4 Punctuation Marks for Forming Appositive Phrases

4 Punctuation Marks for Forming Appositive Phrases 4 Punctuation Marks for Forming Appositive Phrases 4 Punctuation Marks for Forming Appositive Phrases By Mark Nichol An appositive phrase extends a sentence by adding more information in apposition (meaning â€Å"related to† or â€Å"juxtaposed with†) to a word or phrase preceding it. This post describes how to use each of four forms of punctuation to extend a sentence by adding an appositive phrase. 1. Colon A colon signals to the reader that what follows is an expansion or explanation of what precedes it: The colon is equivalent to an equals sign in mathematics. (The preceding statement is an example of expansion.) The traditional rule of capitalization after a colon is twofold: If the text that follows the colon as an expansion or explanation is a phrase or a single sentence, the first word of that passage should not have an initial capital letter. If the text is more extensive, the first word of each related sentence should be capitalized. (The preceding statement is an example of explanation.) This rule is not universally accepted, and I’m among the heretics: I prefer to initial-cap what follows a colon if it is a complete statement of one or more sentences, because I think that the distinction between incomplete and complete statements is more logical than the standard criterion. The colon also appositively signals that a quotation or a list follows, as in â€Å"This truth is universal: ‘Just because you can doesn’t mean you should’† and â€Å"I bought three tools: a hammer, a wrench, and a screwdriver.† (Read more about colons.) 2. Dash A dash can substitute for each of the other three punctuation marks described here; the choice is based on tone rather than sentence organization. A dash represents a sudden or abrupt shift it’s a dramatic device to set the reader up for a change of syntactical form or for a revelation or a punch line. A pair of dashes can be employed parenthetically, but that use does not apply to appositive phrases. (Read more about dashes and search the site for â€Å"em dashes† for more posts that discuss the topic.) 3. Ellipsis An ellipsis, a series of three dots that separate one part of a sentence from another (also known collectively as ellipses), indicates an intentional or unintentional pause caused by person being at a loss for words or hesitating because of some emotion such as doubt or fear or for dramatic effect. (Ellipses are often interspersed with letter spaces a more aesthetically pleasing style though some publications omit the spaces or use a single-character ellipsis.) When an ellipsis concludes a sentence, it represents faltering speech, and it marks omission of one or more words from quoted material, but these uses do not apply to appositive phrases. (Read more about ellipsis.) 4. Semicolon The semicolon is similar in name and appearance to the colon, but its function is unrelated; it serves as a weak period, as employed here, or as a strong comma, as shown in the next paragraph. In its weak-period guise, it marks the end of one statement and the beginning of another; however, it is appropriate in place of a period only if the second statement is closely related to or dependent on the first one. Note that when a semicolon appears in such a case, no coordinating conjunction (such as and or but) should follow it. (However, when the conjunctive adverb that begins this sentence, or others such as moreover or therefore, follows a semicolon, as occurs earlier in this paragraph, a comma should follow the word.) A strong-comma semicolon is one used in place of two or more commas when the elements in a run-in list are themselves lists, as in this sentence: â€Å"The three most frequent color schemes in flags are red, white, and blue; red and white; and, tied for third place, red, yellow, and green and red, white, and green.† (Note that not all list items must include internal punctuation.) Many writers are reluctant to use semicolons because they do not understand how to use the punctuation mark correctly or consider it overly formal, but its roles are simple and helpful. (Read more about semicolons.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Types of Language"Owing to" vs "Due to"15 Names and Descriptions of Effects

