MECHANICS OF WRITING

This refers to all the skills involved in writing clear and error-free academic texts. These
skills include

1. Punctuation
2. Spelling
3. Grammar skills.

1. Punctuation

In order for readers of your academic text to interpret your ideas as you intend, you need
to use correct punctuation. Punctuation is key in informing your readers where one
thought ends and the next begins. Furthermore, it helps in clarifying and adding
emphasis.
Punctuation marks are classified into three main categories. This is based on their
functions in a text

a) External/ End/terminal punctuations

• Full stop/period
• Question mark
• Exclamation mark

b) Internal/ intra-sentential punctuations

• Commas
• Parenthesis
• Dashes
• Colon
• Semi-colon
• Quotation marks

c) Word punctuations
• Capitals
• Italics
• Apostrophe
• Hyphens
1. THE FULLSTOP/ PERIOD (.)
• Marks the end of a sentence or abbreviation, unless the sentence is a
question or an exclamation.
• Marks shortened forms unless the shortened form ends with the same
letters as the full word e.g. Oct. Dr Prof. Jan. Feb. Mr Fr

• Omissions are marked by three full stops (ellipsis) e.g. “we must not let
them … ruin our future.”
2. The Question mark (?): used after a direct question and after each part in a series
of questions e.g. Did you attend the BLL 110 virtual class? What is your name?
3. Round brackets ( )
• Used to set off extra or incidental information from the rest of the sentence
e.g.
Yesterday at the police station (I don’t like the place) I bumped into
the thief.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was the founder of psychoanalysis.
4. The exclamation mark (!): used to show strong emotion. It may follow a word,
a group of words or a sentence. It is used in cases where an expression shows
excitement, urgency or anger e.g.
Oh no! I forgot to do the assignment on cohesion.
Help! The room is on fire.
5. The comma , used to separate items in a sentence. Furthermore, commas are used
to make sentences clear e.g.
Not Clear: Shortly after the lecturer left the virtual classroom
Clear: Shortly after, the lecturer left the virtual classroom
The hustler gave out wheelbarrows, trolleys, washing machines,
spades and motorbikes.
The strategy, drawn up two years ago, worked well for just one
year.
6. The colon (:)
• Used at the end of a statement to introduce a list, a long quotation or an
explanation e.g.
The following were my worst jobs: truck loader in a factory, waiter
in a 24-hour hotel and attendant in a mental hospital.
 You will find that his actual words were: “I do not wish to attend
every meeting because…”
At the end of the busy semester there was only one thing I wanted
to do: travel to Mombasa
• To indicate time in terms of hours and to indicate proportions e.g. a ratio
of 3:4, 4:15 pm
7. Semi colon (;)
• Used to denote a pause. They are usually stronger than commas but weaker
than periods.
• Separates items in a list when the items themselves contain commas e.g.
The phone has several features: a camera; an MP3 and music player; a
microphone, with, or without an amplifier; and an FM radio.
• Marks the break between two complete thoughts that are related to each
other e.g.
The room was in a mess; clothes, books and bedding were strewn all over.
8. Dash (-)
Signals a degree of pause longer than a comma but not as complete as a
full stop.
It sets off words for dramatic effect or a sudden change of thought e.g.
• I didn’t go out with him a second time - once was more than
enough. ✓ For emphasis e.g.
• There is a special ingredient in my recipe- honey.
To set off a listing or an explanation that provides details or examples
• The restaurant offers indigenous cuisines – mahamri, biriani, viazi
karai and mnazi.
To give strong emphasis to a related clause e.g.
• The referee’s call was unfair – and you know it.
9. Hyphen (-)
It links together the elements of compound words such as: Mother-in-law. It links
two or more words that act as a single unit in describing a noun e.g. The fast-
talking salesman has a well-rounded personality.
10. Square brackets [ ]
Indicate that the words enclosed within the quoted matter are not part of the
original material e.g.

• He told the court, “I do not deny that it [ the money] was used to bribe me”.
11. Numbers
Spell out numbers that take no more than two words. Otherwise use numerals i.e. the
numbers themselves.
• During the past five months, over twenty-five armed gangsters have been
shot dead by the police.
• Each year about 250 sharks are spotted in Mombasa
12. Quotation marks

✓ Used to indicate a direct quotation, a definition, nonstandard English or a

title. It may also be used to indicate a word or phrase used in an unusual
way.

• Mwanafunzi exclaimed. “The link is not working, I can’t attend the

virtual lecture.”
• A “couch potato” is someone who watches television all day and
evening.
13. The Apostrophe:
✓ Used to indicate the omission of characters or possession.

