Language Conventions and Usage - Sentence Editing & Grammar Skills

Sep 14, 2026

Instructional grammar lesson focused on editing for correct punctuation and capitalization, clear sentence structure, and accurate formation. Covers dependent and independent clauses, run-ons, and sentence fragments, with guidance on combining independent clauses using semicolons or coordinating conjunctions. Emphasizes consistency through parallelism and correctness in pronoun-antecedent, subject-verb agreement, and modifiers, plus effective transitions, prepositions, and commonly confused words. Includes practical editing examples and mixed practice items to strengthen real sentence revision.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages66

Reading Time2 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

Learning Objectives

Capitalization

Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives

Titles Before Names and Direct Address

Days, Months, and Holidays

Sentence Structure and Formation

Independent Clauses and Dependent Clauses

Run-On Sentences

Sentence Fragments

Combining Independent Clauses

Semicolons and Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinate Conjunctions (FANBOYS)

Mixed Practice

Language Conventions and Usage Learning Objectives By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: • edit to ensure correct use of punctuation and capitalization • edit to ensure correct sentence structure and formation • edit to ensure parallelism of nouns, verbs, and other parts of speech • edit to correct errors in pronoun-antecedent agreement, subject-verb agreement, and modifiers • edit to ensure effective use of transitions, prepositions, and commonly confused words • edit to eliminate wordiness or awkward sentence construction Capitalization In addition to capitalizing the first word of a sentence, you should also capitalize proper nouns—the names of specific people, places, things, or ideas. Proper nouns: Amy Detroit, Michigan World Cup American Cancer Society Common nouns: city tournament doctor’s office You should also capitalize proper adjectives—those formed from a proper noun. Proper adjective: French Canadian Shakespearean play Capitalization Capitalize the title before a person’s name or when the title appears as a direct address. Title before name: Dr. Lambowski Senator Wallace Direct address: “It’s an honor to meet you, Prime Minister.” You should also capitalize holidays, days of the week and months. Sentence Structure and Formation A complete sentence has a subject and verb, and it expresses a complete thought. An independent clause could stand alone as a complete sentence. Elaine took notes during the meeting. A dependent clause has a subject and a verb, but it does not express a complete thought. While Elaine took notes during the meeting A run-on sentence involves two or more independent clauses that lack proper punctuation or connections. ~~Elaine took notes during the meeting, she used the main-office computer to type them up~~. Elaine took notes during the meeting. She used the main-office computer to type them up. Sentence Fragments A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence: a sentence that is missing either a subject, verb or complete thought. ~~Typed up her notes~~. ~~The computer in the main office~~.~~ When she lost her work~~. Elaine typed up her notes. The computer in the main office rebooted. When she lost her work, Elaine was frustrated. Combining Independent Clauses To combine two independent clauses, you must use either a semi-colon or a coordinating conjunction with a comma. Use a coordinating conjunction with a comma to express a relationship between the two independent clauses. Sam saw a design flaw, so he wrote a memo. A semi-colon (;) is used when the ideas expressed in the independent clauses are related and equal in terms of importance. The designers responded to the memo quickly; the product shipped without issue. Coordinate Conjunctions Use the acronym FANBOYS to remember the coordinating conjunctions: ~~Sam showed initiative, yet his boss praised him~~. Sam showed initiative, so his boss praised him. ~~ My coworker offered to drive me home, and I refused~~. My coworker offered to drive me home, but I refused. Mixed Practice Ellen Gardner, CEO Skyview PC, Inc. 888 Pyle Rd. San Marte, CA 94656 Dear Ms. Gardner: My wife and I have been loyal owners of Skyview computers for over 10 years. We are currently on our 1 , which we purchased three months ago. We appreciate your competitive prices that allow us to upgrade every few years. Also, we have 1. A. third Skyview laptop computer B. third Skyview Laptop computer C. third skyview laptop computer D. third Skyview Laptop Computer Mixed Practice always been delighted with the compatibility of Skyview products with software we use for our home-based business. The speed and power of our Skyview products have been 2 Just last week, however, our new laptop began to freeze almost every time we logged on. My wife called the Skyview help desk and received advice from five different advisors. She followed their recommendat

FAQs

What is the main purpose of editing in this lesson?

The lesson teaches editing to ensure correct punctuation and capitalization, proper sentence structure, and correct grammar. It also targets parallelism, agreement, modifiers, transitions, and awkward wording.

How do you identify a run-on sentence?

A run-on sentence contains two or more independent clauses without proper punctuation or suitable connections. The lesson shows how correct punctuation fixes the problem.

How can two independent clauses be combined?

Combine two independent clauses using either a semicolon or a coordinating conjunction with a comma. FANBOYS are used as the memory aid for coordinating conjunctions.

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Taylor Morgan