Formatting Book Titles in the Digital Age

Formatting Book Titles in the Digital Age Formatting Book Titles in the Digital Age Formatting Book Titles in the Digital Age By Maeve Maddox A reader wonders why he is seeing book titles presented in all capitals: Ive even seen publishers and editors do it, so I started thinking maybe I was misinformed. Typing book titles in all caps is a peculiarity of the publishing industry. According to The Chicago Manual of Style, the practice originated in the days of the typewriter when titles that are now easily italicized on a computer had to be underscored; typing the title in all caps for industry correspondence and interdepartmental memos saved time. The all-caps practice has continued into the digital age, perhaps because early email programs transformed italics into gibberish; typing titles in all capitals insured that they would be readable. Most of today’s email programs handle italics perfectly well, but the practice persists. Many sites offering advice to writers recommend the all-caps approach when corresponding with publishers and agents. Here’s an example from a model query letter on the Writer’s Digest site: I’m currently seeking representation for my YA [Young Adult] novel, FALLS THE SHADOW. Given your interest in science fiction, I thought it might be a good fit for your list. CMOS does not approve, not even for email. Their recommendation â€Å"when italic type is unavailable† is to type an underscore at the beginning of the title and another at the end of the title, as in this example: When I first read _The History of the Siege of Lisbon_, I was so grateful to discover a book about a proofreader that Saramago’s hypnotic stringing together of sentences nearly sent me into an ecstatic trance. Here is the CMOS stance on the formatting of titles of creative works: 1. The titles of novels, long poems, movies, and television series are italicized. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (a novel) Flowers for Algernon (a novella, but still long enough to warrant an italicized title) Paradise Lost (a poem of about 10,000 lines) Enoch Arden (a poem of about 900 lines) To Have and Have Not (a movie) Downton Abbey (a television series) 2. The titles of short stories, short poems, songs, chapter titles, and television episodes are enclosed in double quotation marks. â€Å"Lucy Looks into a Wardrobe† (chapter title from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) â€Å"Ulysses† (short poem of 73 lines) â€Å"Deus ex Machina† (episode title of television series Person of Interest) â€Å"When You Wish upon a Star† (song) Note: British usage prefers single quotation marks (e.g., ‘Ulysses’). As with certain other matters concerning mechanics, The Associated Press Stylebook does not concur with CMOS. AP style recommends enclosing the titles of all of the following in quotation marks: books computer games movies operas plays poems albums songs radio and television programs lectures speeches works of art AP does not enclose the following works in quotation marks: the Bible catalogs almanacs directories dictionaries encyclopedias gazetteers handbooks software programs As with apostrophe use, it’s up to the writer to choose a style guide to follow. Writers in search of publication are probably wise to do as the Romans do. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?Confused Words #3: Lose, Loose, Loss"Wracking" or "Racking" Your Brain?

Financial Analysis of a Publicly-Traded Company Research Paper

Financial Analysis of a Publicly-Traded Company - Research Paper Example However, after conversion of preferred stock held by the US government into a common stock, US government is the largest stakeholder of the company to the tune of over $25 billion (Stempel, 2009). Q.2 Identify the five (5) forces of competition and how it impacts the company. Porter's five forces of competition describe Citigroup’s relative standing in the financial market and the impact these forces may crate on the company can be elaborated under the following heads (Porter, 2008). Threat of Entry from Other organizations Banking business requires huge resources and credibility to begin with and that will surely create an entry barrier for a new entrant. The economies of scale go in favor of the Citi as that helps Citi to provide the services to the consumers at affordable cost. There is always a moderate threat from overseas players to enter in the niche area of Citi. Supplier Power Citi is in the business of financial services. Deposit holders provide huge chunk of capital to the Citi. In most of the cases, they do not have any bargaining power as they are in millions scattered all around and individually too small to dictate any terms. Currently, money flows globally and forward and backward integration of the companies in financial service business can create some turbulent times to the Citigroup but that applies to all firms within the financial market. Buyer Power Being in the financial services business, retail buyers do not have any bargaining power as such and they need to buy as per the market offerings. It is true that business moves in favor of the market-driven company but buyers bargaining power in the financial sector is not substantial to tilt the scale against the companies in this sector. Institutional buyers are the informed buyers and they do possess bargaining power to a certain extent because they buy in bulk; however, that bargaining power is not always one-sided. Financial products are inherently complex in nature and buyers hav e limited capacity to understand them though they do get substitutes in the market. This factor is not likely to affect much to the company like Citigroup. Rivalry Factor There are numerous competitors in the financial services business in retail and the institutional sectors; however, brand equity is superb in case of Citi. Mergers and acquisition is a common phenomenon in the financial sector. Size of the corporation does matter and Citigroup is one of the giant in the financial sector business so that is always a plus point for the company. Usually, companies change the hands but do no prefer to exit completely as sector offers lucrative business opportunities in the long run. Product differentiation is always possible to carve a suitable niche for the company and Citi has been doing the same for several decades. Substitution Threats Due to numerous players in the financial service sector business, substitute products are always available and the consumers weigh them with all pro s and cons. Citi also faces the issue of

Smoking cigarettes is deadly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Smoking cigarettes is deadly - Essay Example Over half of all long-term smokers eventually die of a smoking-related disease. Smoking affects many parts of the body; both internally, e.g. increased risk of infertility, impotence and reduced sperm count, and externally, e.g. dry skin, smelly breath and stained teeth. In the short-term, smokers are prone to suffer from a shortness of breath as less oxygen gets transported to the lungs. Long-term, there is increased risk of respiratory problems, e.g. chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic asthma. Smokers also have lower level of antioxidants in the blood to repair damaged cells than non-smokers. This makes them less immune to viruses, which weaken their natural defences. The Surgeon General Report (2010) also highlights that thousands of non-smokers die each year from heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory infections due to breathing in second hand smoke. The scientific link between health risks and second hand smoke is now so strong that a number of countries including the UK have banned all forms of smoking in public places such as restaurants and cinemas. I now wish to turn my attention to 2 of the most well known harmful effects of smoking. Firstly, 85% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking and Martin (2005) states that it’s the leading cause of cancer death amongst smokers.

