Unit 4 .

- Style guides and punctuation

4.1. Language and context

 

A style guide has been defined as a book that outlines the rules necessary to
follow for any one kind of writing. These rules may be about grammar and
punctuation, or give the answers to more complex questions about citation, layout,
or format. Some style guides have developed to help writers.

Punctuation is one of the most important aspects of written English, and yet it is
one that is taken the most lightly. It is, in fact, this feature of writing that gives
meaning to written words. Hence, it can certainly be compared to the pauses and
changes in tones of the voice when speaking. An error in punctuation can convey a
completely different meaning to the one that is intended.

Reflection task 4.1.

Answer the questions bellow about the following texts found in the web:

Figure 4.1: Punctuation.

1. Give a first read, is the grammar is correct?

2. Now, regarding punctuation: what can you comment? Why is it of vital

importance?

3. Finally, take a look again and focus on the typography:

a) Is the same typeface used? Is the same font used in each: a and b

b) Is the space between lines in each text the same? And the alignment? Why?

4. What conclusions can you draw from the above observations?

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".

Reflection task 4.2.

There is a song by Coldplay "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" -one of its lines goes
"I'd rather be a comma than a full stop"

1. Which of the following punctuation marks would you rather be?

2. Why have you chosen such mark? What does it symbolize to you?

Figure 4.2: Punctuation tree.

Image taken from grammar.ccc.commnet.edu
[Read on 1st of October, 2013].

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".

4.1.1. Punctuation marks

 
Punctuation marks and special characters (see the images bellow) comprise a
complete type font. They include asterisks, bullets, daggers, dingbats, ellipsis, and
copyright, registration, and trademark symbols (Business Dictionary, 2007).

The following charts states in a brief manner the diversity of punctuation marks and
its uses:

PUNCTUATION
USES
MARKS

(.) Period  End of a sentence.

(?) Question Mark  End a sentence and denote inquiry: What's an interaction pattern?

(!) Exclamation  End a sentence and denote excitement or emphasis: Watch out for
Point that mistake!

(,) Comma  Denote a break within a sentence or direct address of a person or

group: Mary, listen to me.
  Separate any of the following:

- Two or more adjectives: He is a charming, attentive listener.

- Items in a list: Please buy eggs, milk, butter and flour.

- The name of a city from the name of a state: I live in Salt Lake City,
Utah.

- Two independent clauses: The waiter still hasn't taken our order, and
the play starts in five minutes.

- Direct quotations: Quoth the raven, "Nevermore".

 Separate two related but independent clauses: I asked Anne to look at

my computer; she has a knack for them.
 Separate a series of items that already contain commas:
(;) Semicolon
- For our wedding colors, I chose white, the color of innocence; red,
the color of passion; and yellow, the color of lemons.

- I have lived in Detroit, Michigan; Paris, France; and Sydney,

Australia.

 Introduce a list.

- For Christmas, I would like the following presents: a hula hoop, a

hippopotamus, and my two front teeth.
(:) Colon
 Introduce a statement that expands upon the clause before the colon.

- And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for
you-ask what you can do for your country.

 Add a prefix:Trans-Atlantic flights are costly.

 Create compound words: spider-Man is my favorite superhero.
(-) Hyphen
 Write numbers as words: I have lived in this house for thirty-three
years.

 Make a brief interruption within a sentence or a parenthetical phrase:

(-or-) Dash Johnny asked me -with a straight face, I might add- if he could borrow
the car for the weekend.

(") Double
 Enclose a direct quotation: "If you pick up a starving dog and make
him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference
Quotation between a dog and a man."

(') Single  Denote possession: I believe that is Allen's pen.

Quotation
  Denote contraction: I know it's his because of the distinct monogram.
 Denote a quotation within a quotation: He told me just last week, "I do
enjoy this monogrammed pen. My wife said, 'Allen, it isn't like people
go around mistaking your pens for theirs all day'".

 Indicate clarification: Please bring home some real material to present

your lesson (fruits and vegetables).
(()) Parentheses
 Indicate an afterthought or personal commentary: Anyone can edit
Wikipedia (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Table 4.1. Use of punctuation marks.

Table adapted from http://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Proper-Punctuation
[Read on 2nd of November, 2013].

Bellow you will find their uses in a more detailed way:

FULL STOP (.)

Full stops have three distinct uses: Examples:

1. To mark the end of a sentence.  The cat is completely black.

2. To indicate abbreviated words.

 The teacher will be Mr John Smith
(B. Sci.).
A full stop indicates an abbreviation, unless first and
last letters of the word are shown.

 All assignments should be

3. To punctuate numbers and dates.
submitted by 6. 6. 04.

COLON (:)

A colon can be used: Examples:

1. To indicate that a list, quotation or  Buy these things: a packet of peanuts, two loaves
summary is about to follow; of bread and a kilogram of steak.
  Writing the assignment is not easy: to begin with
you have to do a lot of research.

2. To separate an initial  The television set, as the icon of the information

age, represents the realisation of a dream for
sentence/clause from a second
humankind: that knowledge and experience can
clause, list, phrase or quotation that be transmitted and shared across the boundaries
supports the first in a particular way. of time and space.

SEMICOLON (;)

A semicolon: Examples:

1. Separates two complete sentences that

are, however, closely linked.
 To err is human; to forgive, divine.
Don't go near the lions; they could bite you.
The semicolon can be replaced by a full
stop, but the direct link between the two
parts is lost.

