Unit 3: The Elements of Style and Mechanics
At the end of this unit, learners are expected to:
1. Define what mechanics is in relation to grammar;
2. Identify the style conventions of the English language;
3. Discuss thoroughly the uses of punctuation marks as one of the conventions in the
written language;
4. Discuss the importance of mechanics in writing, and apply the rules in Capitalization,
Abbreviation, and Spelling in writing activities; and
5. Identify samples of punctuation marks and its uses in the sentence.
Writing Style and Mechanics in Grammar
A writer may face certain difficulties in the process of writing if he doesn't know what to
write and how to say it correctly in writing. In most instances, he may also encounter
difficulties in putting words together correctly in conformity with the rules of grammar
and conventions. Because of this, the writer may be in a dilemma over how to fully
come up with correct and impressive written outputs. Often times with these problems,
the writer needs to work on with his writing style. Style is defined as the way a writer
puts together sentences to come up with a more coherent, unified, and correct
paragraphs.
Mechanics in relation to grammar refers to all the details of the written language. The
ability of a person to learn correct grammar rules and mechanics is an important factor
in the process of writing. When a person has good writing skills,, this enables him to
convey his intended message to his audience clearly and effectively.
Thus, it is important for any technical writer to know and master grammar rules for
correct application in any writing situations.
For anybody to master the craft of writing, he needs to develop the style conventions of
the language, and these conventions are: punctuations, capitalizations, abbreviation,
numbers, and spellings. Below are the elaborated explanations of the rules these
conventions with their corresponding examples:
A. Punctuations
To help clarify the structure and meaning of sentences, punctuation marks are used.
Their functions are as follows: to separate group of words for meaning and emphasis; to
convey an idea of the variations in pitch, volume, pauses, and intonations; to help avoid
ambiguity. The most common examples of punctuation marks are: apostrophe, colon,
comma, hyphen, parenthesis, period, and quotation marks. Each of these are
elaborated below:
1. Apostrophe '
- An apostrophe is used to form most possessives, contractions, as well as the plurals
and inflections of words
Examples:
* The field operative's report is accurate.
* She wasn't in the hearing yesterday.
* The victim's body is in a state of decomposition.
2. Colon :
- Colon is used to mark an introduction, indicating that what follows it generally is a
clause, a phrase, or a list.
Examples:
* The judge has trial experience on three judicial levels: county,
state, and federal.
* The issue comes down to this: will death penalty be legalized or not?
* We are required to pass the following: initial, progress, and final reports of the case.
3. Comma ,
- Comma is used to separate items in a series, and to set off or distinguish grammatical
elements within sentences.
Examples:
* He was charged with reckless imprudence, and robbery resulting in homicide.
* The suspect was described as tall, has brown complexion, medium-built, and between
20-25 years old.
* We are required to pass the initial, progress, and final reports of the case.
4. Hyphen -
- A hyphen is used to join the element of compound nouns and modifiers.
Examples:
* The officer-in-charge of the case is on leave.
* The first-runner-up of the pageant was shot in the head.
* His mother-in-law was invited for questioning after the disappearance of the child.
5. Parenthesis ( )
- A pair of parenthesis is used to enclose material that is inserted into a main statement,
but is not intended to be an essential part of it.
Examples:
* The six patrol cars (all outdated models) will be replaced soon.
* The diagram (Fig. 1) illustrates the flow of the traffic.
* The suspect (who was also an ex-army) was caught.
6. Period .
- A period serves to mark the end of a sentence or an abbreviation.
Examples:
* There is a vehicular accident in the Marcelo Fernan Bridge.
* Bill Clede is the author of the book Police Handgun Manual.
* Atty. Dargantes teaches law subjects in the College of Criminology.
7. Quotation Marks " "
- Quotation marks are used to enclose quoted statements in a regular text.
Examples:
* "Not guilty," was the plea of the rapist.
* "Shhh!" the rapist hissed.
* "You are found guilty beyond reasonable doubt!" was the last statement he wanted to
hear.
B. Capitalization
To indicate that words have a special significance in a particular context, they are
capitalized. Below are the basic rules of capitalization.
1. The first word of a sentence or sentence fragment is capitalized.
Examples:
* There are criminals. (fragment)
* Mar belongs to the upper echelon of the police bureaucracy.
* He will pass the samples for accurate testings in the laboratory.
2. Abbreviated forms of proper nouns and adjectives are capitalized.
Examples:
* Gen. (General)
* NBI (National Bureau of Investigation)
* PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency)
* SOCO (Scene of the Crime Operation)
* CSI (Crime Scene Investigation)
3. Names of acedemic degrees are capitalized when they follow a person's
name.
Examples:
* Ryan T. Figer, Criminologist
* Leonides P. Casul, Police Inspector
* Elmira O. Nergo, MSC
4. Full names of legislative, deliberative, executive, and administrative bodies
are capitalized.
Examples:
* the House of Representatives
* the Philippine Congress
* the Senatorial candidates
* the Philippine National Police
5. The names of some historical and cultural periods and movement are
capitalized.
Examples:
* Prohibition
* Fifth Republic
* The Renaissance
* Third Reich
6. Capitalize months, holidays, and days of the week.
Examples:
* The bodies will be due for cremation on Monday.
* The bombing exactly happened during the Independence Day
celebration.
* Their investigation will commence in the moth of May.
7. All major words are titles and subtitles of books and articles should be
capitalized.
Examples:
* The Icarus Agenda is a detective novel written by Robert Ludlum, A Time to Kill is also
a detective novel but it is written by John Grisham.
* Copies of The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology are now available in our library.
* Are you aware that Police and Security News is a publication about information source
for law enforcement and homeland security?