Grammar for Prof Comm Final Flashcards
• Pronouns:
o Use I, she, he when you are referring to the subject o Use myself herself when you are referring back to the subject (object of an action)
o Don’t have vague pronoun references
- Don’t start sentences with there are….
- This, that, these need to have things they are talking about
o Who vs. whom
- Who does something
- Whom has something done to it
o That vs. who
- Use who for humans
- Use that or which for animals and things
o That vs. which
- Use that if what you are writing about is essential for understanding the meaning or context of the noun before it (defining clause). Use that with defining clauses (one that cannot be set off with commas)
- Use which if what you are writing about it nonessential for understanding the meaning or context of the noun before it. (with a non-defining clause))
- Which usually has commas surrounding it
o Plurals
- When it is specific use the plural
- Say “The number was” and “A number were”
o Active voice
• When the subject is doing the action. The subject acts
o Passive voice
• Something is done to the subject
o Parallel construction
• If you have a series of two or more words, phrases, or clauses in one sentences they should have the same grammatical structure
o Periods
• Use: for initials of names, U.S., Latin abbreviations (e.g.), A.M. • Do not use: abbreviations and acronyms, metric and nonmetric measurement, end of web addresses.
o Commas
- When your sentence has two independent clauses separated by a conjuction.
- Use for Serial commas, setting off introductory statements, parenthetical elements.
o Semi-colons
- Use instead of a conjuction when independent clauses are long
- When you don’t use a conjuction
- Join two independent clauses
- Use instead of commas in a series when there are internal commas
o Colons
- May be used to introduce a series of items, a summary statement, or a quotation
- If what follows the colon is a complete sentence, start with a capital letter.
- DO NO use to introduce a series of items if there is no independent clause in front of it.
o Parenthesis
- Set off structurally independent themes, reference citations, introduce abbreviation.
- DO NOT use back to back parentheses.
o Dash
• Used to interrupt the sentence and insert another thought (like parentheses). Sudden interruption. Longer than hyphen
o Hyphen
• Connects individual words if description comes before the noun
o Misplaced and dangling modifiers
• Word or phrase that is in the wrong place so that it modifies the wrong noun
o Since & while
- Should only be used to mean the passage of time.
- For non-temporal meanings use because instead of since or as, and although or whereas instead of while.
o Use of adverbs
• Make sure that the verb closest to the adverbial clause is the verb it is modifying.
• Possessives
o If two people possess something in common, consider them a single unit and use ‘so If they possess something individually, use two.
oIf a pronoun is involved, put the noun in between.
• Verbs
o Verbs must agree with the subject
o Correctly identify the subject
o When there is more than one subject the verb agrees with the one closest to it.
• Effect vs. Affect
o Effect is a noun, brought about by a cause
o Affect: is a verb
• Critiquing Research
o Issues to consider:
- How were the participants selected?
- What are the sample characteristics?
- Was there a control or comparison condition?
- Was this a true experiment?
- How were participants assigned to conditions?
- Were there confounding variables that may influence interpretation of the results?
- Don’t be persuaded by the phase ‘highly significant’ results; that may reflect sample size more than meaningfulness of results.
- Was the research method appropriate for the question?
- Were the measures appropriate?
- Were the analyses appropriate?
• Tense
o Use past tense or present perfect for introduction
o Use past tense for results
o Present tense for implication of results and conclusion
• What does a lit review do?
o Defines and clarifies the problem
o Summarizes previous investigations to inform reader of current state of research
o Identifies relations, contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies in the literature
o Suggests the next steps in solving the problem
How to cite a journal article with a DOI
Author A. A., & author last name, B.B. (year). Title of article all lower case. Journal, xx, pp-pp. doi:xx.xxxxxx
How to cite an entire book
Author, A.A. Title of work . Location: Publisher.
How to cite a book chapter print version
Author, A. A. (year). Chapter Title. In title (Eds.), Book title (pp. x-x). Town, ST: Publisher.