 Only one paper, the Canberra Times,

managed a regular daily edition on a Sunday;
2. Serves as a second level of
even there, Saturday`s offered a better read.
punctuation in a series of words or
 She came out of the house, which had a long
phrases which already have commas
drive, and saw the police officer at the end of
making some internal divisions. the path; but instead of continuing towards
him, she hid until he left.

COMMA (,)

Commas have a vital role to play in longer

sentences, separating information into Examples:
readable units.

1. A single comma ensures correct reading  When Australia celebrated its

sesquicentenary in 1938, there was a little of
of a sentence which starts with a longish
the confidence or enthusiasm of the
introductory element. centennial celebrations of 1888.
2. Pairs of commas help in the middle of a  Yet in representing ourselves to ourselves,
sentence to set off any string of words which as film and television do, these media are
is either a parenthesis, or in contrast, to constantly introducing and reinforcing the
whatever went before. assumptions.

3. A set of commas is a means of  The details required are name, date of birth,
separating items in a list. address and telephone number.

4. Sometimes a comma is needed between  The details required are name, date of birth,
the last two items to ensure clarity. address and telephone number.

QUESTION MARK (?)

1. A question mark is used at the end of a sentence which

 Example:
Have the students completed
is a question. the exam?

APOSTROPHE (')

There are two uses for the apostrophe: Examples:

 Don't (do not).

 It'll (It will).
1. Contractions. A contraction is a shortened version of a word.
An apostrophe is used to show that something has been left out,
 She'll (she will).
and where it has been left out.  The dog's tail
(belonging to a single
dog).

2. Possessives. An apostrophe is used to indicate

 The women's
magazines.
ownership/possession with nouns. To show ownership by a single
individual, insert the apostrophe between the noun and the 's'. To
 Boys' football boots
(belonging to more
show ownership by more than one individual, use the apostrophe than one boy).
at the end of the word.
 Einstein's theory of
relativity.
Be careful: It's is the contraction of it is. It's is not a possessive (a  Avagradro's number.
possessive denotes ownership).
  

HYPHEN (-)

Examples:

1. When used correctly, a hyphen links two or more words,  Stonier's post-industrial
economy is a service
that normally would not be placed together, in order that they
economy.
work as one idea and these are called compound nouns.
 There are four types of
information-related
machines.

DASHES (-)

Examples:
1. Hyphens should not be confused with dashes.
Dashes are like brackets; they enclose extra  To the three divisions of the
information. A colon and semicolon would work just as economy -agriculture,
well in the example opposite. Dashes are rarely used in manufacturing, and service
academic writing. industries- Jones has added a
fourth.

 Have an orange -or would you

prefer a banana?
2. Although often used in pairs, dashes can also be used While the importance of sport to
singularly. Pay TV is clear, the opposite
perspective is less certain- the
importance of Pay TV to sport.

PARENTHESES (())

1. Parentheses are brackets used to Example:

include extra or nonessential material
in sentences.  It was unusual to see Paul awake so early (as he
Parentheses should be used sparingly often studied late into the night) and Jane
and always appear in pairs. greeted him with amazement.

2. In citation systems like Harvard,  Larsen and Greene (1989) studied the effects of
 pollution in three major cities.
parentheses are used to include in-text "Australia is a settler society" (Hudson & Bolton
references. 1997, p. 9).

EXCLAMATION MARK (!)

1. An exclamation mark is used at the end of a sentence and Examples:

indicates surprise, anger, or alarm.
Exclamation marks should be used very sparingly and are not often The police stormed in and
used in academic writing. arrested her!
How disgraceful!

ELLIPSIS (...)

1. An ellipsis consists of three

full stops. It indicates that
material has been left out of Example:
a quotation.
When quoting, it is sometimes  "But to be restricted to just two forms of punctuation mark...
necessary to leave out words is like building a house using only a hammer and a saw:
or lines for reasons of you can do it; but not very well."
relevance or length. Using an  http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/punc.html
ellipsis makes any omissions
known to your reader.

Reflection task 4.3.

Link the corresponding letter to the concepts below:

a hyphen   1. Separates two complete but closely linked sentences. __

b semicolon 2. Indicates either a contraction or a possessive.  

c comma 3. Links two or more words so that they work as one idea.  
 4. Used to write literally a phrase/word that has been said by someone
d italics  
else.

e parentheses 5. You can use them when writing a foreign word.  

f apostrophe 6. Used at the end of a sentence which is a question.  

quotation
g 7. Used to include extra or nonessential information in sentences.  
marks

h full stop 8. Used to highlight important points.  

i colon 9. Marks the end of a sentence.  

j question mark 10. Separates information into readable units.  

k bold letters 11. Indicates that a list, quotation or summary is about to follow.  

l ellipsis 12. It is a set of characters of the same design.  

m a capital letter 13. It is often used to indicate intensity of emotion or loudness, etc.  

exclamation
n 14. Used to indicate that lines have been left out the quotation.  
mark

15. It indicates a break between thoughts, sets off a parenthetical

o typeface  
clause, marks an omission, or substitutes for a colon.

p dash 16. Used as the first letter in a sentence that is a direct quote  

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".

