About the ged writing exam 6 ppsx

Capitalization

Capitalization is an important tool to help us identify (1)

the beginning of a new sentence and (2) proper nouns

and adjectives. Here are six rules for correct capitalization:

1. Capitalize the first word of a sentence.

Please close the door.

What are you trying to say?

If you are quoting a full sentence within your

own sentence, use a capital letter, unless you

introduce the quote with that.

The author notes, “A shocking three out of

four students admitted to cheating.”

The author notes that “a shocking three out of

four students admitted to cheating.”

If you have a full sentence within parentheses,

that sentence should be capitalized as well (and

the end punctuation mark should be within the

parentheses).

He was expelled for repeatedly violating the

school’s code of conduct. (He was caught

stealing and cheating several times.)

2. Capitalize proper nouns. A proper noun is the

name of a specific person, place, or thing (as

opposed to a general person, place, or thing). See

the table at the bottom of this page.

3. Capitalize the days of the weeks and months of

the year, but not the seasons.

It was a warm spring day in May.

Wednesday is the first official day of autumn.

4. Capitalize the names of countries, nationalities,

geographical regions, languages, and religions.

He has traveled to Brazil and Tunisia.

She is half Chinese, half French.

She is from the South.

(But, Drive south for five miles.)

We speak Spanish at home.

He is a devout Catholic.

–MECHANICS–

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CAPITALIZE (SPECIFIC) DON’T CAPITALIZE (GENERAL)

Jennifer Johnson (specific person) the lady

Algebra 101 (specific class) my math class

Main Street (specific street) on the street

Frosted Flakes (specific brand) good cereal

Caspian Sea (specific sea) deep sea/ocean

Lincoln Memorial (specific monument) impressive memorial/monument

S.S. Cole (specific ship) naval carrier

Dade High School (specific school) our high school

Precambrian Age (specific time period) long ago

Microsoft Corporation (specific company) that company