Punctuations

1
Punctuations

• Week 11 Peiling Hsia

2

• Contents
• Punctuations
• Describing graphs and tables
• Enumeration
• Writing numbers

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Punctuation

• Periods .
• Commas ,
• Colons
• Semicolons
• Question marks ?
• Exclamation points !

• Apostrophes '
• Quotation marks " "
• Hyphens -
• Dashes --
• Parentheses ( )
• Brackets

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Semicolon

• The semicolon ( ) is an important punctuation
  mark in
• English and has several uses it is particularly
  common in
• formal and/or academic writing. There are several
  common
• ways of using the semicolon.
• 1. Use a semicolon to connect sentences that
  have closely related ideas.
• 2. Use a semicolon to connect items in lists if
  the itemsin the lists contain commas.
• 3. When sentences are connected by using
  conjunctive adverbs, the semicolon comes at the
  end of the first sentence.

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1. Use a semicolon to connect sentences that have
closely related ideas.

• Examples
• He came he saw he conquered.
• She always does her best that's one reason
  everyone admires her.
• Dave Johnson and his family recently visited a
  village near Chiangmai, Thailand Dave's wife,
  May, comes from there.
• Almost everyone has heard of the Time Square of
  New York City it's one of the most famous
  tourist attractions in the U.S.A.
• John and his wife are newlyweds they got married
  only a few days ago.

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Special notes

• 1. Periods could also be used for these
  sentences, but the semicolons
• emphasize how closely related the sentences
  are. (If periods are used,
• the sentences seem "choppy.")
• 2. Commas cannot be used to join sentences like
  the above.
• 3. Note that when a semicolon is used to join
  closely related sentences,
• a lower case (small) letter follows the
  semicolon, not a capital letter.
• 4. Most authorities state that when a semicolon
  is used with
• parentheses (( )) or with quotation marks ("
  "), the semicolon should be
• outside the parentheses or quotation marks
• Bill said, "I was born in a very small town" he
  went on to say that it's a friendly place with a
  population of less than 1,000.
• Ms. Jones was probably referring to the state of
  Washington (which is in the north-western U.S.)
  a reference to Washington, D.C. doesn't seem very
  logical to me.

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2. Use a semicolon to connect items in lists if
the items in the lists contain commas.

• Examples
• She's lived in San Antonio, Dallas, and Irving,
  Texas Palms, West Los Angeles, and Brentwood,
  California Arch Cape and Portland, Oregon and
  Phoenix, Arizona.
• We invited Bob's girlfriend, Annie Judy, Ahmed,
  and Simon Simon's cousins, Hugo and Peter our
  next-door neighbor, Tina, and her husband and
  three or four other people.
• For the class you'll need two diskettes, either
  formatted or unformatted paper, both for the
  printer and for your class notes and, of course,
  the textbook.

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Special notes

• 1. Semicolons are very helpful, in sentences such
  as the ones above, in making the lists less
  confusing. Without the semicolons, the items in
  the list would be difficult to understand using
  commas alone would not separate the items
  clearly
• Example
• We invited Bob's girlfriend, Annie, Judy,
  Ahmed, and Simon, Simon's cousins, Hugo and
  Peter, our next-door neighbor, Tina, and her
  husband, and three or four other people. (This
  sentence is confusing because the items in the
  list are not clearly separated.)
• 2. Periods cannot be used instead of semicolons
  in
• sentences like those above.

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3. When sentences are connected by using
conjunctive adverbs, the semicolon comes at the
end of the first sentence.

• Conjunctive adverbs include connecting words such
  as however,
• therefore, besides, consequently, nevertheless,
  in addition,
• accordingly, and otherwise conjunctive adverbs
  (which are sometimes
• also called sentence connectors) are especially
  common in serious
• business, technical, and academic writing.
• Examples
• Sandy might have been sick and unable to come to
  work however, I suspect that she took the day
  off and went shopping.
• We're expected to do all the assigned work in
  addition, we're required to read and report on
  three books that we can choose ourselves.
• The last three shipments were damaged when they
  were received consequently, all new shipments
  will be inspected just before theyleave the
  factory.
• Mike found the work very difficult and was often
  tempted to quit nevertheless, he kept on trying
  and eventually did quite well on it.

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Special notes

• Periods can be used with conjunctive adverbs
• instead of semicolons.
• She was extremely tired. However, she finished
  her assignment.
• She was extremely tired however, she finished
  her assignment.