4.1.2. What's typography?

Typography refers to the arrangement of text on a page, and appears in some form
or another in all instances of written communication. Depending on the purpose,
typography can be used for optimum readability, impact, or an artistic statement.
Some graphic designers work totally in text, and study typography extensively
while they perfect their art. Quality typography can make a big difference in
communications, because it can impact the way the reader sees and feels about
the topic being discussed. Typography is essential because it helps conserve and
enhance the most valuable resource you have as a writer-reader attention.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2010) defines typography as

follows:

1. The work of preparing written material for printing.

2. The arrangement, style, and appearance of printed words.

Robert Bringhurst (1996: p. 19), in his book The Elements of Typographic Style,
refers to typography:

In a badly designed book, the letters mill and stand like starving horses in a field. In a book
designed by rote, they sit like stale bread and mutton on the page. In a well-made book,
where designer, compositor and printer have all done their jobs, no matter how many
thousands of lines and pages, the letters are alive. They dance in their seats. Sometimes
they rise and dance in the margins and aisles.

Reflection task 4.4.

Read the following excerpt about resources and materials Funiber's Master in
Teaching English as a Foreign Language and answer the questions bellow:

Why English teachers may choose to design their own materials.

Advantages

Discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of teacher-designed

materials usually centre on a comparison with using text or course books. Rather
than focusing on course books, we have turned our focus on teacher-produced
materials and consider that the disadvantages of course books can become
advantages for teacher-produced materials. The key reasons why teachers may
wish to produce their own teaching materials can be linked to four themes distilled
from the following literature on this topic (e.g. Altan 1995; Block, 1991; Hammer,
2001: Podromou, 2002;Thornbury & Meddings, 2001, 2002).

An important advantage of teachers-produced materials is contextualization (Block,

1991). A key criticism of commercial materials, particularly those produced for the
world-wide EFL market is that they are necessarily generic and not aimed at any
specific group of learners or any particular cultural education context. The possible
lack of "fit" between teaching context and course book has been expressed thus:
"Our modern coursebooks are full of speech and functions based on
situations which most foreign-language students will never encounter...
'Globally' design course books have continued stubbornly Anglo-centric".
Appealing to the world market as they do, they cannot by definition draw on local
varieties of English and have not gone very far in recognising English as an
international language, either. (Altan 1995, p. 59). For many teachers, designing or
adapting their own teaching materials, enables then to take into account their
particular learning environment and to overcome the lack of fit of the coursebook.

Taken from Guidelines for Designing Effective Language Teaching Materials.

a) Make a list of typographic features that you may encounter not correct or
inappropriate in the excerpt above.

b) After reading the contents below, compare your appreciations to the list
previously made.

c) Have they differed somehow?

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".

4.1.3. The importance of typography in academic writing

Academic studies require the elaboration of several documents, such as

researches, essays, reports, briefings, blogs, assignments, etc... A well-designed
document should draw the reader into the text, or at the very least, not put them off
reading. Writers however often do not have the time, interest or expertise to
properly typeset their own documents and as a result, texts tend to range from the
abysmal to the mundane; beautiful readable documents are few and far between.
While this criticism typically applies to the daily in-house documents of any office, it
is equally relevant to professional academic publishers (Keirstead, 2007). Here
goes and example given by Keirstead:

A recently purchased book from a major academic press which, although not poorly
designed per se, is a rather uninspiring, 250 pages of boiler-plate Times New Roman. The
spacing, headings, and punctuation are technically correct but it makes one think that a
well-formatted draft is being read, rather than a finished product.

According to Keirstead, as well, typography ought to be a reflection of the

personalities of both author and text. Thus, just as this personal expression can be
squashed by rigidly defining a style, a lack of interest in document presentation, in
the same way, deprives the author from an opportunity to present his or her
content's best possible face to the reader.

4.1.4. Elements of typography: typefaces and fonts

Tefaces are a family of fonts, such as Helvetica Regular, Helvetica Italic, Helvetica
black and Helvetica Bold. Typeface is a set of characters (letters, numbers,
symbols, and punctuation marks) of the same design. It is the shapes, sizes, and
overall design of all those elements you see on anything you read that constitute
typeface. Think of it as the primary design of the alphabet and everything else on
the page. Popular typefaces which are undoubtedly familiar include Times, Arial,
and Calibri. All of these options are found under the Font directory in Microsoft
Word which would understandably lead anyone to believe that they are just fonts
so refer to the following definition to see the difference.

Fonts are the digital representations of typefaces. Font is the variation and
implementation of particular point size and style such as 11 point Times New
Roman or 10 point Verdana. A font is like a software program that instructs the
computer or printer on how to present or print the typeface. Adobe's type glossary
lists a font as "one weight, width and style of a typeface." The American Heritage
should clear things up even further with this easy definition: "A complete set of type
of one size and face."

Daniel P. McGoldrick (2011) points out a simple analogy, which is of great help
when dealing with establishing the difference between typeface and font:

Typeface is like the jukebox while font is the tunes inside. The font is the mechanism to
arrive at what you see; the typeface. Another way of looking at it is that the font is a black
Helvetia spaghetti string dress while the typeface is the whole Helvetia wardrobe. So in
summary Helvetia is a typeface family and Helvetia 10 point is a font.

4.1.4.1. Bold fonts

One way to grab attention in a sea of words is to set some text in bold fonts. It is
heavier, darker than regular type. Bold fonts are used for emphasis to make certain
words and phrases stand out from surrounding text.

Some writers use ALL-CAPITAL letters for emphasis, but they are usually
unnecessary and can cause writing to appear cluttered and loud. In email
correspondence, the use of all-caps throughout a message can create the
unintended impression of shouting and is therefore discouraged.

Here's how:

1. Emphasize with bold fonts: use bold fonts for emphasis, to highlight important
points (see figure 4.5).

2. Use restraint when using bold type: whole paragraphs of text set in bold type are
hard to read. The reason bold type creates emphasis is that it slows down the
reader and forces their eye to really take in the words more carefully. But if you
slow them down too much they may just skip over what you have to say and/or
emphasize.