Activities of Investment Banking Essay Example for Free

Activities of Investment Banking Essay The Investment bank is the financial institution which assists the governments, corporations and the individuals in raising the capital by acting or underwriting as the agent of the client in issuance of securities. The investment bank can also help the companies which are involved in acquisitions and mergers, and offer ancillary services like the trading of the derivatives, market making, foreign exchanges, instruments of the fixed income, equity securities and commodities. Unlike the retail banks and commercial banks, the investment banks dont take the deposits. There are commonly two main channels in the process of investment banking. Trading the cash for securities like market making, facilitating transactions or for cash or for the promotion of the securities like research, underwriting is known as the sell side, while correlate with the mutual funds, hedge funds, pension funds and investment public comprises the buy side. Various companies have sell and buy side components. What are the main activities of the investment banking? The investment banking is generally split into back office, middle office and front office activities. While the big service investment banks provide all the channels of the business both buy side and sell side. The little sell side investment companies like as the small broker dealers and the boutique investment banks focus on the trading/sales/research and investment banking respectively. The Investment banks also provide services to both the investors buying securities and the corporations issuing securities. For the corporations, the investment banking provide information on how and when to place the securities on the open market, this activity is very much important to the reputation of any investment bank. Thus, the investment bankers play a key role in issuing the new offerings of the securities. Other activities of the investment banking: Apart from the main activities, there are some additional activities, in which the process of investment banking is involved. These are: †¢ Global transaction banking: This part is the division of investment banking which offers custody services, cash management, security brokerage and lending services to various institutions. Hedge funds with Prime brokerage is especially a risky as well as profitable business. †¢ Merchant banking: This process is also known as the very personal banking. The merchant banks provide capitals in exchange for the share ownerships and also provide information on strategy and management. The term merchant banking is also used to define the private equity part of any company. †¢ Investment management: This service offers professional management of several securities like bonds, shares and of other assets like real estate to meet with certain goals of investment for the profit of the investors. These investors can be institutions like pension funds, insurance companies, corporations and many more or the private investors. †¢ The investment management division of an investment bank is generally divided into separate groups, often known as Private Wealth Management and Private Client Services. †¢ Merchant banking is also a name used to describe the private equity side of a firm.Merchant Banking: Past and Present Current examples include Defoe Fournier Cie. and JPMorgans One Equity Partners and the original J.P. Morgan Co. Rothschilds, Barings, Warburgs and Morgans were all merchant banks. (Originally, merchant bank was the British English term for an investment bank.) Reference: http://classof1.com/homework-help/finance-homework-help/

Marketing Strategy Implementation in Higher Education Essay -- higher e

The scholarly article which I selected to review addressed the strategic implementation of marketing initiatives within international higher education entities (Naidoo & Woo, 2011). This article was of particular interest to me due to its specific focus on marketing within higher education entities (HEI’s). The authors focused their research on 10 universities which recruit international students; specifically, on 570 questionnaires from mid-level marketing managers responsible for strategic implementation of marketing initiatives. (Naidoo & Woo, 2011, p. 1117) The authors note the disparity in success between HEI’s in addressing the international student market, and raise the implied question of whether differences in successful strategic implementation could be contributory. This study focuses on strategic implementation, as contrasted with strategic formulation, as a driver for marketing success. The premise of the authors is that by focusing on the factors whic h influence successful strategic implementation, HEI’s can enhance marketing program success. In addition to highlighting strategic implementation as a marketing success factor, they emphasize the value of a higher education focus in their research. Although this business category has achieved prolific growth in recent years, most marketing research has been focused on a general business environment. The research found that strategic implementation is viewed by marketing management as operations-driven in nature. The authors uncovered 4 primary constructs from their data: implementation related outcome variables, dimensions of commitment, strategy factors and role factors. (Naidoo & Woo, 2011, p. 1122) Put in simpler terms, the authors identified strategy commi... ...ting program success. They have demonstrated that mid-level marketing managers within Higher Education view individual commitment to the selected strategy, as well as the perceived significance of their role in implementation, as critical factors to role performance, and ultimately program success. Suggestions for follow up may include a closer analysis of successful and less successful HEI’s, to further understand how these factors influence the success or failure of these organizations’ marketing programs. Works Cited Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2012). A framework for marketing management. (5 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ : Pearson Hall. Naidoo, V., & Wu, T. (2011). Marketing strategy implementation in higher education: A mixed approach for model development and testing. Journal Of Marketing Management, 27(11/12), 1117-1141. doi:10.1080/0267257X.2011.609132

