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Article #75: Basic Writing Tips - Some Controversial, All Correct

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As a previous article ("Making Better bulldog is compared to a pair. It is
Word Choices - 4 Examples") explained, clear from the sentence that the other
writers can take steps to prevent simple, two dogs, by being grouped together, are
and common, errors from degrading their larger than the bulldog.
writing. Five areas of writing that cause Comma Use
authors problems are discussed in this The use of commas can be confusing for
article. many writers. Three rules for using
Split Infinitives commas are addressed here. The first rule
First let us exam the famously frowned involves comma use when a series is
upon split infinitive. Maybe some readers given, such as in the example below.
do not know, or do not remember, what a I bought carrots, peas, and watermelons.
split infinitive is exactly. To Some readers may consider this rule
understand split infinitives, readers controversial; some teachers and editors
must first remember what constitutes an may say the final comma is not necessary,
infinitive. An infinitive is a phrase in my opinion the use of the final comma
that includes a verb preceded by the word is more appropriate than not. If, for
"to," such as, "to play" or "to some reason, your teacher or editor tells
investigate." Now that we know what an you the final comma is unnecessary then
infinitive is, maybe we now remember our ask them to explain why, I do not have an
English teachers lecturing us against explanation as to why some have a
"splitting" them. Simply put, a split preference for not using the final comma.
infinitive is when a writer puts a word Do not use a comma when only two items
between the word "to" and the associated are in the series, such as in the
verb. Therefore, a split infinitive would sentence below.
look something like the following I saw birds and fish at the pet store.
examples: The second rule for use of commas is to
He was going to quickly investigate the use a comma before the "and" when a
theft. wholly correct clause is introduced. The
Tommy likes to neatly color in his book. way to determine if the clause is wholly
These two examples would be re-written as correct is to ask if it makes sense on
shown below. its own, such as having its own
He was going to investigate the theft subject(s) and verb(s). The example below
quickly. shows two clauses separated by "and,"
OR along with a correctly used comma.
He was quickly going to investigate the We went to the store, and Joan bought
theft. some juice.
Tommy likes to color neatly in his book. The third rule is an extension of the
OR second rule; do not use a comma to
Tommy likes to color in his book neatly. separate a sentence from text that could
Splitting infinitives is not criticized not be a complete clause on its own. The
to the degree it has been in the past. As example below shows an incorrect use of a
many reputable sources explain, comma in this situation.
occasionally splitting an infinitive is We are going home, and sleep.
acceptable. Even some progressive English The ending of the example sentence
teachers will agree with this idea. ("...and sleep") is not a complete
Compact Oxford Online Dictionary explains sentence on its own, therefore, a comma
that the rule for not splitting should not be used before "and."
infinitives was based on an analogy to Acronyms and Abbreviations
Latin, a language that writes infinitives Completely spell out acronyms and
as one word, such as bibere 'to drink.' abbreviations the first time they are
The decision to argue with an English used. Once a writer decides to use an
teacher about the acceptance of splitting acronym or abbreviation they should be
infinitives is your decision to make. As used throughout the remainder of the
Oxford states, "...in standard English text, switching back and forth between
the use of split infinitives is broadly the full spelling and the acronym or
accepted as both normal and useful.1" If abbreviation should be avoided.
you do decide to argue with an English Using "etc.," "i.e.," and "e.g."
teacher, feel free to point out that The final rules discussed in this article
people such as John Donne, William involve the use of several common
Wordsworth, and Benjamin Franklin split abbreviations. The first abbreviation is
infinitives at will. The larger problem "etc." This comes from Latin and is an
occurs when a writer consistently splits abbreviation for et cetera, which means
their infinitives. If splitting the "and others." First, make sure that a
infinitive helps with emphasis or the period is included at the end; second,
statement flows better go ahead and split make sure that the "others" have been
the infinitive. specified previously. A final note on
Superlatives and Comparatives this abbreviation, if it is used put the
Writers should also strive to use letters in the correct order; "ect." is
superlatives and comparatives correctly. not correct.
Some cases of incorrect use may sound The second abbreviation often misused is
okay, but if the author remembers the "i.e." Also from Latin, this is a
rules that they learned for using shortened form of id est which means
superlatives and comparatives they will "that is." When used correctly this
realize that they have made the error. abbreviation indicates an alternative way
For example when a sentence is written as of stating something. The most common
below it sounds correct, but it is not. error when using "i.e." is not following
One of the most common mistakes a cook it with a comma; there should be two
makes is not using fresh ingredients. periods and a comma in this abbreviation.
In this example, the lack of fresh The final abbreviation discussed in this
ingredients is either a common mistake or article is "e.g." Again, this is an
it is the most common mistake; there abbreviation for a Latin phrase, "exempla
generally cannot be two, or more, most gratia." This is used when the writer
common mistakes. A case where there can means "for example" or "for instance."
be two "mosts" is in an exact tie. For Some people believe that "e.g." stands
example, if 20 mistakes are made and two for example given, this is not true, but
of them occur six times each (making up it can be a helpful way to remember that
12 of the 20 mistakes) and the remaining it does have something to do with an
eight mistakes are all different, then example. Similar to the use of "i.e."
the two mistakes that occurred six times many writers forget to put a comma after
each could be labeled as the most common the second period in "e.g." Below are
mistakes. three correct examples of these
The sentence below shows another way that abbreviations.
a comparative can be written incorrectly. Bob bought a whole bunch of office
Of the three dogs, the bulldog was the supplies, pens, pencils, staples, paper,
smaller. highlighters, and erasers on his way
To use a comparative there needs to be home. He purchased so many things that
something compared to something else. The when he got home he realized that he had
bulldog either was the smallest of the forgotten a bag at the store. He had his
three dogs or was smaller than another pens and pencils, but the staples etc.
dog in the group. Both sentences below were still at the store.
are written correctly. John is a big person, i.e., he is over
The bulldog was smaller than the German six feet tall.
shepherd and the St. Bernard. The black horse is fast, e.g., it has won
The bulldog was the smallest of the three all of its races.
dogs. By using the rules above your writing
A third sentence, shown below would also will make more sense and will be correct.
be correct. Future articles will address other
The bulldog was smaller than the other writing errors and provide additional
two dogs. advice.
This is written correctly because the






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