That Witch!!! Oh wait… That vs Which.

Trying to decide that or which has always confused me.  I second guess myself every time I encounter this situation.  I have never been confident but I think after this section I finally get it. 

Through reading the stylebook I learned that you need to use “that” when you are using an essential clause in a sentence.  You then use “which” if it is a nonessential clause in a sentence or statement.  In other words, if the clause in the sentence is something that has to be there for somebody to fully understand what you are conveying you have to use the word “that.”  If it is something that is nonessential in your sentence but it is something that can convey additional information then you should use the word “which.” 

Here is another way of thinking about it.  If you could take a piece of information out of the sentence and the sentence would still make sense and convey the entire meaning to the reader then it is nonessential.  In that case you would use the word “which.”  If you took out a piece of information and the sentence and then didn’t make sense or give the full meaning it would be essential.  In that case you would use “that.”

I’m glad I finally understand this and hopefully I won’t make that mistake again.

Editing Mistake of the Week.

I couldn't take a picture because the mistake I found was in the notes at work.  I work in food processing so we are not allowed to have our cell phones in the building.  Each week my manager will have some notes on what we need to do during the week.  This week we had a note that said "We have a very important visit tomorrow so make sure the cooler is spotless before you leave tonite." 

Justin Langford

Exceptions and Gray Areas

          Hyphens are so tricky! For example, I can say, “My daughter is one year old.” No hyphen. But I can also say, “I have a one-year-old daughter." HYPHEN! Kessler and McDonald even say to consult the AP Stylebook because “there are so many exceptions that you will never guess right all the time!” That’s encouraging, isn’t it? I think these are especially difficult because the clause that may or may not include a hyphen can be written in many different ways (like the example about age I provided above). One especially frustrating prefix is “re-.” It is helpful to remember that if the word that follows begins with the same vowel, the hyphen is necessary (e.g. re-examine).

            There are a lot of rules about commas, but I wanted to write specifically about the rule that governs coordinating conjunctions (e.g. or, and, nor, but, yet, and so).  These words are used between two complete sentences.  Kessler and McDonald say that if the sentence is short and simple, the comma may be omitted.  I found this interesting because I have always felt uncomfortable putting a comma in a short sentence that makes sense without it, but I always thought it was required. It’s kind of frustrating that there is not a hard-and-fast rule and that it boils down to journalistic preference.

            However, sometimes no matter how short a sentence may be, a comma or the absence thereof can change its meaning. To illustrate this principle, I have included an amusing meme. Enjoy. J

           

Comma or Semicolon?

More than any other punctuation mark, the comma and the semicolon confuse me the most. And just when I think I've got it figured out, I realize I've misused them…again. Why are these two little punctuation marks so complicated, right? I was taught the comma is used to create a pause, while the semicolon is used to connect two independent clauses—seems pretty straight forward. However the English language has many nuances and the proper use of punctuation is no exception.

The book lists a whole myriad of proper uses for the comma. They include the separation of two independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction; setting off long introductory clauses and phrases and some shorter clauses and phrases that would be confusing without it; setting off nonessential clauses; separate items in a series; separate coordinate adjectives; setting off parenthetical expressions, and setting off participial phrases that modify some part of the independent clause.

The semicolon is also used to create pause. However the pause that the semicolon creates is supposed to be longer than the comma, but not the full stop of a period. Semicolons are used to join independent clauses not connected by a coordinating conjunction, link more than two independent clauses in a series, separate internally punctuated independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction, and setting off parts of a series that also contain commas.

The book issues a blaring contrast to my understanding of the use of a semicolon. Although grammatically correct, the book cautions against the use of a semicolon to connect two independent clauses. I’m beginning to understand the confusion…

Ellipsis and Brackets

The punctuation rule that I found most interesting is the use of ellipsis. This type of punctuation seems to be very overused, especially at the company I work for. Here is an example of an IM I received Thursday:


...Hey
I was wondering...well not really wondering...I know the answer I think... What we do in this situation???

Both books state that the ellipsis is is used when something is omitted, such as omitting part of a quote to just what is needed. For example:

All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.

-Walt Disney

The ellipsis seems to be used, by many people, as a comma, colon or semicolon. Instead of using the punctuation for what it is meant for it is used as a space filler. I remember this by thinking the ellipsis are for editing out, not for filling up. 

Another item that I found interesting is the use of brackets. According to the books brackets are used within parenthesis or with quotations. I  remember this by thinking of parenthesis as bookends and brackets as simple spacer between books. 

About me

Hello classmates! My name is Aimee McKinlay and I’m a senior in the PR/Advertising program with an emphasis in Marketing. I’ll be graduating in the spring, which feels surreal considering it’s taken me over twenty years to get to this point. I’ve learned so much educationally, but feel like self-perseverance is at the very top of that list! Last year I left my job of 13 years to pursue my education, and I haven’t looked back. It’s been one of the most rewarding, and hardest, things I’ve ever done.