3. Create contrast by using bold fonts: use bold fonts (see figure 4.4) for headlines
to increase the contrast between headlines and body text (see figure 4.5).

 
Figure 4.6: The use of bolds.

Use bold fonts to aid skimming of instructional text: in some instances it is useful to
readers to have titles, proper names, or key terms in a manual within a block of copy
highlighted with bold for ease in scanning.
4.1.4.2. Italics and underlining

The use of Italics and underlining in an academic text is of great relevance. We use
italics (characters set in type that slants to the right) and underlining to distinguish
certain words from others within the text. These typographical devices mean the
same thing; therefore, it would be unusual to use both within the same text and it
would certainly be unwise to italicize an underlined word. The APA Publication
Manual continues to insist on underlining. In this section, we will use italics only,
but they should be considered interchangeable with underlined text.

In titles, we italicize the things that can stand by themselves. Thus we differentiate
between the titles of novels and journals, say, and the titles of poems, short stories,
articles, and episodes (for television shows). The titles of these shorter pieces
would be surrounded with double quotation marks. In writing the titles of
newspapers, do not italicize the word the, even when it is part of the title (the New
York Times), and do not italicize the name of the city in which the newspaper is
published unless that name is part of the title: the Hartford Courant, but the London
Times.

The following chart shows when to use italics in a detailed way:

JOURNALS AND Time, U.S. News and World Report, Crazyhorse, Georgia Review. Plays:
MAGAZINES Waiting for Godot, Long Day's Journey Into Night.

Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite (but "Waltz of

Long Musical the Flowers"), Schubert's Winterreise (but "Ave Maria"). For musical pieces
Pieces named by type, number and key -Mozart's Divertimento in D major, Barber's
Cello Sonata Op. 6- we use neither Italics nor quotation marks.

Cinema Slingblade, Shine, The Invisible Man.

Television and
Ophra, Friends, The Big bang Theory.
Radio Programs

Artworks The Venus de Milo, Whistler's The Artist's Mother.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Washington's Second Inaugural Address

Famous Speeches
(when that is the actual title of the speech).

Long Poems (That are extensive enough to appear in a book by themselves): Longfellow's
 Evangeline, Milton's Paradise Lost, Whitman's Leaves of Grass.

Pamphlets New Developments in AIDS Research.

Cllenger, Titanic, Orient Express, U.S.S. Eisenhower (Don't italicize the

U.S.S.), H.M.S. Pinafore (Don't italicize the H.M.S. when you're talking about
Names of vehicles the ship. If you're talking about the light opera, then it's part of the title,
H.M.S. Pinafore.) We don't italicize names of vehicles that are brand names:
Ford Explorer, Corvette, Nissan Pathfinder, Boeing 747.

If a word or phrase has become so widely used and understood that it has
Foreign words or
become part of the English language - such as the french "bon voyage" or
phrases
the abbreviation for the latin et cetera.

For emphasis or
The most common use for italics is to draw attention to a particular part of a
contrast in running
text in order to show emphasis or contrast.
Roman text

Words of
Grrr! went the bear. (But you would say "the bear growled" because growled
reproduced
reports the nature of the sound but doesn't reproduce it.
sounds

Table 4.2. Journals and magazines.

4.1.4.3. Capital letters

Some guidelines for capitalization. If there is a doubt on whether a specific word

should be capitalized that doesn't fit under one of these rules, try checking a
dictionary to see if the word is capitalized there.

The following chart shows when to use capital letters in a detailed way:

Titles preceding names: but not titles that follow names.

(North, South, East, and West when used as sections

Directions that are names:
of the country, but not as compass directions).

The days of the week, the months of the (but not the seasons used generally). Exception:
year, and holidays: seasons are capitalized when used in a title.
The names of countries, nationalities,
 
and specific languages.

The first word in a sentence that is a Tomas Carruthers once said, "A teacher is one who
direct quote: makes himself progressively unnecessary".

The major words in the titles of books, (but not short prepositions or the articles "the," "a," or
articles, and songs: "an," if they are not the first word of the title).

Members of national, political, racial,

social, civic, and athletic groups,  
periods and events.

Trademarks, words and abbreviations of

 
specific name.

(the names of specific people, places, organizations,

The first word of a sentence, the and sometimes things) family relationships (when
pronoun "I", proper nouns: used as proper names), the names of God, specific
deities, religious figures, and holy book.

Exeption: do not capitalize the

nonspecific use of the word "god". E.g.
 
The word "polytheistic" means the
worship of more than one god.

Table 4.3. Use of capital letters.

4.1.5. Widows and orphans

One single word at the end of a column or one single line at the end of a page is an
orphan and if it's one single line or word at the top of a new column it's a widow.
Widows and orphans look bad and can be difficult to read and must be avoided.
Check the following example:

4.1.6. Typographic alignment

 
In typesetting and page layout, alignment or range is the setting of text flow or
image placement relative to a page, column (measure), table cell or tab the type
setting alignment is referred to as text alignment, text justification or type
justification.

Reflection task 4.5.

The tutor of a teaching training program has asked trainees to provide with some
ideas regarding the subject of using materials and resources for lessons
enhancement. Great ideas were developed, although some typographic errors
have been spotted. Identify the problems in the paragraphs below:

1. TELF teachers need to be fully aware of the disadvantages of following

activities suggested in a coursebook for all the groups. In order to find ideas on
how to modify and create new activities aimed at meeting particular students'
needs, magazine subscriptions happen to be of great help. Magazines such as
forum, teaching English, among others, are very useful indeed.

