Matakuliah
Tahun
Versi
: EDITING
: 2006
: 01/01
Week 6 :
“English Punctuation & Spelling “
1
Learning Outcomes
The students are expexted to be
able to use editing system to find
and correct the mistakes in
English punctuation & spelling.
2
Editing Punctuation & Spelling
The students are expected to understand that:
The most common mistake people tend to make
while writing is in the use of Punctuation.
Wrong punctuation can damage the flow of
ideas and change meaning, but properly used
punctuation not only helps readers understand
your meaning but also makes them engrossed in
your writing.
3
Editing Punctuation
The students are expected to understand:
Use of Apostrophe:
Use an apostrophe to show possession, but never put
apostrophe in case of possessive pronouns. Always
remember that when the word "it's" is used, it is actually
for the contraction for the two words: "it has" or "it is". On
the other hand, "its" is a possessive pronoun, and the
word being already possessive should not contain an
apostrophe in it. Example:
It's the same thing happening over and over again.
(Contraction of It and is: It is the same thing happening over and over
again).
4
Editing Punctuation
Use of Comma - Use commas to separate three or
more items in a list. Though journalists most of the
times omit the final comma before the word "and", but
retaining the final comma avoids confusion.
Example:
– Poor: In this website, you can read articles about how
to do business online, the woman who daily eats 45
eggs and Tom Cruise.
– Better: In this website, you can read articles about
how to do business online, the woman who daily eats
45 eggs, and Tom Cruise.
5
Editing Punctuation
Use of Quotation Marks
– Use quotation marks to indicate direct
quotation. Example:
"That guy knows me," Mr. Wong said, "very
well."
– Note: Never use it for indirect quotation (a
restatement of someone’s words).
– According to Mr. Wong, that guy knows him
very well.
6
Editing Punctuation
There are many other frequently used punctuation
errors, but the above-discussed ones are those I have
mostly encountered in several writings. Before putting
punctuation marks in your sentences, always ask
yourself what meaning you want to convey to the
readers. Accordingly, put the marks. In case the
sentence becomes difficult to punctuate, consider
rewriting it, because when a sentence is well written,
it almost punctuates itself.
7
Editing Spelling
At its best, English spelling can be perplexing,
especially for non-native speakers and writers.
The following rules and suggestions are offered
as aids. You will always be able to find
exceptions to these rules, but most writers find
them helpful.
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Editing Spelling
 i before e, except after c . . . .
achieve, believe, bier, brief, hygiene, grief, thief, friend,
grieve, chief, fiend, patience, pierce, priest
ceiling, conceive, deceive, perceive, receipt,
receive, deceit, conceit
 and in words that rhyme with hay. . .
neighbor, freight, beige, sleigh, weight, vein, and weigh
. . . and some other exceptions. . . .
either, neither, feint, foreign, forfeit, height, leisure,
weird, seize
9
Editing Spelling
When adding an ending to a word that
ends in a consonant, we double that
consonant when the ending begins with
a vowel and the last syllable of the word
is accented and that syllable ends in a
single vowel followed by a single
consonant. Example:
ADMIT + -ed = ADMITTED
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Editing Spelling
Becoming a better speller is a matter of
personal commitment and finding your
own method to add this important skill to
your writing arsenal. Refer to the “Better
Writing through Editing for
recommendations on working on spelling.
Also, take the spelling exercise there.
11
Editing Spelling
There are many other frequently used spelling rules,
but the above-discussed ones are those I have mostly
encountered in several writings. Before editing
spelling errors in your sentences, always rimember
the spelling rules.
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