I’m a Utah native, originally from Cache Valley. My father is a second generation rancher and has a beautiful 300-acre ranch that I love to visit when I need to decompress. There’s nothing quite like the peace, familiarity and solitude of his place. I have two adult children; my son is 24 and my daughter is 20. I have a beautiful granddaughter who will be four next week. She’s the smartest and funniest four year old I have ever met. She loves spending time with her grandma almost as much as I enjoy spending time with her. In my spare time I enjoy reading and spending time outdoors hiking or gardening. I also love to travel and explore new places, people and cultures. A couple of highlights include hiking Machu Picchu, going through the Panama Canal locks and (barely!) surviving travel on the roads through Bangladesh. My next planned vacations will be to Disneyland with my granddaughter and relaxing on a tropical beach somewhere reading anything other than a textbook. 

Professionally I have 15 years of marketing experience. Prior to my current part-time position with the Weber School Foundation, I worked for 13 years for a local general contractor as their marketing coordinator. A brief summary of my responsibilities included the planning, design and execution of all private and public proposals; creation and design of all marketing collateral; events for both internal and external audiences, as well as many other marketing related job functions. Summer semester I finished an internship with the Weber School Foundation where I implemented a comprehensive communication plan. Part of the plan included the research, design and implementation of a new website. This was a new experience for me, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Plus I think it will look really good on my resume.

I’m really looking forward to refining my editing skills with this class and being one step closer to my degree.

Better late than never?

Hey class!
We had a hard time getting my blogger account set up, but i'm finally in! It's a little late, but not for lack of trying, here is my introduction.

            My name is Sarah Jackson and I have about three semesters before graduation. I am an Anthropology and Communication major with a focus in public relations and a minor in dance.

I was born and raised in Ogden, UT. Until recently, I had never lived outside of Ogden. I moved to New York City for a dance program at the end of July and will be here until December. After I was accepted into the Broadway Dance Center Training Program I started applying for internships. I was hired on as a Student Associate in the Madison Square Garden Entertainment Public Relations department and I’ll be working with them full time throughout the semester.

I’ve been told that Ant

hropology and Communications sound like a strange combination to some people but for me they fit perfectly together. My focus in Anthropology is cultural so a large amount of my time is studying different groups of people. Looking into who they were, who they are, what they do, and why they do the things they do. With public relations I spend most of my time studying people; who they are, what they do, and why they do what they do. Are you seeing the pattern yet? Obviously that’s a very light, scratch the surface description but I love the relation between the two and that they both offer such different subjects and methods while being so similar at the same time.

I never quite know what to write about myself in introductions but living in NYC I now have two lifestyles I can introduce: my life in Utah and in New York. When I’m at home I love spending time with my two dogs. They’re large Weimaraners and weigh about 100 pounds each. Quite often I’ll take them on runs along the side of the mountain or just to the park to play fetch. I also spend a lot of time with my five nieces and nephews. They range from ages 2 to 12 and are some of the sweetest little kids I’ve ever known.  They’re well behaved and get their humor from their dad whom I also tend to share a sense of humor with. It’s always a little bit crazy when we get together. When I am in Ogden I also like to spend a lot of free time at Kairos dance and fitness studio practicing and performing on the aerial silks and hammock.

Since moving to New York I’ve learned to take advantage of free events offered throughout the city. Almost every other day a group of friends from the studio plan outings to various events throughout the city. We’ve spent afternoons watching Shakespearean plays in Central Park, Broadway sneak-peak numbers in Bryant Park as well as multiple free kayaking trips on the Hudson. It’s so easy to explore something new every day and as much as I’d love to have a place where I am known as “a regular”, my desire to experience new things keeps me moving around instead of returning to the same places over and over again.

That vs. Which

One thing I have always struggled with figuring out when it is appropriate to write “that” versus “which in a sentence. Every time I am writing an email at work, I always question which one to use. So I decided to find out how to use the two words appropriately. The section on punctuation in the stylebook happened to mention this very topic. I have always used both interchangeably, but now I realize that it is not correct to do this.

As I was reading through the stylebook, I saw this in the essential clauses section. When writing and using an essential clause in a sentence, it is standard in AP style to use “that.” An essential clause would be pertinent to the rest of the sentence. A nonessential clause is not necessary in the sentence, but may provide additional information.

Here are some examples of essential and nonessential clauses using “that” and “which.”

Essential
I remember the first time that we met.
My car that is red is fun to drive.

Non-essential

The cheer squad, which won nationals last year, will begin practice this week.
My sofa, which is getting old, is not comfortable to sit on for long periods of time.

Clauses are considered non-essential when removed from a sentence, the sentence would still have sufficient information, and would not change the meaning of the sentence.

I hope this small tip helps you as you are writing and editing.
Sandy