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Commas

• Use commas to keep your writing clear. Omitted or
  incorrectly used, commas can cause confusion or
  even change meaning. Commas should be used with
  the following elements
• Introductory elements
• Coordinating conjunctions joining independent
  clauses
• Elements in a series
• Coordinate modifiers
• Nonrestrictive modifiers
• Parenthetic elements
• Elliptical constructions
• (http//www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/commas.htm)

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1. Introductory elements
Use commas to set off transitional words and
phrases, introductory clauses, or introductory
phrases to signal where the introductory element
finishes and the main part starts.

• (1) Transitional Words and Phrases
• Place a comma after a transitional word or
  phrase that begins a sentence.
• Moreover, the opening of an export market
  would help expand the market for key escrow
  encryption.
• In addition, several companies and
  individuals have proposed commercial key escrow
  approaches.
• (2) Introductory Clauses
• Place a comma after an introductory
  dependent clause.
• Although key escrow is voluntary, critics
  say that the introduction of clipper points
  national policy in a disturbing direction.

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• (3) Introductory Prepositional or Verbal Phrases
• Normally, use a comma after an introductory
  prepositional or verbal
• phrase. However, you may omit the comma
  after a short
• introductory phrase if no ambiguity is
  possible.
• For the first time, researchers have used
  DNA analysis to identify
• the animal tissue in 4,000-year-old rock
  paintings.
• Despite the error the experiment was
  successful.
• Combining surface area with depth, we
  calculated the volume of
• the pond.
• Do not place a comma after an introductory
  participial or gerund phrase if the phrase forms
  part of the subject or verb of the sentence.
• Combining surface area with depth was our
  principal method for calculating the volume of
  the pond.

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2. Coordinating Conjunctions Joining
Independent Clauses
Place a comma before a coordinating conjunction
that joins two independent clauses. However, if
the clauses are very short and closely related,
you may omit the comma.

• Unacceptable
• In almost all illicit markets, only the tip
  of the iceberg is visible and there is no reason
  why the nuclear-materials black market should be
  an exception.
• Acceptable
• In almost all illicit markets, only the tip
  of the iceberg is visible, and there is no reason
  why the nuclear-materials black market should be
  an exception.

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3. Elements in a series

• Use a comma to separate items in a series.
  Although
• placing a final comma before the coordinating
  conjunction is often considered optional,
  omitting it can sometimes cause confusion.
• In a 3-or-more-element list, it's better to put
  comma between each of the items (including the
  last two), for clarity.
• Most scientific and technical writing routinely
  uses a final comma in a series to prevent
  possible ambiguities.

• As a simple example of why, consider this
  3-element grocery list written without the
  clarifying last comma
• milk, macaroni and cheese and crackers.
• It's not clear whether that means
• milk, macaroni and cheese, crackers or
• milk, macaroni, cheese and crackers .

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• Other examples
• His intellectual acuity, diverse interests, frail
  physique, and
• ethereal personality made Oppenheimer a man of
  legendary
• proportions.
• In this sentence, omitting the final comma
  would not cause confusion. Still, it is good
  practice in scientific and technical writing to
  always include the final comma in a series.
• Weak
• Contemporary physics is still exploring
  neutron stars, black holes and the penetration of
  electrons through potential barriers.
• The omission of the final comma before and
  causes ambiguity are black holes and the
  penetration of electrons through potential
  barriers specific topics connected to the general
  subject of neutron stars, or are they separate
  items?

Improved Contemporary physics is still
exploring neutron stars, black holes, and
the penetration of electrons through potential
barriers.
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4. Coordinate Modifiers
Use a comma between coordinate modifiers.
Modifiers are coordinate if they modify the same
word. (You can test to see if the modifiers are
coordinate by inserting and between them. If the
description still makes sense, then the modifiers
are coordinate.)

• Example
• Ebola viruses are known as filose viruses for
  their long, filament like appearance under a
  microscope.
• Long and filament like modify the appearance
  of the virus equally, so a comma is needed
  between them.

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5. Nonrestrictive Modifiers
Use commas to set off nonrestrictive modifiers.
A nonrestrictive modifier is usually introduced
by which and contains information that is not
essential to establishing the meaning of what it
modifies.

• Example
• Infectious diseases, which antibiotics and
  vaccines once promised to banish from our shores,
  have returned with a vengeance.

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6. Parenthetic Elements
Use commas to set off parenthetic elements.

• Example
• Oppenheimer became known, of course, for
  leading the physicists who built the atomic bomb
  at Los Alamos Laboratory.

