Wednesday, September 12, 2012

When punctuation marks attack; or, how spellcheck is not always your friend

I am peeking at the first pile of homework I received (and running away to procrastinate at every opportunity). The students have to answer some of the questions listed at the end of the essay, such as a request to discuss how the structure or writing style of the essay contributes to its logic.

One student wrote that the essay's argument was hindered by the short, choppy sentences produced by an overuse of comas.

Yes, comas.

Should I write a comment asking if this produced sleepiness in the reader? Heh.

Also, that passage being analyzed has a bunch of very short sentences being used for effect. Fragments, even. The only punctuation in that spot consists of periods.

Whooof ---- it's going to be a long semester. Maybe I can get the cats to eat the homework instead of me grading it.

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