Be Happy

WRITING SKILLS SUCCESS
IN 20 MINUTES A DAY

WRITING SKILLS SUCCESS
IN 20 MINUTES A DAY
3rd Edition

®

NEW

YORK

Copyright © 2005 LearningExpress, LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by LearningExpress, LLC, New York. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Writing skills success in 20 minutes a day—3rd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p.). ISBN 1-57685-495-7 (pbk.) 1. English language—Grammar—Problems, exercises, etc. 2. English language—Composition and exercises. I. Title: Writing skills success in twenty minutes a day. II. Title: Writing skills. III. Title. PE1112.O45 2005 808'.042—dc22 2005044127 Printed in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Third Edition ISBN 1-57685-495-7 For information on LearningExpress, other LearningExpress products, or bulk sales, please write to us at: LearningExpress 55 Broadway 8th Floor New York, NY 10006 Or visit us at: www.learnatest.com

Contents

INTRODUCTION PRETEST LESSON 1 LESSON 2 LESSON 3 LESSON 4 LESSON 5 Capitalization General rules, specific rules regarding proper nouns and adjectives Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points Ending a sentence, alternate uses for periods Avoiding Faulty Sentences Sentence fragments, run-on sentences, comma splices Commas and Sentence Parts Relating commas to clauses and phrases Commas That Separate Independent clauses, items in a series, items in a date or address, two or more adjectives preceding a noun, contrasting elements and words Semicolons and Colons Introductions, subordinate relationships, common confusions with punctuation Apostrophes and Dashes Using apostrophes to show possession or omission; dashes to emphasize Quotation Marks Dialogue, direct quotations, other punctuation, double and single quotation marks
v

vii 1 13 21 27 37 45

LESSON 6

53

LESSON 7 LESSON 8

61 69

– CONTENTS –

LESSON 9 LESSON 10 LESSON 11... [continues]

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