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7. Elliptical Constructions
Use a comma to indicate the omission of a word or
words readily understood from the context.

• Example
• In the United States there are ninety-two
  scanners in Europe, eighty-five in all of
  Africa, six.
• The commas indicate the omission of the words
  there are.

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Specialized Uses of Commas

• (1) In numbers with five or more digits,
  Anglo-American usage dictates that there be
  commas before groups of three digits.
• Customers reported a total of 212,413
  hardware malfunctions.
• (2) Use commas to separate adjacent numbers.
• In 1994, 212 cases had been diagnosed.
• (3) Use commas to separate items in an address.
• Einstein then moved to Princeton, New
  Jersey.
• The branch office address is 958 Ridge
  Road, Hayes, KS, which is in the northern part of
  the state.
• Portland, Oregon, is the site of the new
  factory.

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• (4) Use commas to set off the year in dates
  expressed in the month-day-year sequence.
• Greenberg began the project on July 2,1992.
• The first meeting will be held on Tuesday,
  May 5, at the high school.
• It rained on Monday, August 20, 1991, before
  the crop was harvested.
• (5) Omit commas when only the month and the year
  are stated.
• Greenberg began the project in July 1992.
• The tropical storms of July 1998 were very
  severe.
• (6) In dates written in the day-month-year
  sequence, the comma is omitted.
• Greenberg began the project on 2 July1992.

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Colons

• Use colons for the following purposes
• 1. to introduce and emphasize lists, quotations
  and explanations and certain appositional
  elements.
• 2. to express ratios.
• 3. to separate numbers signifying different
  nouns, such as in separating units of time or
  elements in a bibliographic citation.
• 4. to separate titles from subtitles

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To introduce and emphasize (1) To set off and
emphasize lists
Begin each element of lists, series, or phrases
with lowercase letters.

• Examples
• Anyone communicating via computer needs a
  security system that ensures three essential
  requirements confidentiality, authentication,
  and trust.
• The market for photovoltaic power systems
  includes the following items intrusion alarms,
  flood monitors, calculators, and telephone call
  boxes.
• Or
• The market for photovoltaic power systems
  includes the following items
• - intrusion alarms
• - flood monitors
• - calculators
• - telephone call boxes

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(2). To set off and emphasize quotations

• The contract reads "DL-400 coaxial cable shall
  be used for all platform instrument installations
  at Site 5, unless a specific exception is
  justified in the approved work order."
• Kurt noted "Even potatoes are probably much
  better guarded today than radioactive materials."

Place colons outside quotation marks.
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(3). To set off and emphasize explanations
and appositional elements

• In designing the tachometer, the team first posed
  a question What operations are needed on the
  input signal in order to generate the desired
  output?
• This system currently operates in a strictly
  one-sided fashion the machine makes sure the
  person who inserted the card is its legitimate
  owner by asking for a secret password, but the
  cardholder must blindly trust that the machine
  has not been tampered with.
• While thinking about this problem, we were
  reminded of an access-control system with similar
  demands that is used successfully worldwide on a
  daily basis passports.

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2. To express ratios

• The ratio of drag torque to bearing friction
  torque cannot exceed31.
• The anti-GAP 43, anti-MAP 2, and
  anti-synaptophysin antibodies were diluted11000,
  1300, and 1100, respectively, in
  phosphate-buffered saline containing10 bovine
  serum albumin.

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3. To separate units of time

• The main thruster engines ignited at 705 a.m.
  EDT.
• To separate elements in a citation (in certain
  documentation styles)
• E. F. Lyon, "Airport Surface Traffic
  Automation," Lincoln Laboratory Journal 4151
  (1991).

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Dashes

• Use dashes--sparingly--to indicate abrupt shifts
  in thought and to set off or emphasize
  appositional or parenthetical elements or
  interjections.
• In most cases, use commas or parentheses instead.
  
• In typewritten documents, use two hyphens (--)
  with no
• spaces between or around them to form a dash.
• Example
• Although we have made these comments with
  specific reference to water--only because of our
  familiarity with water--all pure substances
  exhibit the same behavior.

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Hyphens

• Use hyphens to link
• 1. certain prefixes, letters, and numbers with
  nouns
• 2. compound nouns
• 3. compound modifiers
• 4. spelled-out numbers
• Also use hyphens for the following purposes
• to clarify the meaning of certain words
• to divide words
• to express to or through between two letters or
  numbers
• for specialized scientific notation

Ex, com-pu-ter, light-year, hyper-tension
Ex. pages 25-63, 1901-1911
Ex, carbon-14 (chemical elements)
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1. To Link Certain Prefixes, Letters, and Numbers
with Nouns

• Use hyphens to connect certain prefixes to nouns.
  
