Punctuation and Mechanics Quiz (#3)

Punctuation and Mechanics Quiz

Use a comma to separate the independent clauses which are joined by a coordinating conjunction:

The department sponsored a seminar on college survival skills and it also hosted a barbecue for new students.

Use commas to break up the items in the list:

Bubbles of air leaves ferns bits of wood and insects are often found trapped in amber.

Decide if the information in italics is restrictive (necessary) to the meaning of the sentence, and separate it with commas if it is not restrictive.

Scientists who study the earth’s structure are called geologists.

Decide if the information in italics is restrictive (necessary) to the meaning of the sentence and separate it with commas if it is not restrictive.

The scientists who represented eight different universities met to review applications for the prestigious O’Hara Award.

Use a semicolon to separate the two independent clauses joined by a transitional expression.

Many corals grow very gradually in fact, the creation of a coral reef can take centuries.

Use quotation marks to set off the quote within this sentence.

In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed (225).

Use an apostrophe to indicate that a noun is possessive.

The Childrens Defense Fund . . .

Use an apostrophe to indicate a contraction between two words.

Its a shame that Mark is not here today.