• Don’t (do not)

• Didn’t (Did not)
• The students’ assignment
• A week’s salary is needed for the vacation.
14. Capitalization
Using uppercase letters in writing
Capital letters signal to the reader that a new sentence or quote is beginning
e.g.
• The virtual class has started
They also signal proper names, titles and headings
• Ruto went to Mt Kenya
• Dr., Mr., Miss
 2. SPELLING
Good spelling creates confidence. It impresses the reader and makes the writer feel
he/she is in control. Poor spelling often results from bad habits developed in early school
years. Our personal determination to become good spellers can correct our bad spelling
habits that often leave us embarrassed. We can improve our spelling by:
• Using the dictionary
When writing a paper, get into the habit of allowing yourself time to look up the
spelling of the words whose spelling you’re not sure about.
• Keeping a personal spelling list
Keep a list of words you misspell and study the list regularly.
• Syllabizing words
When you find trouble spelling long words, try breaking them down into syllables
and try spelling the individual syllables e.g. inadvertent, consternation,
temperature, alliteration etc.
• Mastering commonly confused words e.g. all ready - completely prepared, and
already - previously, before. Also:
beside besides course cause hole whole its it’s break brake principal
principle whether weather loose lose advice advise past passed
• Mastering prefixes and suffixes (affixes)
Dis-appoint Dis-satisfaction
Un-natural
ir-relevant
Il-legal

Ir-
ational
Il-legal
 3. GRAMMAR

a) Sentence fragments
Every sentence must have a subject and a verb and must express a complete
thought. A word group that lacks a subject or a verb and that does not express a
complete thought is a fragment e.g.
• Drinking more than everyone else
• When Sheila turned eighteen

b) Run-ons
A run-on is two complete thoughts that are run together with no adequate sign
given to mark the break between them. Some run-ons have no punctuation at all
to mark the break between the thoughts. Such run-ons are known as fused
sentences. They are joined together as if they are only one thought e.g. Our father
was a madman in his youth he would do anything on a dare. Another type of run
on sentence is a comma splice. A comma is used to connect or splice together the
two complete thoughts. A comma alone is not enough to connect two complete
thoughts. Some stronger clearer connection than a comma alone is needed e.g. my
grades are good this semester my social life rates only a C.
We can correct a run on by:
• Using a full stop and a capital letter
• Using a semicolon to join the two complete thoughts
• Use a comma and a joining word like and, but, for, so, however, etc e.g.
my grades are good this semester; however, my social life rates only a C.

c) Subject–verb agreement
A verb must agree with its subject in number. Study the following sentences and
correct the agreement error.
• The onions in that spaghettis sauce gives me a heartburn.
• Mary with her three dogs run around the field every day.
• Either the Octopizo or Nameless deserve the award for the best album of
the year.
(Note: when subjects are joined by either…or, neither…nor, not only… but also,
the verb should agree with the subject closer to the verb e.g. not only the landlady
but also her children act unfriendly to us.
d) Consistent verb tense
Do not shift verb tenses unnecessary. If you begin a paper in the present tense do
not shift suddenly to the past e.g.
• The child walked quickly towards the pool of dirty water. When the teacher
shouts at her, she started to cry.

e) Misplaced modifiers
These are words which, because of their awkward placement, do not describe the
words the writer intended them to describe. To avoid them, place words as close
as possible to what they describe. Consider the following:
• Alice and Albert decided to have two children on their wedding day.
• Stephen yelled at the howling dog in his underwear.

f) Dangling modifiers
A modifier that opens a sentence must be followed immediately by the word it is
meant to describe. Otherwise the modifier is said to be dangling and the sentence
takes on an unintended meaning e.g.
• While smoking a pipe, my cat sat with me by the crackling fire.
• To join the university, a grade C is required
• After putting on a coat, the room didn’t seem cold anymore.

g) Faulty parallelism
Words in a pair or in a series should have a parallel/balanced structure. By
balancing the items in a series they will have the same kind of structure and make
the sentence clearer and easier to read. The following parallel/balanced sentences
read more smoothly than the non parallel ones:
Non para: I made a resolution to lose weight, to study more and watching less TV.
Para: I made a resolution to lose weight, to study more and to watch less TV.
Non para: She described my car as noisy, expensive and not having much safety.
Para: She described my car as noisy, expensive and unsafe.

h) Pronoun agreement
A pronoun must agree in number with the word or words it replaces e.g.
• Everyone must be in her/their seat before the class begins (Choose one)
• Each of the president’s advisers offered his/their opinion about the ICC. (Choose
one)
i) Faulty verb inflection
To inflect is to change a verb into a form difficult from the base word e.g. for tense
or for number. Regular and irregular verbs should be inflected correctly. Many are
inflected wrongly e.g.
Present Simple Past Simple Past Participle
Arise *arised ?
Burst *bursted ?
Cost *costed ?
Swim *swam ?