Anne Carson Essay

Kiersten Baxley Professor Shirokova English 1102 12 September 2012 Anne Carson’s Lessons Anne Carson is a very intelligent and well rounded writer. When I first read Anne Carson’s â€Å"Short Talks†, I was seriously confused. At first, Ithought she was an abstract writer that wrote just to write. But then I took a second look at her work and realized there was much more to it than just crazy jumbled ideas. â€Å"Short Talks† is a mixture of many elements. It has argumentation, facts, personal opinions, and an unconventional way of writing. As I was rereading the â€Å"Short Talks†, I noticed names, facts, and a lesson to go along with each â€Å"Short Talk. This persuaded me to do some research so the stories would start to make more sense. After completing my research, I have come to the conclusion that â€Å"Short Talks† has been created to teach the reader a lesson, teach them about a historical figure, and to enable the reader to think outside of the box. I do not like reading something and have no idea what is being discussed; and that is what I liked about Anne Carson’s â€Å"Short Talks†, she prompts the reader to think in a critical manner thus persuading them to want to learn about what they are reading. For the reader to fully understand this style of reading, one needs to research Anne Carson’s background. Next the reader needs to research the main topics of each short talk. Anne Carson truly enables the reader to think outside of the box when she uses this less conventional way of writing since most authors do not use this style of writing. Most writers use a more â€Å"normal† approach to their writings. â€Å"Short Talks† seem to teach the reader some sort of lesson when they read them. Take the short talk â€Å"On Major and Minor† for example, Anne states, â€Å" There are more major things than minor things†¦I believe that she is portraying that there are people all around the world that turn very small things into much larger issues than it should be (Bartholomae and Petrosky 264-270). Carson uses the fictional character Elektra as an example in this short talk. Elektra’s mother and step-father murdered Elektra’s father. Elektra took this very hard, so she and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against her mother and step-father. Elektra’s father had been against things like this, but Elektra became so bitter she began to commit many crimes. So this short talk helps us decide between what is major and minor in our life. This helps to keep from overreacting over the small things in life. Another lesson comes from the short talk â€Å"On Reading. † This takes the reader back to their childhood. No, not everyone enjoys reading, but it is also great for you. In this short talk I got the imagery that this little girl was on a road trip with her parents, her father does not enjoy reading but she does. So while on the way to their destination, she reads Madame Bovary. While reading she takes a moment to look around at the sights passing through the window. This just gets the reader to truly think and assess the way they perceive the way they view reading. Having someone who enjoys reading, and someone who finds no pleasure in reading is what makes the world go round. Not everyone appreciates, or finds interest in the same things, but do not discourage anyone if you have no interest in it. If I were to write some short talks I could use an Anne Carson-like writing style, or writing that flows eloquently. I would try to help the reader to understand what is being said, but to also think about what is before them. I would include an introduction in my short talks to help guide the flow of the short talks. An example of my short talks would be: Every day starts the same way. Get up, get dressed, go to class. You see sleepy students stumbling to class, some even skip class. Never enough sleep. This is the life of a college student preparing for the future. You never know what life has in-store for you today, tomorrow, and all the days before you. Cheerleading When you see a cheerleader, you see a peppy smile. Energetic. This is an athlete in many many ways. Athlete’s in skirts! Tumbling, Stunting, Jumping,. Can you throw someone in the air? Never boring when were around. Love How do you explain love? Do you even know where it is or even how to find it? Is it a passion, a sport, a car, or a lover? Expression. Show it in your own way. Never give it up for anything. Adventure How does someone find adventure? One might sky dive, hike a nature trail, bungee jump. Not everyone is adventurous. Not everyone will find adventure in the same way. Riddle me this, when does your big adventure start? Anne Carson did a great job on â€Å"Short Talks. † I thoroughly enjoyed reading herâ€Å"Short Talks. †I also liked how I was challenged and pushed to think critically about â€Å"Short Talks. † That is what makes a great writer.