2. There is a general concern to enable a close analysis of THE USE OF EXTRA

MATERIALS IN CLASS. It is believed that motivation plays a vital role when
deciding on the implementation of extra activities. But, to which extent it is more
important to prevail meaning and purpose over fun? This is a delicate issue
which we, as teachers, need to pinpoint and bear in mind to provide students with
meaningful input.

3. Lessons and study sessions are most often time-controlled. If we need an

activity or segment for a short classroom practice activity, a longer authentic
language piece might need to be excerpted or shortened to make it fit into
our lesson's context. A shorter piece may need additions in the way of
activities or discussions to flesh out its usefulness in the classroom setting.

Adapt to student learning styles

"Student learning styles may be an important factor in the success of teaching and
may not necessarily reflect those that teachers recommend" says Jack C.
Richards, noted Linguistics professional and an author of the INTERCHANGE
EFL/ESL series course books. Knowledge of our students may tell us that certain
learning styles should preferably be addressed. So changing authentic language
materials from one form to another might be called for. A reading passage then
becomes a listening. A listening passage molts into a grammar-themed one.
Writing or discussions might be the outcome of controversial or newsworthy
passages, the list goes on and on...

From: http://www.eslbase.com/articles/creating-materials
[Read on 1st of October, 2013].

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".

Reflection task 4.6.

Here is the introduction of a students' essay written in plain text. Rewrite the
paragraph using appropriate punctuation:

one of the most demanding issues constantly faced by english teachers is how to
capture and trigger students interest and imagination so that they will be more
motivated to learn to this end the ongoing search for and the development of
meaningful teaching materials, which can be often used to supplement the
textbook for a course is a crucial and relevant task to be done by teachers some
teachers at universities junior colleges and private language schools may find
themselves teaching with locally designed materials such materials are often
produced in house and provide classroom teachers with day by day lesson plans
steps for implementing them and materials needed to teach them whatever
situation a teacher may have it is very likely that at some time the teacher will find
the need to adapt a particular text or lesson with material that he or she feels is
more useful for promoting learning to get beyond the limitations of a given text or
lesson as o'neills in rossner& bolitho 1990 pp 155 156 suggests

textbooks can at best provide only a core of materials they are a jumping off point
for teacher and class they should not aim to be more than that...

many teachers often adapt or create activities involving authentic materials or

media which seem to have a positive impact on the learners this paper presents a
detailed analysis of a particular class and aims to the creation development and
evaluation of a set of materials that can be used by any teacher in that particular
context and class.

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posted in the section "Evaluation".

Reflection task 4.7.

The following excerpts have been taken from different sources on materials and
resources in EFL.

a)

Characteristics of developed/adapted materials

When talking about materials development/adaptation, there are some important

features to take into account in the process of creating or adapting teaching
materials. Among the many characteristics mentioned by tomlinson (1998), there
are four that are considered fundamental and thus worth discussing. The first one
is the fact that materials should have an impact on the students and arouse
learners' curiosity, attention and interest.

By impact tomlinson refers to materials that make use of different types of sources
(tv, newspaper, internet sites, radio, magazines, letters), have an attractive
presentation and appealing content (1998, p. 7). Obviously to achieve this,
teachers should clearly know his/her objectives to develop/adapt an activity for a
particular teaching aspect. These materials ought to be relevant, useful and
focused on what students are learning at that point.

Taken from: INIE Revista Electrónica "Actualidades Investigativas en Educación"

Universidad de Costa Rica- Ramírez, M. (2004) English Teachers as Materials
Developers.

b)
Another characteristic is exposure to real language which is attained by giving
students opportunities to use the language in real communicative activities. By
giving guest speakers, radio interviews, lectures, class survey, spontaneous
conversation, projects, interviews to other teachers, group discussions, and panels
in class students can be exposed to real language. The materials should also
stimulate learner's interaction with the input rather than just having passive
reception of it. This does not necessarily mean that the learners should always
produce language in response to the input, but it does mean that they should
always do something mentally or physically in response to it. (Tomlinson, 1998, p.
13).

Following directions, filling out an application form, chart or table with important
information are examples of receptive activities in which students are processing
authentic language. It is very important for teachers to ask themselves every time
they create or adapt an activity how much real language students are using and/or
producing in that particular activity. If the answer is not much, then, it is time to
restructure or eliminate that activity.

Taken from: INIE Revista Electrónica "Actualidades Investigativas en Educación"

Universidad de Costa Rica- Ramírez, M. (2004) English Teachers as Materials
Developers.

c)

Packages of Supplementary Materials

- Package 1: a set of computers for learners' use with accompanying language

learning programs.

- Package 2: a set of reference books for the teachers, including grammar

dictionaries; various specialized textbooks; handbooks of activities; and a
subscription to a teachers' journal of your choice.

- Package 3: a number of overhead projectors and slides projectors with all

necessary film, slides and markers.

- Package 4: video equipment, with assorted CDs, including language-learning

materials and videos in the target language.

- Package 5: computers and printers for teachers' use; each computer has a hard
disk with the latest word processor and various programs that enable you to
compose your own computer tasks for learners.

- Package 6: several recorders with accompanying headsets (so that several

learners can listen quietly to one machine).
- Package 7: a wide variety of posters and sets of coloured pictures, plus board
and card games for language learning.

- Package 8: a library of simplified readers in the target language, ranging from

very simple to advanced. Ther would be enough books in this library to enable all
students borrow freely.