• all- ex- half- quasi- self-
  hex-
• However, scientific and technical writing styles
  omit the hyphen between most prefixes, especially
  prefixes that are not words themselves.

http//www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/hyphen.htm
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Use hyphens to connect numbers or letters used as
prefixes to a noun.

• The following list of prefixes that normally are
  not
• followed by a hyphen
• aero after ante anti astro auto
  bi bio chemo co
• counter de electro exo extra geo
  hemo hyper
• hypo in infra inter iso macro meta
  micro mid mini
• multi non over phto physio poly
  post pre pro
• pesudo re semi sub super supra
  trans un

• Example
• the T-cell 10-cylinder

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2. To Link Compound Nouns

• Use a hyphen to link compound nouns, especially
  when the
• lack of a hyphen would change the meaning of the
  term.
• Examples
• light-year
• light year
• The first term is a unit of measurement, not of
  time the
• second pair of words, on the other hand, may
  indicate a
• year that is not heavy.

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3. To Link Compound Modifiers

• Use a hyphen to connect compound modifiers to
  promote
• clarity and prevent ambiguity.
• Examples
• laser-alignment process compound modifier
  noun
• laser alignment modifier noun
• the two-tube combiner or the two tube
  combiners
• wire-grid aperture cap aperture cap for a wire
  grid
• wire grid-aperture cap a wire cap for a grid
  aperture
• wire-grid level adjustment
• wire grid-level adjustment
• heavy-water cavity a cavity for heavy water
• heavy water cavity a water cavity that is
  heavy

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4. To Link Spelled-Out Numbers

• Use a hyphen to join spelled-out numbers from 21
• through 99 and spelled-out fractions.
• Examples
• twenty-one moving parts
• the thirty-third experiment
• four-fifth of the subjects

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Basic sentence punctuation patterns
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punctuation patterns
My boss warned me about being late, but he didnt
fire me.

• IC, cc IC.
• IC IC.
• IC trans, IC.
• DC, IC.
• IC DC.

My boss warned me about being late he didnt
fire me.
My boss warned me about being late however, he
didnt fire me.
Although my boss warned me about being late, he
didnt fire me.
My boss didnt fire me although he warned me
about being.
IC independent clause (SV and can stand
alone) DC Dependent clause (is introduced by a
signal word) Cc coordinate conjunction (and,
but, for, nor, or, so, yet) Trans transitional
expression
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Describing Graphs and Tables

• A graph is a visual, concise means of presenting
• information a table presents facts and figures
  in compact
• form.
• http//pioneer.netserv.chula.ac.th/pkanchan/html/
  graph.htm
• http//www.writefix.com/graphs/index.htm
• http//www.eslflow.com/describinggraphstables.html
  
• http//adw.hct.ac.ae/site_ilc/sites_ielts/graphsit
  e/index.htm

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There are three basic kinds of graphs a circle
or pie graph, a bar graph, and a line graph.

• Circle/Pie Graph
• In studying circle graphs, you should determine
• what the entire circle represents,
• what the various parts of the circle represent
  and
• how the percentages compare.
• Bar Graph
• When studying bar graphs, you should ask
• what the subject of the graph is,
• how the various parts relate to this subject and
• what the relative percentages that each bar
  represents are.

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• Line Graph
• Line graph are made up of three important
  parts--the vertical axis, the horizontal axis,
  and the diagonal line, which shows the
  relationship between the figures on the vertical
  axis and those on the horizontal.
• In studying line graphs, you should
• determine the topic of the graph and look at
  the axes and diagonal line to understand the
  relationship that is being illustrated.
• Tables
• When reading tables, you should
• determine the subject and establish what each
  category and subcategory represents.

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Making Inferences from Graphs and Tables

• Graphs and tables are visual representations
  which can give
• information both directly and indirectly. In
  other words, readers
• sometimes may have to make inferences or draw
  conclusions
• based on the data given as well as their
  knowledge of the world.
• Following are some expressions we may use when
  making inferences
• From the information given, I conclude that
• 
  infer that
• 
  assume that
• From the information given, it can be decided
  that
• 
  concluded that
• 
  inferred that
• 
  assumed that
• The information (in the text/ in Figure) implies
  that
• 
  suggests that
• 
  hints that

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Verb forms used with inferences

• Present Tense - may/might/could/ must
• Example
• I can smell gas. The pipe must be broken.
• Past Tense - may/might/could/must have pp.
• Example
• The multiple explosion at the LPG filling station
  near Seattle
• must have been caused by a gas leak. The station
• attendants may have been careless with the gas.

