State the comma rules designated by at least three of the following abbreviations: CONJ, INTRO, IC, DA, or AP.
What comma rules do the following abbreviations represent? AD, SER, CEA, or WO.
Suppose you’ve decided that for business communications, you are going to write only short, easy-to-understand sentences that require no punctuation other than a period. Try doing this for a while, and see how it works. Is there anything wrong with this approach?
SECTION B: Concept Check
Describe the semicolon rules referred to by the following abbreviations: NC, TRANS, BC.
If periods and commas serve just as well, why use semicolons at all in your writing?
What is the difference between commas and semicolons?
SECTION C: Concept Check
What are the different uses of the colon?
Do you think it is appropriate for business writing to include punctuation that is less formal stylistically, such as the dash and ellipsis marks? Why or why not? Would your answer be different for messages written to coworkers than it would be for letters written to clients? To the president of the company?
Do you use punctuation to make your writing resemble your conversational style? How does using dashes and ellipses affect the tone of your writing?
SECTION D: Concept Check
What are the differences between a dependent clause and an independent clause?
Describe methods for correcting run-on sentences.
When fragments and run-on sentences appear in business writing, what is their effect on the reader? Do you believe errors like these can affect the message in a communication?