Adapted from: A course in Language Teaching. Ur, P. 1991; p. 190. Box 13.4:
Packages of Supplementary Materials. Cambrigde University Press.

d)

Why and How Do We Evaluate Textbooks?

The idea of evaluating textbooks is seen by some to be closely linked to the

selection of textbooks. The evaluation helps the selection, which serves as an
important decision-making process, as Sheldon puts it. "The selection of a
particular core volume signals and executive educational decision in which there is
considerable professional, financial and even political investment. This high profile
means that the definition and application of systematic criteria for assessing
coursebooks are vital." (1988: p. 237)

Hutchinson (1987) suggests and interactive view of materials evaluation. He

emphasizes the deeper level of materials evaluation by asking the question why
materials are the way they are. He claims that:

"...materials evaluation plays an important role in language teaching that its

potential for influencing the way teachers operate is considerable. Materials
evaluation can and Should be a two- way process which enables teachers not just
to select a textbook, but also to develop their awareness of their own
teaching/learning situation." (ibid: pp. 37-38)

Taken from: Evaluating an EFL textbook- A new English course. Jianzhi Wha.

1. Fill in the grid:

EXCERPT ALIGNMENT TYPEFACE FONT

a)

b)

c)

d)
2. Which of the excerpts has the best typography at first glance? Which excerpt is
the friendliest? How could you improve the typography of the excerpts not chosen?

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".

4.2. Review
 

This section summarises the knowledge acquired during this unit:

 In the introduction the two main topics of the unit have been introduced:
typography and punctuation.

 The section punctuation marks, we have seen the different marks to punctuate a
text and how to use them.

 The sections What's typography? and the importance of typography in

academic writing have given information about the definition of typography and
why it is needed in academic writing.

 Finally, the section elements of typography: typefaces and fonts has provided a
deeper insight into the mechanics of fonts and typefaces and has given exercises
to test your current knowledge.

4.3. Check your knowledge

 

Enter the virtual campus and access the Reflection exercises section. There you
will find the tasks you have seen during this unit. You have to complete all of them
and, when you finish them, the system will provide you the feedback. If you need
more information, consult the files "Assessment", right under the section
Assessment of the unit.

Remember that, apart from reading the contents and completing the Reflection
exercises, you have to complete the activities and the exam or the final task. The
teacher had provided the information about them in the Group forum.

Glossary
 
Apostrophe

The sign (') used to create the possessive form of a noun. This is usually
accomplished by adding an apostrophe to the noun followed by a letter s. The
apostrophe is also used to denote the plural form of certain abbreviations and
letters (e.g., several C.P.A.'s). Finally, the apostrophe is used in contractions to
show where letters have been omitted (e.g., don't), although this should be avoided
in formal prose.

Bolt font

A typeface with thicker strokes than regular, roman text is called bold type. Bold is
used for emphasis to make certain words and phrases stand out from surrounding
text.

Brackets

Punctuation marks used in pairs to enclose a subsidiary thought. They are the left
([) or right (]) bracket characters on the standard computer keyboard. Brackets are
used in writing and printing to enclose parenthetical writing, interpolations, quoted
material or excerpts, etc. (e.g."My age [67 years] is my only secret", insisted
William).

Clause

A group of words that contains both a subject and a verb, but represents only part
of a compound sentence or complex sentence. The clause may express a thought
completely on its own (e.g., I run every morning). In this case, it is termed an
independent clause. Alternatively, it may not express an idea completely without
the aid of an independent or main clause (e.g., when I am in town) In this last case,
it is called a subordinate clause.

Adjective clauses, adverb clauses, and noun clauses are three types of
subordinate clauses. An adjective clause modifies a noun or pronoun in the
independent clause (e.g., The man, who was also a gambler, usually carried large
amounts of cash). An adverb clause modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb
in the independent clause (e.g., Shortly after the sun sets, twilight begins). Finally,
a noun clause acts as a noun in an independent clause (e.g., whoever finishes first
can take the rest of the day off).

Colon

A punctuation mark used to mark a significant break in a sentence. It creates a

stop within a sentence that is almost as abrupt as that caused by a period. The
colon indicates that the text following is a summary, expansion, or implication, etc.,
of that, which it precedes. Alternatively, a colon is used to separate numbers in
ratios (e.g., 2:1) or groups of numbers that refer to different things, such as hours
from minutes (e.g., 7:15), or to mark the beginning of lists.

Comma

A punctuation mark (,) is the equivalent of a brief pause. It used to mark a division
in a sentence, as may be caused by a word, phrase, or clause, particularly when
accompanied by a pause. The comma also separate items in a list, designates
thousands in numerals, and separates types of information in bibliographic and
other data. Commas are used for clarity and to make sentences less unwieldy.
Comma is derived from the Greek komma for segment or clause, which designated
a portion of a sentence. It appeared as a full slash mark or solidus (/) in early
manuscripts, but later shrank to today's size.

Complex sentence

A sentence consisting of one independent clause and one or more subordinate

clauses (e.g., The dog quickly discovered the cat, which had left the safety of its
hiding place).

Compound sentence

A sentence that consists of two or more independent clauses and no subordinate

clause. A comma and a conjunction separate the independent clauses. (e.g., I
finished my work for the day, and now I am ready to go out.

Conjunction

A word (e.g., and, but, or) used to connect words, phrases, or clauses.
Subordinating conjunctions (e.g., whether, unless) join subordinate clauses to main
clauses. Correlative conjunctions (e.g., either...or, neither...nor) are used in pairs to
join alternatives or equal elements. Coordinating conjunctions are normally used to
join like with like, such as a noun with another noun, an adjective with another
adjective, an adverb with another adverb, etc. (e.g., a fork and a knife, hot but dry,
quickly but quietly, Jack and Jill). Common coordinating conjunctions include and,
but, for, or, nor, either, yet, and so.

