Writing readiness - MECHANICS

Mechanics of Writing 

• In composition, the conventions governing the technical aspects of writing, including spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and abbreviations.

 Part of Speech

• Knowing the parts of speech, using them correctly, and understanding how they relate to one another is an important early step in creating strong writing skills.

• The 8 parts of speech are : nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection.

Subject-Verb Agreement

• It is needed to make sentences clear and understandable.  
• Having plural subjects with singular verbs, or the reverse, results in nobody being quite sure who is doing what
• Example :
  Careful planning and a clear mind is important for writing a good essay. (Incorrect)             Careful planning and a clear mind are important for writing a good essay. (Correct) 

Capitalization

• The first word of every sentence.
• The first-person singular pronoun, I.
• Proper nouns
• Names of relationships only when they are a part of or a substitute for a person's name. 

 Punctuation 

• Punctuation marks are signposts to give directions to their readers about which way a sentence is going.

• Using punctuation properly is one of the most crucial elements in making the meaning of the sentence absolutely clear.

• Take our favorite example:

“Let’s eat Grandma!” (incorrect)

“Let’s eat, Grandma!” (correct)