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Business Communication: Building Critical Skills
Kitty O. Locker, Ohio State University
Steven Kyo Kaczmarek, Columbus State Community College
Kathryn Braun, Sheridan College
Editing for Grammar and Punctuation

E-Learning Session

  1. What grammatical errors do I need to be able to fix? Learn how to fix these six errors.
    1. Subject-Verb and Noun-Pronoun Agreement
    2. Case
    3. Dangling Modifier
    4. Misplaced Modifier
    5. Parallel Structure
    6. Predication Errors
      • CONCEPT CHECK True or False: Parallel structure means making sure items in a series or list follow the same grammatical structure. CONCEPT CHECK
  2. Should I put a comma every place I'd take a breath? No! Commas are not breaths.
    1. Punctuation marks are like road signs, telling the reader what come next.
    2. Know what punctuation tells the reader. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
  3. How can I find sentence boundaries? Learn to recognize main clauses.
    1. A sentence contains at least one main clause-a complete statement. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
    2. A subordinate or dependent clause contains both a subject and verb but is not a complete statement and cannot stand by itself.
      • CONCEPT CHECK True or False: The patterns for direct requests and problem-solving messages are basically the same. CONCEPT CHECK
    3. Comma splices try to connect independent clauses or sentences improperly. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
    4. Run-ons string together several mains clauses with out the required comma.
    5. Sentence fragments is a group of words that is not a complete sentence but punctuated as if it were.
  4. What punctuation should I use inside sentences? Use punctuation to make your meaning clear to your reader.
    1. Know the punctuation forms used inside sentences. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
  5. What do I use when I quote sources? Quotation marks, square brackets, ellipses, and underlining or italics.
    1. Know the punctuation used for documenting sources. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
      • CONCEPT CHECK True or False: You should underline short work titles and put longer work titles in quotation marks. CONCEPT CHECK
  6. How should I write numbers and dates? Usually, spell out numbers under 10 and at the beginning of sentences.
    1. Know how to use numbers correctly in business communication. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
  7. How do I mark errors I find in proofreading? Use these standard proofreading symbols.
  8. Go to the Self-Quizzes section if you would like to test your understanding of this module.




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