they must both be plural. It also means that the gender should match. Here are some examples.

1. That linebacker should pay more attention to their diet. That linebacker should pay more attention to his diet.
2. Teenagers think that he or she can eat poorly and not get sick. Teenagers think that they can eat poorly and not get sick.
3. My friends believe they can eat chips for breakfast and lunch. My friends believe they can eat chips for breakfast and lunch.
4. Tess knows junk food affects their health. Tess knows junk food affects her health.
5. Sickly people may get well just by changing his or her diet. Sickly people may get well just by changing their diet.
6. Doctors tell patients to put fruits and vegetables on their plates every day. Doctors tell patients to put fruits and vegetables on their plates every day.
7. Those boys put too much food on his plates. Those boys put too much food on their plates.
8. Bev trusted his own diet plan. Bev trusted her own diet plan.
9. Many people try to watch his weight. Many people try to watch their weight.
10. Charlie always eats the food he takes. Charlie always eats the food he takes.

Editing to Vary Sentence Beginnings

The most basic sentence starts with a subject and tells what happens to it:

Notice how plain the sentence is? One way to make sentences more interesting is to vary their beginnings. For example, you can begin a sentence with a word, phrase, or clause.

Word

Frightened, the woman ran across the street.

Phrase

Without pausing, the woman ran across the street.

Clause

Because she was frightened, the woman ran across the street.

1. Our school auditorium is too small, dark, and unpleasant. The auditorium leaks when it rains. The chairs are uncomfortable. People don’t enjoy coming to our concerts. More people might come if the auditorium were bright, clean, and comfortable. Students would enjoy performing more. It is clear we should build a new auditorium.
2. The kids in our neighborhood are often bored, and they need a safe place to hang out. They go to the fast-food restaurant on the corner after school. They spend time at the mall on weekends, but these places are not always open. These places don’t provide interesting, constructive activities. It would be a good idea to open a sports and recreation center in the neighborhood.

Editing Compound Sentences

Simple sentences have just one complete thought.

What if you combined them? A compound sentence joins simple sentences using a comma and and, or, but, for, nor, or so.

1. I like helping my mom cook. It's fun to taste our creations. (and)
2. We were going to go sledding. There was not enough snow. (but)
3. Special Challenge: Find two simple sentences from your essay. Add a comma and the word and, but, or or to combine the two sentences.

Editing Dialogue for Quotation Marks

Dialogue uses quotation marks. These special marks go before and after the exact words of the speaker.

Periods and commas that follow the speaker’s words always go inside the quotation marks.

Question marks and exclamation marks go inside the quotation marks when they punctuate the dialogue.

Editing to Punctuate Dialogue

Dialogue, or written conversation, works only when it is punctuated correctly. Use the examples that follow as a guide to punctuating dialogue.

Put quotation marks around spoken words.

Use a comma to separate the speaker from the spoken words.

If the comma comes after the quotation, put the comma inside the quotation marks.

If a period comes after a quotation, put the period inside the quotation marks.

If the speaker interrupts a spoken sentence, use two commas to show the interruption.

If the speaker comes between two sentences, use a period to end one sentence before beginning another.