ENGLISH 11NAME ______
E-DAY ASSIGNMENT
English 11
1. Print out and read the style guide titled “Hyphens.”
2. Complete the “Practice” sections on page 1 (5 exercises) and page 3 (editing the Disney information for
hyphen use).
3. Submit your hard copy for evaluation on or before the due date.
HYPHENS
L.11-12.2a Observe hyphenation conventions.
I can use hyphens correctly to divide a word at the end of a line.
1. Do not divide a one syllable word.
2. Divide a word only between syllables. Consult a dictionary as needed to determine syllable breaks in a word.
3. If a word is already hyphenated, divide it only at the hyphen. (Example: The word self-defense should be
divided only between self and defense, not as self-de-fense)
4. Do not divide a word so that one letter stands alone.
5. Do not divide a word so that a two-letter suffix is placed at the beginning of a new line. (Example: Do not
divide slowly so that slow is at the end of a line and –ly is at the beginning of the next line.)
PRACTICE: On the blank to the right of each word, write the word with hyphens inserted between any syllables where division can occur if the word needs to be divided at the end of a line. If the word should not be divided at the end of a line, write X on the blank. Consult a dictionary as needed to determine the words’ syllables.
Example: procrastinate ____pro – cras – ti – nate____
algebra ______
insistently ______
alert ______
happy-go-lucky ______
dictionary ______
I can use hyphens correctly to create compound words, such as compound numbers, compound modifiers, some compound nouns, and coequal nouns.
1. Use a hyphen with compound numbers from 21 to 99. (Examples: twenty-two, forty-nine, sixty-fifth)
2. Use a hyphen with fractions used as modifiers.
Examples: three-fourths full; a two-thirds majority (but two thirds of the students)
3. Hyphenate two or more words serving as a compound adjective before a noun. Do not use a hyphen if one
of the modifiers is an adverb ending in –ly.
Examples: chocolate-covered peanuts; a well-known author; a one-way street; a perfectly good answer
4. Do not hyphenate a compound modifier after a noun unless it is a word that is always hyphenated. Consult a
dictionary if uncertain.
Examples: The peanuts are chocolate covered. The author is well known in New York.
5. Use a hyphen to join compound modifiers that contain numbers.
Examples: sixth-floor office; nineteenth-century literature (Do not use a hyphen if the number is the only
modifier: the sixth floor; the nineteenth century)
6. Some compound nouns have hyphens. Consult a dictionary as needed.
Examples: T-shirt; father-in-law; merry-go-round
7. Use a hyphen between coequal nouns, ones that show multiple roles.
Examples: scholar-athlete; actor-director; singer-songwriter
Do not use a hyphen if the first noun modifies the second one.
Examples: football player; child actor; chocolate cake
I can use hyphens correctly with prefixes and suffixes.
1. Use a hyphen with the prefixes all-, ex- (meaning “former”), mid-, and self-, and with the suffix –elect.
Examples: all-purpose; ex-president; mid-century; self-esteem; secretary-elect
2. Use a hyphen with prefixes before a proper noun or proper adjective.
Examples: anti-American; pro-American; pre-Civil War; mid-December; mid-1980s; post-Vietnam War
I can use hyphens correctly to prevent confusion or misreading or to avoid an awkward combination of letters.
1. Use a hyphen to create a division in a word that might be confused with another word.
Examples: re-sign (to sign again) and resign (to quit);
re-cover (to cover again) and recover (to return to normal health)
2. Use a hyphen between modifiers that might be interpreted in multiple ways.
Example: an English-language student (a student studying English, not a language student who is English)
3. Use a hyphen to separate syllables that would create an awkward combination of letters.
Examples: semi-independent, not semiindependent; shell-like, not shelllike
PRACTICE: Edit the passage below by crossing out any words that show improper hyphen use. Write corrections in the space above those words. HINT: Make 10 changes!
Perhaps no name is more synonymous with cartoons and family fun than that of Walter Elias Disney.
Born in 1901, Walt Disney might not seem like a typical candidate for the enormous success he achieved.
Though his career might be said to have begun with selling his childhood drawings and paintings to neighbors and family friends in Missouri, Disney did not always enjoy positive recognition. A high school-dropout, Disney was rejected from serving in the army during World War I; instead, he joined the Red Cross as an ambulance driver in France.
After the war Disney worked as a newspaper artist and made commercials based on animation, experimenting with hand drawn animation. Eventually, he opened his own animation company. His first studio produced a series of seven minute fairy tales combining live action and animation but terminated in bankruptcy. Disney, a brother, and another cartoonist then opened the Disney Brothers’ Studio and invented a lucrative character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. When a distributor stole rights to this character and lured his animators away from his studio, Disney released a new character he had been developing—Mickey Mouse—and debuted as cartoonist performer by incorporating sound in an animation, Disney’s voice as Mickey’s. The studio had an instant sensation and henceforth included soundtracks in all its cartoons. In 1937 Walt Disney Studios premiered the first fully-animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Since that time, the corporation has produced hundreds of both full length animated films and live action movies.
The mid 1950s saw Disney fulfill another dream—creating a children’s-theme park where his employees could spend time with their families. At its opening, Disney commented, “Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America . . . with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” Such a mission has extended worldwide; with five Disney theme parks now operating, only two fifths of them are in the United States while the others are in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Paris. A sixth park is scheduled to open in Shanghai in 2015, carrying the Disney legacy established in the twentieth century well into the twenty first. Truly, the world has derived joy and inspiration from Walter Elias Disney’s multiple talents and visions.