Punctuation and Mechanics
SUMM 476
WEDNESDAY, July 11 2012
9:00am–5:00pm
$225.00 CDN (includes course material)
What’s right, what’s wrong, what’s optional?
Drowning in a torrent of confusing rules? Anyone who has agonized over a comma or a hyphen knows how tricky the details of punctuation and mechanics can be.
We’ll take a systematic approach to the troublesome areas of punctuation and mechanics, focusing on commas (always the source of debate), semicolons, colons, bullet points, quotation marks, italics, apostrophes, and dashes (em and en). We’ll cover the most recent rules, discuss when more than one approach might be correct, and examine the leading style guides. Be prepared to practise, and bring along your most challenging questions.
Punctuation and Mechanics will benefit editors and writers who need a refresher on the tricky areas of punctuation and mechanics. The workshop is a natural companion workshop to Copyediting and Proofreading (July 9-10 and July 23-24). The workshop will also interest those who take Usage Woes and Myths (July 12) and Clear and Concise, Guidelines for Style (July 13)
FACULTY
Frances Peck is an editor and writer whose clients include government departments, agencies, and associations. She has taught editing and writing for two decades for the University of Ottawa, Douglas College, the Editors’ Association of Canada, SFU’s Writing and Publishing Program, and many private clients. Peck is the author of Peck’s English Pointers, an online collection of language articles and quizzes; co-author of the popular HyperGrammar website; and a columnist for the journal Language Update. She is a partner with West Coast Editorial Associates.