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Describing Graphs and Tables

• The information contained in a graph or a table
  can also be
• expressed in words. The following are some useful
  
• expressions describing graphs and tables.
• make up
• account for  
• be responsible for  
• contribute to  
• constitute  
• Example
• According to Figure 1, food garbage makes up 17
  of
• the total solid waste collected in the United
  States in 1975.

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When comparison is involved, these expressions
may be used

• Example
• There has been a steady decline in oil price.

45
Example It can be seen from Figure 3 that the
concentration of sulfur dioxide increases sharply
from September and falls dramatically from
December.
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(No Transcript)
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Useful language for interpreting graphs

• The graph illustrates / shows the rise in . . .
• The graph illustrates / shows that . . .
• It is estimated that . . .
• Which factor comes top / bottom / second from the
  bottom?
• Compare the data in the bar graph / chart.
• Give the percentages of several factors. Which
  factor is the highest / the lowest?
• There was / has been a downward trend in customer
  numbers.
• The trend was flat.
• The present trend is maintained.
• Production started the year in a stable position,
  but then plunged / plummeted / slumped in the
  third quarter.
• It has now flattened out / leveled out.

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• Production showed a marginal rise in the first
  three quarters, but then suffered a sharp drop.
• Production has experienced a strong, steady
  growth over the whole year.
• Production grew rapidly in the first quarter, and
  reached a plateau of development (???? ).
• Since then it has remained more or less stable.
• Since then, it has quickly dropped.
• Production started climbing steadily / began to
  rise rapidly but leveled off / flattened off at a
  level of around . . . Since then it has fallen
  steadily.
• Sales rocketed. Prices are soaring / rocketing /
  skyrocketing.
• Customer numbers (have) soared.
• There was / has been a steep rise in customer
  numbers.
• Customer numbers hit / reached a peak.
• There was a peak in customer numbers.
• There was a slight dip in customer numbers.
• There was a steady fall / decline in customer
  numbers.

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• Production has fluctuated all year.
• Customer numbers were erratic.
• Customer numbers rose.
• There was a gradual rise in customer numbers.
• There has been a slight increase in production
  over the year.
• Numbers fell steadily.
• Production has dropped slowly but steadily over
  the year.
• The number of customers fell dramatically.
• Production fell sharply / considerably in / over
  the last quarter, reaching a low of . . . Since
  then it has staged a partial recovery.
• There was a rapid / considerable / dramatic /
  sharp drop in production in the first two
  quarters.
• Customer numbers dipped / plunged.
• There were considerable / wild fluctuations in
  customer numbers.

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Example 1

• The graph shows Oil Production Capacity in
  millions of barrels per day for selected Gulf
  countries. There are several features in this
  graph.
• The most significant feature is that oil
  production will increase sharply in almost all
  the countries shown. Kuwait and Iraq are both
  expected to double their output between 1990 and
  2010, with Kuwait's production rising from 1.8
  million barrels per day (bpd) in 1990 to 3.8 in
  2010. Iran will also increase its output by a
  slightly smaller amount. After remaining steady
  at 2.5 million bpd from 1990 to 2000, the UAE's
  output is expected to approach 4.0 million bpd in
  2010. Only Qatar's production is predicted to
  fall, back to 0.8 million bpd after a slight rise
  in 2000.
• However, the greatest increase will be from Saudi
  Arabia. In 1990, its output capacity at 8.5
  million bpd exceeded the combined production of
  Iran, Iraq and Kuwait. This lead is expected to
  continue with a 75 increase in production to
  14.5 million bpd 2010.
• In summary, while most of the countries are
  expected to show increases, Saudi Arabia will
  maintain and strengthen its position as the major
  producer.

51
Example 2

• The graph shows the fluctuation in the number of
  people at a London underground station over the
  course of a day.
• The busiest time of the day is in the morning.
  There is a sharp increase between 0600 and
  0800, with 400 people using the station at 8
  o'clock. After this the numbers drop quickly to
  less than 200 at 10 o'clock. Between 11 am and 3
  pm the number rises, with a plateau of just under
  300 people using the station. 
• In the afternoon, numbers decline, with less than
  100 using the station at 4 pm. There is then a
  rapid rise to a peak of 380 at 6pm. After 7 pm,
  numbers fall significantly, with only a slight
  increase again at 8pm, tailing off after 9 pm.
• Overall, the graph shows that the station is most
  crowded in the early morning and early evening
  periods.