Dash

A short horizontal typographical mark (-) that indicates a break between thoughts,
sets off a parenthetical clause, marks an omission, or substitutes for a colon. There
are two main kinds of dashes, an em dash and an en dash. An em dash is longer
than an en dash and much longer than a hyphen. The em dash is a full square of
type in size. An en-dash is only one-half of a square of type in size and resembles
a hyphen. An em dash is used mainly to denote a sudden change in tone, or to set
off a clause or phrase, instead of using parentheses. The main use of an en dash
is to represent missing, but implied, items of a series. For example, 2-4 denotes
the numbers 2 through 4.

Dependent clause

A group of words that has both a subject and a verb but (unlike an independent
clause) cannot stand alone as a sentence. Also known as a subordinate clause.
Dependent clauses include adverb clauses, adjective clauses, and noun clauses.

Ellipsis

A set of three dots, periods, or dashes in a row. They are used between two
sentences or phrases to indicate that a word or phrase has been omitted. An
ellipsis is also used when bits or quips of information have been taken from a long
quotation or when wanting to signify a trailing off in thought or to leave it to the
reader's imagination to complete. When the ellipsis appears at the end of the
sentence, a period precedes it. Consequently, there are four dots instead of three.

Exclamation point

The mark used in writing after an exclamation. It is often used to indicate intensity
of emotion or loudness, etc. The mark evolved from the Roman habit of saying "lo"
as an exclamation. In order to save time in writing, scribes wrote the two letters
together, with the "I" on top and the "o" beneath it. Eventually, the "o" was filled
with ink and became a dot.

Font

A font is a specific typeface of a certain size and style. For example, one font may
be Arial 12 pt bold, while another font may be Times New Roman 14 pt italic. Most
word processing programs have a Font menu that allows you to choose the
typeface, size, and style of the text. In order to use a font, you must have it
installed on your computer. Windows provides access to fonts using the Fonts
control panel. The Mac OS stores fonts in a Fonts folder and includes a separate
"Font Book" application for managing fonts.

Hyphen

A punctuation mark (-) used to join two words together, to indicate where a word
has been broken between syllables at the end of a line, or to separate parts of a
compound word. The normal hyphen, optional hyphen, and nonbreaking hyphen
are three types of hyphen. Both normal hyphens and nonbreaking hyphens are
visible. The normal hyphen is used as part of the usual spelling of the word. It is
also termed required hyphen or hard hyphen. Nonbreaking hyphens do not permit
a line break. That is, the word cannot be broken into parts at the end of a line. An
optional hyphen only appears if a word is split between syllables at the end of a
line. It is also called a discretionary hyphen or soft hyphen.

Independent clause

A clause -a group- of word containing both a subject and a predicate - that can
stand alone as a complete sentence. It expresses a complete thought. In contrast,
a subordinate clause is incomplete and requires an independent clause to express
the idea fully. (e.g., I prefer French cuisine, although Italian food is fine.) An
independent clause is also termed a main clause.

Italics

Italics are a typeface that slope to the right. Italics are often used to emphasize
particular words in a piece of writing.

Paragraph

A distinct portion of written or printed matter that usually contains more than one
sentence, but is shorter than a chapter, and deals with a particular idea. A
paragraph begins on a new line and is usually indented. It is a subsection of a
larger piece, article, manuscript, book, or text. To a word processing program, a
paragraph is a unit of information that can be selected or formatted differently from
adjacent paragraphs.

Parentheses

Punctuation marks used in pairs () to mark an explanatory interjection or remark

that is inserted into a sentence, which is grammatically complete without the
insertion. Parentheses set off subsidiary thoughts or phrases that represent asides.
They are also used to separate several qualities or a group of elements in a
formula, equation, etc. that are to be treated as a whole. Parentheses are rounded
brackets that are used in similar manner to brackets.

Period

A punctuation mark that signifies the completion of a sentence and the pause that
should occur between sentences. This pause is longer than that required by a
comma. The period is also termed a full stop. The period is also used in
abbreviations, such as U.S. or Ph.D., etc. Period is derived from the Greek
periodos, which means cycle and therefore completion of a thought.

Phrase

A group of related words that does not contain both a subject and a verb and that
functions as a noun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, or verb. A phrase
represents only part of a sentence. Consequently, it cannot convey a complete
thought (e.g., spectacular sunrise, the old woman, in the boat, to the horizon,
extending for miles, hanging at an angle, in place of, break away, in the interval,
flapping in the breeze). In contrast to a phrase, a clause is a group of words that
contains both a subject and a verb.

Punctuation

The practice or act of using various conventional marks or characters, such as

periods, commas, etc., in writing or printing to improve clarity. They aid
comprehension by showing where to pause, slow, etc. Also, the various characters
so used. The characters include question mark, exclamation mark, colon, semi-
colon, apostrophe, hyphen, dash, parentheses, ellipsis, and quotation marks.

Question mark

A mark (?) that denotes a question. A question mark is used at the end of a direct
question. It behaves like a period when accompanied by quotation marks. The
question mark has its origin inquaestico, Latin for "I ask". This was shortened by
space-saving scribes to become QO and later, the letter Q above the letter O.
Subsequently, the Q was degraded into a squiggle and the O into a little round
spot. The question mark is also called an interrogation point or interrogation mark.

