2. MECHANICS
refers to the rules of the written language, such as
capitalization, punctuation and spelling. An
understanding of both grammar and mechanics is
required to clearly communicate your ideas in a paper.
3. Punctuation Marks
PERIOD (.)
is a form of punctuation used to end a declarative
sentence. Periods are frequently, but not always used,
after initials and with two-letter abbreviations (U.S.).
4. Exclamation Point (!)
known informally as a bang or a shriek, is used at the
end of a sentence or a short phrase which expresses
very strong feeling. Here are some examples: What a
lovely view you have here! That's fantastic!
5. Question Mark (?)
is placed at the end of a sentence which is a direct
question. Here are some examples: What is the capital
of Philippines? Does anyone have a pen I can borrow?
6. Quotation Marks(“ “)
(also known as quotes or inverted commas) are used
to indicate direct speech and quotations. In academic
writing, you need to use quotation marks when you
quote a source. This includes quotes from published
works and primary data such as interviews.
7. Apostrophe (‘)
is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical
mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and
some other alphabets.
used to indicate either possession (e.g., Harry's
book ; boys' coats ) or the omission of letters or
numbers (e.g., can't ; he's ; class of ’99 ).
8. Colon (:)
A colon is used to give emphasis, present dialogue,
introduce lists or text, and clarify composition titles.
Emphasis—Capitalize the first word after the colon only
if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete
sentence. (She had one love: Western Michigan
University.)
9. Parentheses ()
are punctuation marks used to set aside text that's not
necessary but is still related to the topic.
Use parentheses when you want to add extra
information that's not necessary but is still helpful.
Make sure that the sentence is still grammatically
correct if you remove the text in parentheses.
10. Brackets ([])
Brackets are symbols that we use to contain "extra
information", or information that is not part of the
main content. Brackets always come in pairs—an
"opening" bracket before the extra information, and a
"closing" bracket after it.
11. Hyphen (-)
is used to link parts of a compound word. This includes
most dual heritages (Mexican-American)
is a punctuation mark used to join words and to
separate syllables of a single word. The use of
hyphens is called hyphenation. Son-in-law is an
example of a hyphenated word.
12. Dash (--)
The dash (—), also called the em dash, is the long
horizontal bar, much longer than a hyphen.
Use dashes to mark the beginning and end of a
series, which might otherwise get confused, with the
rest of the sentence: Example: The three female
characters—the wife, the nun, and the jockey—are the
incarnation of excellence.
13. Slash (/)
There are two types of slashes: a backslash () and a
forward slash (/). The backslash is used only for
computer coding. The forward slash, often simply
referred to as a slash, is a punctuation mark used in
English.
the slash is now used to represent division and
fractions, exclusive 'or' and inclusive 'or', and as a
date separator
14. Semicolon (;)
This small punctuation mark—in grammatical terms—
represents a place where a sentence could end, but
continues on.
I ordered a cheeseburger for lunch; life's too short
for counting calories. Martha has gone to the library;
her sister has gone to play soccer. The examples
above are each made up of two complete,
grammatically correct sentences glued together.
15. Ellipsis (…)
An ellipsis is a punctuation mark of three dots (. . .) that
shows an omission of words, represents a pause, or
suggests there's something left unsaid. Ellipsis points
are periods in groups of usually three, or sometimes
four. They signal either that something has been
omitted from quoted text, or that a speaker or writer
has paused or trailed off in speech or thought.
17. Reading
Critical
the reader analyzes and interprets the reading
material
to understand the text’s deeper meaning; a way
of knowing how the writer thinks
going beyond what the words say and getting at
the important message of the text
18. INTERPRETING
finding a deeper meaning than
what is explicitly stated in the text
Example:
In this world tinted with envy and deception,
she’s the modern-day Maria Clara.
What does the author mean with Maria Clara?
19. INFERRING
“reading between the line”
putting together the author’s ideas and coming up with an implicitly
stated idea based on those given ideas.
Example:
I am certain it was Tuesday.
I walked straight into a fancy “turo-turo” near my place to grab lunch.
When I arrived, a small commotion caused some of the customers to
glance at the ruckus. I never paid attention, I was hungry and that’s
what mattered to me.
20. DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
-done after reading the whole text
-what you know and what you’ve read
-reader combines information and evidence that the
author provides and then make a statement about the
topic/character/anything else in the text
21. ANALYZING
looking at separate, detailed parts of the text to understand
the entire text.
taking apart the ideas and see how they connect with each
other to support the main idea of the text.
Example:
A doctor making a diagnosis based on her patient’s condition.
22. DISTINGUISHING FACT FROM
OPINION
•Facts = statements that can be proved true or false by
using reliable sources such as encyclopedia
• Opinions = beliefs or judgments
• Fact = idea that is already proven and is obviously true.
• Opinion = an unverified idea; may or may not be true
27. CLAIMS
a statement that is not considered accepted by
all
may be unverified or controversial to a certain
degree
usually related to one side of an issue
also called a position
29. Fact
Claims of
relate to the statement that can be verified, no
matter how difficult
not dependent merely on a person’s preference,
but can be true or false
Facts that are universally accepted are not
considered claims of fact because there is no more
disagreement about their truthfulness
30. Fact
Claims of
EXAMPLES:
- Santa Claus is real.
- Cancer is not contagious.
- The earth is warming rapidly.
- The atmosphere has too much carbon dioxide.
32. Value
Claims of
EXAMPLES:
- It’s more fun in the Philippines.
- This is a very good school.
-It is more advantageous for a Filipino child to grow up
speaking Filipino instead of English.
- It is better to be feared than loved.
-It is better to have loved and lost than never to have
loved at all.
33. Policy
Claims of
all about what should be
prescribe particular course of action that would
lead to a condition.
are usually made in relation to solving societal
problems.
34. Policy
Claims of
EXAMPLES:
- The death penalty must be revived.
- A national ID system should be adopted.
- Beauty contests should be banned.
-The government must devote more funds to building
schools than building roads.
36. Direction:
Identify whether the following are claims of facts, value,
or policy by writing CF for claim of fact, CV for claim of
value, and CP for claim of policy on the blanks before
the claim.
37. 1. Teachers must have higher salaries.
2. The Filipino language needs to be
developed.
3. More people have access to clean
water today than in the 1970s
4. Zoos should be abolished.
5. The Earth’s climate is changing fast.
38. 6. The level of carbon dioxide in the air is
not good.
7. Firemen in this town should be well-
paid.
8. Farmers in this town need more
training.
9. Firemen are not well-trained.
39. 10. Animals need to be free.
11. Red is a happy color.
12.The level of pollution in this city
harms the children
13.Cigarette smoking is dangerous to a
person’s health.
14. Sweden is a peaceful country.
40. Formulate your own CLAIMS.
Topic: My Life in Senior High School
CLAIMS OF
FACTS
CLAIMS OF
VALUE
CLAIMS OF
POLICY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
