RNW

• Mechanics


  Conventions that have to be considered in writing, such as spelling, punctuation, and capitalization
• It is important to know and observe these conventions in writing to avoid confusion
• Spelling


  Consistently using one standard with regard to the spelling of words, considering differences between American English and British English
• Punctuation


  The act of using a system of symbols such as the comma, period, quotation marks, question marks, etc. that are used to give structure to and organize a text
• Quotation marks


  Show that words have been directly quoted
• Apostrophe


  Shows that a letter (or letters) has been omitted from a word in a contraction, or is used to make a noun possessive
• Hyphen


  Used to form compound words or after the prefix of a word
• En dash


  Indicates a range of numbers or a period of time
• Em dash


  Shows a big pause in a sentence or emphasizes the end of a sentence
• Ellipsis


  A series of three dots that shows that something has been removed from a sentence, or indicates a pause or unfinished sentence
• Comma


  Joins two or more ideas in a sentence or separates items in a series
• Colon


  Introduces the information that comes after it
• Semicolon


  Connects two complete sentences that are related
• Exclamation mark


  Shows strong emphasis or strong emotion, rarely used in formal writing
• Question mark


  Shows that a question is being asked, seeking an answer
• Period


  Shows the end of a sentence or indicates an abbreviation, more commonly used in American English
• Critical reading


  A technique for discovering information and ideas within a text
• Critical thinking


  A technique for evaluating information and ideas, for deciding what to accept and believe
• Main idea


  The central idea being expressed or examined
• Thesis statement


  A one-sentence summary that guides, controls, and unifies ideas when writing a paper, stating the argument and indicating the main sections of the essay
• Topic sentence


  Guides, controls, and unifies ideas in a paragraph, developing one argument of the thesis statement
• Main idea


  The overall gist of what the piece will be dealing with as a whole
• Thesis statement


  A more developed plot statement that allows to bring context to the piece
• Topic sentence


  A one-sentence summary of the main point in the piece itself
• Claim


  An arguable statement that a rhetor (speaker or writer) asks an audience to accept
• Fact claim


  A statement about how things were in the past, how they are in the present, or how they will be in the future, which must be argued for
• Value claim


  An arguable statement concerning the relative merits of something measured subjectively
• Policy claim


  A statement regarding the merits of one course of action as opposed to other courses of action