Quotation marks

Punctuation marks that are used to identify spoken or quoted words. Quotation
marks stimulate interest by their location as well as shape. In the United States, it
is normal to begin the quotation with "66" and end with "99". However, "99" is often
flipped over left-to-right and used in place of "66". Single quotation marks are used
for quotations within quotations.

Quotation (quote)

A term that is used in reference to a passage or phrase from a book or speech,

etc., and in particular to one that may be used in an article or as an endorsement of
a product.

Restrictive (dependent) clause

A subordinate clause that is essential to the certainty of the word it modifies. If the
restrictive clause is omitted, the meaning of the main clause will differ. Commas
are not used to set off a restrictive clause from the rest of the sentence (e.g., All
automobiles that are parked in the prohibited area in front of the school will be
towed away). A restrictive clause is also termed an essential clause.

Semicolon
A punctuation mark (;) used to denote a break in continuity that is greater than that,
which a comma implies, but less final than that which a period creates. Semi-
colons are often used to separate independent clauses in a series when commas
will not add sufficient clarity. More commonly, the semi-colon is used in a sentence
to separate the two main clauses, which are not joined by a conjunction.

Sentence

A group of words (or a single word) that expresses a complete thought. A sentence
always contains a verb and, usually, has a subject. However, if the statement is an
imperative, the subject may only be implied (e.g., Stop! Go!). Similarly, an
interrogative sentence may consist of only a verb (e.g., Why? How? When?)

A simple sentence consists of one independent clause. Complex or compound

sentences contain two or more clauses. All sentences begin with a capital letter
and end with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. Sentences are
categorized on the basis of their function (declaratory, interrogatory, or imperative)
and structure (simple, complex, compound). The common sentence is declarative
and conveys information. It usually has a subject, verb, and object (She drove the
family car).

Style

The general way in which something is written. A particular writer's manner of

expression. This may be characterized by long, flowing prose or short, clipped
sentences. Alternatively, the choice of words, literary devices, or grammar, may
constitute a distinguishing feature. Perhaps, the general style is plain, ornate, or
emotive. A writer normally has his or her own style. The term, style, may also be
used in reference to a publisher's or editor's style guidelines for its writers. In
typography and printing, style also refers to the variations within a type family, such
as without boldface, italic, underlined, etc.

Subject

That part of the sentence or clause about which something is said. It is a word or
group of words that identifies or describes who or what is doing what is being done.
The subject is normally the doer of the action and typically consists of a noun or
pronoun. However, a phrase or gerund also can serve as the subject of a sentence
(e.g., He ate his breakfast. Darkness came early. You and I must leave now.
Swimming is his sport of choice. What they want us unacceptable. Coming to work
late must stop.)

Subordinate clause

A clause -a group of word containing both a subject and a predicate- that cannot
stand alone as a complete sentence. It requires an independent clause to express
the idea fully. A subordinate clause is also termed a dependent clause because it
depends on an attached independent clause to complete the meaning. A
subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun normally introduces the subordinate
clause. (e.g., I prefer French cuisine, although Italian food is fine.)

Subordinating conjunction

Joins an independent clause and a subordinate (dependent) clause. Examples of

subordinating conjunctions include although, because, since, until, and while (e.g.,
He has not visited them, since his wife died).

Typeface

A typeface is a set of characters of the same design. These characters include

letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols. Some popular typefaces
include Arial, Helvetica, Times, and Verdana. While most computers come with a
few dozen typefaces installed, there are thousands of typefaces available.
Because they are vector-based (not bitmaps), typefaces can be scaled very large
and still look sharp. The term "typeface" is often confused with "font", which is a
specific size and style of a typeface. For example, Verdana is a typeface, while
Verdana 10 pt bold is a font. It's a small difference, but is good to know.

Word

A unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds (or their written
representation), which form a complete expression or can be differentiated from
the elements that accompany it. In word processing, a word is a unit of information
comprised of characters, that are treated as a single entity and which can be
stored in one location. It includes any space at the end of the characters.

- Adapted from: http://www.writingenglish.com/glossary.htm

[Read on 1st of October, 2013].

Bibliography
 

[1] Bringhurst, R. (1996): The Elements of Typographic Style. Hartley & Marks
Publishers.

[2] McGoldrick, D. P. (2011): Typeface vs. Font - What's the Difference Between
Them? Online: http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/publishing/articles/
[Read on 1st of October, 2013].
[3] Pearson Education (2007): Longman Business Dictionary. Pearson Education
ESL.

Further web resources

[1] Video about the use of italics: http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Italics

[Read on 1st of October, 2013].

[2] Video about the use of commas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctwdVGNy27U
[Read on 1st of October, 2013].

[3] Video about apostrophes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-0H2trMUx0
[Read on 1st of October, 2013].

[4] Punctuation:
http://www.powershow.com/view/2aa939-
ZTIzN/Punctuation_in_English_powerpoint_ppt_presentation
[Read on 1st of October, 2013].

[5] Capitalization: http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/capital.html

[Read on 1st of October, 2013].

[6] 50 most common punctuation errors:

http://www.grammar-monster.com/entertainment/Top_50_punctuation_errors.htm
[Read on 1st of October, 2013].

Extra online practice links

[1] Punctuation marks exercise:

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_55.htm
[Read on 1st of October, 2013].

[2] Miscellanea: http://www.towson.edu/ows/indexexercises.htm

[Read on 1st of October, 2013].

[3] Punctuation: http://www.englishmaven.org/Pages/Punctuation.htm

[Read on 1st of October, 2013].