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Assignment 5 Mechanics 1

Assignment for Session Five
Part I
Punctuate the following sentences correctly according to the rules you learned this week. (Note: Please do not rephrase the sentences, even if, stylistically, they seem a bit awkward. The point of this exercise is to identify and properly punctuate phrases and clauses, and these sentences have been constructed specifically for that purpose.)

1. Did you while you were in New York see the Rockettes perform?
2. Before you turn in your status report be sure to sign your name.
3. The truth of the matter is that after I read his report I knew no more than when I began.
4. Before considering bankruptcy we should think about our good name.
5. At the fair we stayed an hour looking at canned goods and then we decided to look at the animals.
6. Tell me why your account is overdrawn otherwise I will have to require an audit.
7. One of my favorite sports is baseball therefore I've rarely missed a game since I moved to Cincinnati.
8. When in Rome do as the Romans do.
9. When you are in Rome do as the Romans do.
10. I always like after I jog for an hour to take a quick shower and read the paper before going to work.
11. If anyone here has anything to add to the facts in the case speak up.
12. John Perkins had three job offers nevertheless he moved back to Chicago.
13. We served my mother-in-law a cold roast so she packed up and left.
14. He has failed me many times yet I will trust him.
15. Having finished the fifteen letters by noon I had lunch at home within the hour.

Part II
Correct the following interview excerpt, providing the necessary punctuation. (Please work with the sentences AS WRITTEN; you should be able to make all corrections without restructuring or re-writing the excerpt).

Q. Although I am a female writer I am chiefly interested in writing the type of material that would sell to editors who work for "men's publications." Will using a male pseudonym increase my chance of sales?

A. Discrimination against women has decreased but male editors who are unable to be totally objective about the content of a piece might decide you could not write such articles as well as a male writer. Of course female editors who have never worked with male authors might be subject to the same prejudices! On the other hand editors you don't know who could be either male or female might welcome what a writer of the opposite gender could bring to their publications. Try it both ways and see what happens.

Optional Writing Assignment for Lesson Five: Phrases and Clauses
Complex sentences with many phrases and clauses are more likely to be found in formal and/or technical writing. Appositives, in particular, are frequently used to provide definitions or explanations for things that may be unfamiliar to readers. For this assignment, write a short explanatory piece (up to 500 words) detailing how to do something you know how to do well. It can be anything from how to make waffles to how to change a spark plug to how to winterize your home. The subject doesn't matter, as long as it's interesting to you. Write the piece in the second person, as if you were addressing the reader directly. For example:

If you want to make really good waffles, the first thing you need is a really good waffle iron, one that won't burn the surface of the waffle leaving the middle raw. After that, it's all in the preparation of the batter. First, . . .

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