52
Enumeration

• A writer starts with a general class, then
  proceeds to break it down by listing some or all
  of its members or parts.

Member or part
Member or part
General class
Member or part
Member or part
53
Listing signals

• (1) First, there are
• Second,
• Third,
• Last,

(2) The first kind / type / step is The
second (Another) The third (The next)
The last (The final)
54

• (3) Descending order
• - To mention the most important one first.

most essential most important primary largest chie
f
kind is reason is
The
55
Example My chief reason for choosing that
university was its wonderful study program in
agriculture. Second, Bingston hires only the
finest teachers to teach in its graduate program.
Then, there was Bingstons deferred payment plan
this represented a great convenience to my
parents. A final reason was the reasonable
tuition.
56
Less important More
important

• (4) Ascending order
• - The last item is the most important.
• - To emphasize the importance.

most essential most important primary largest chie
f
But the
kind is reason is
The
kind, however, is reason, however, is
Finally, and most importantly, there is
57
Example There are several reasons why I decided
to attend Bingston University. First of all, the
tuition was reasonable. Second, the university
had a deferred payment plan this represented a
great convenience to my parents. Another reason
was the fact that Bingston hires only the finest
of teachers to teach in its graduate program. My
chief reason, however, was Bingstons mandatory
study program in argriculture.
58
Writing Numbers

• Although usage varies, most people spell out
  numbers that can be expressed in one or two words
  and use figures for other numbers.

(http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/593/01
/)
59

• Words (less than 100)
• six million dollars
• after thirty-one years
• eighty-three people
• over two pounds
• Figures (more than 100)
• (100 ????????????????? two hundred )
• only 31.50
• 6,381 bushels
• 4.78 liters
• after 126 days

There are twenty-six students in my wife's
third-grade class. Michael is over 183
centimeters tall.
60
some examples of specific situations.

• Days and Years
• December 12, 1965 or 12 December, 1965
• A.D. 1066
• in 1900
• in 1971-72 or in 1971-1972
• the eighties, the twentieth century
• the 1980's or the 1980s
• Time of Day
• 800 A.M. (or) a.m. (or) eight o'clock in the
  morning
• 430 P.M. (or) p.m. (or) half-past four in the
  afternoon
• The first election results are expected around 1
  a.m.

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• Addresses
• 16 Tenth Street
• 350 West 114 Street
• Identification Numbers
• Room 8
• Channel 18
• Interstate 65

62

• Page and Division of Books
• page 30
• chapter 6
• Decimals and Percentages
• a 2.7 average
• 13 1/4 percent
• .037 metric ton
• Large Round Numbers
• four billion dollars (or) 4 billion
• 16,500,000 (or) 16.5 million
• Tickets cost 35.50 apiece.
• The city spent 1.1 million for snow  removal
  last year. (or 1,100,000.)

63
Notes on Usage

• Repeat numbers in legal or commercial writing.
• The bill will not exceed one hundred (100)
  dollars.
• Numbers in series and statistics should be
  consistent.
• two apples, six oranges, and three bananas
• NOT two apples, 6 oranges, and 3 bananas
• 115 feet by 90 feet (or) 115' x 90'
• scores of 25-6 (or) scores of 25 to 6
• The vote was 9 in favor and 5 opposed

64
Write out numbers beginning sentences.

• (O) Six percent of the group failed.
• (X) 6 of the group failed.
• Use a combination of figures and words for
  numbers
• when such a combination will keep your writing
  clear.
• Unclear
• The club celebrated the birthdays of 6
  90-year-olds who were born in the city. (may
  cause the reader to read '690' as one number.)
• Clearer
• The club celebrated the birthdays of six
  90-year-olds who were born in the city.

65
Web links

• http//penscanner.bellus.com.tw/howtothesis-2.html
  (Technical writing)
• http//pioneer.netserv.chula.ac.th/pkanchan/html/
  eap2.htm (English for Academic Purposes -Science)
  
• http//www.cs.washington.edu/homes/mernst/advice/w
  rite-technical-paper.html (Writing a technical
  paper)
• http//infolab.stanford.edu/widom/paper-writing.h
  tml (tips for writing technical papers)