Writing Skills in Action 1: Capitalization

Writing Skills in Action is designed to put into practice specific writing traits, i.e., grammar, punctuation, usage, introduction, conclusion, etc., to develop your understanding of how to write more effectively.

Prompts may either be creative fiction or analytical responses – determine the type of prompt and the audience then write accordingly.

Directions

Write a half-page response to the prompt below. While you write your response, include sentences that fit the grammar and punctuation rules below, and any other specific requirements for this task.

You need to identify each rule/requirement by using the “Comment” tool (under the “Review” tab) in Word.

Example:He said, “Treat her as you would your own daughter.”[JS1]

2 PromptOptions:

  1. In chapter 1 of Outliers, Gladwell talks about a biology concept called the “ecology of an organism.” He states: “The tallest oak in the forest is the tallest not just because it grew from the hardiest acorn; it is the tallest also because no other trees blocked its sunlight, the soil around it was deep and rich…” (19) and so forth. He goes on to say that “This is not a book about tall trees. It’s a book about forests” (20). Discuss what Gladwell means when he refers to the “ecology of an organism,” and how this metaphor also helps to explain “accumulative advantage.”
  2. In chapter 1 of Outliers, Gladwell talks about Canadian hockey as being a “meritocracy”. Discuss the nature of a “meritocracy” and how this has affected you in your own life.

Rules

These rules are taken directly from the grammar and punctuation skills unit. You must write a sentence for each rule listed below. Each sentence must be grammatically and punctually correct. Label each sentence using the “Comment” feature in Word (click the review tab) to indicate which rule is applied in the sentence.

  1. Write an introduction sentence that is less-than 7 words.
  2. Rule 1:Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence.
  3. Example:He said, “Treat her as you would your own daughter.”
  4. Rule 2: Capitalize a proper noun.
  5. Example:Golden Gate Bridge
  6. Rule 13: Capitalize words derived from proper nouns.
  7. Example:I must take English and math.
    English is capitalized because it comes from the proper noun England, but math does not come from Mathland.
  8. Rule 14: Capitalize the names of specific course titles.
  9. Example:I must take history and Algebra 2.
    Note: history is not capitalized because it’s not a specific title.

[JS1]Rule 1: Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence.