One of the commonest ways of conveying meaning clearly is to use simple short sentences which express one idea only - this should be the hallmark of your oral and written presentations. Every sentence must contain a verb, a doing word. The word order changes the emphasis or meaning. Take care to check you really mean what you write.

Example

‘Only the managing director voted to accept the proposal today.’
(he/she was the one person to vote for the proposal)

‘The managing director only voted to accept the proposal today.’
(he/she voted to accept it today, perhaps after everyone else)

Meaning is also confused if there is more than one way in which the grammatical structure can be interpreted.

Example

‘We shall discuss violence on TV.’

In this example, we cannot be sure if violence in TV programmes is the subject of the discussion, or if we are going to take part in a TV programme which will discuss violence in general.

Similarly the correct pronouns must be linked to the correct nouns.

Example

‘ The advisor told the President, but he made no public announcement .’

Does ‘he’ refer to the advisor or the president?

Punctuation marks also create meaning by structuring the sentence. They tell us when to begin and end a sentence, to express surprise, to hesitate, and so on. Different types of punctuation communicate different things. They can be put into three groups:

• marks that divide or end sentences
• marks that show emotion
• marks that indicate conversation.

Make sure you know how to use:

• a comma (,)
• semicolon (;)
• colon (:)
• apostrophe (’)
• exclamation mark (!)
• question mark (?)
• quotation marks (‘ ‘).

The comma

A comma is used to show a short pause in certain particular circumstances:

Example

To separate two complete main clauses within one sentence:

Shakespeare wrote plays, and he also acted on the stage.

Example

To separate items in a series:

The official languages of the UN are Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian and English.

Example

To enclose nouns that explain or identify another stated noun in the sentence:

Dr White, the professor, is giving the lecture today.

Example

To enclose words, phrases or clauses that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence:

The government, however, had a different view on the matter.

Example

After introductory adverbial clauses or phrases, e.g. while, after, if, on the whole, etc:

Although she had been listening carefully, she had not been able to understand the new lecturer.

Example

Between two adjectives not linked by ‘and’:

The two parts were connected by a long, steel bar.

Example

To enclose clauses or phrases that qualify or add extra information about the noun:

The Forth Road Bridge, which was opened in 1964, may soon have to be replaced.

The semicolon

A semicolon is used where there is a need for longer pauses:

Example

To separate items in a series when a comma is already in use:

The delegates are Kate Brown, QMU; Phil Smith, Napier; Roy White, Heriot Watt; and Drew Black, Edinburgh.

Example

To separate elements of a series that is long and complex:

An essay should contain an introduction which sets the scene; a main section which constructs the debate and identifies the key arguments; a conclusion that draws the discussion back to the question; and a list of references that cites the sources used.

Example

To separate two related clauses where there is no conjunction:

AG Technologies is an excellent company to invest in; its profits have risen sharply and steadily over the last ten years.

The colon

A colon is used when we want to indicate that a supplement or explanation follows the preceding sentence. It represents ‘that is’ or ‘namely’:

Only six countries voted against the proposal: France, Italy, Spain, Chile, Australia and Germany.

The apostrophe

The apostrophe is used in two main but different ways that can cause confusion. It is important that you know how to use it correctly.

Example

To indicate omission in informal speech or text:

can’t, couldn’t, won’t, I’m, isn’t, etc.

Please note that you should not use apostrophes in this way in academic or formal writing. You will be expected to use the full form: cannot, could not, will not, is not, etc.

Example

To indicate possession where an apostrophe and the ‘s’ are added to the noun:

The company’s head office is moving to Glasgow.

Example

In the case of a plural noun, the apostrophe is placed after the ‘s’:

The paper advertised both of the cinemas’ programmes for the week.

Example

The use of the apostrophe with the word ‘its’ is a common source of confusion. Where the word ‘its’ means ‘it is’ or ‘it has’, it should have an apostrophe to indicate the missing letter:

It’s time to sit down and watch the news. It’s been a long day.

Please note again that you should not use apostrophes in this way in academic or formal writing; you should use the full form: it is or it has.

Example

Where the word ‘its’ represents the possessive pronoun, it does not have an apostrophe:

The government will give its decision tomorrow.

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