First 20 Flashcards
Months?
Abbreviate: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.
Spell out: March, April, May, June and July
Series of three or more (Oxford comma)
Do not use comma before the word “and”
Example: The flag was red, white and blue.
Titles?
Use courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss) only in direct quotes.
Use person’s first and last name on first reference, and use only last name on second reference.
To or Hyphen?
Use “to” between dates, times or numerals.
DON’T use hyphens.
Ex: The display is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
Academic departments?
Use lowercase except for words that are proper nouns or adjectives.
Ex: the department of history, the department of English.
Address abbreviations?
Abbreviate: Ave., Blvd. and St.
Spell: alley, drive, road, terrace, etc.
Ages?
Always use figures for people and animals.
Ex: the girl is 15 years old.
Capitalize A.M., P.M?
Always lowercase with periods.
a.m., p.m.
Apostrophe?
Use to show possession.
Ex: the alumni’s contribution.
If word ends in S put apostrophe after the S.
Ex: the campus’ appearance.
Died or passed away?
Always use “died”.
Held, hold
Use held only in literal sense.
Ex: he held the pencil
Don’t use held when referring to events, concerts, conventions, etc.
It’s or its?
It’s is contraction for it is or it has.
Ex: it’s up to you, it’s been a long time.
Its is possessive term.
Ex: the dog chased its tail.
Quote punctuation?
Quotes for word-for-word comments, and punctuation (comma) goes inside.
Ex: “CSUN is a great place to learn,” said Stephanie Bluestein, journalism professor.
Seasons?
Lowercase unless part of a formal name
spring, summer, fall, winter.
Winter Olympics.
Spacing
Only one space between sentences.
Right: Hello. Hi
Wrong: Hello. Hi
Who, whom?
Who used for references to humans and animals. It is the subject.
Ex: the woman who rented e apartment moved out.
Whom used when someone is the object.
Ex: the woman to whom the apartment was rented moved out.
Academic degrees
Preferred form is to avoid abbreviation and use phrase.
Use apostrophe for bachelor’s degree
States?
Spell out the name of all states.
Right: Northridge, California
Wrong: Northridge, Calif.
Wrong: Northridge, CA
Numerals?
Spell out: One through nine
Numeral: 10 and higher.
That, which
Use that for essential clauses, important to meaning of sentence w/o comma.
Ex: I remember the day that we met.
Use which for nonessential clauses.
Ex: the dog, which had strong legs, was a natural jumper.
