What are some ethical considerations of machine-generated content?

Huiling Ding
Professor of English

AI-generated content, be it texts or artwork, introduces many ethical challenges related to authorship, copyright, creativity, plagiarism and labor practices. For instance, text-to-image AI generators like Midjourney and DALL-E 2 use images available in the public domain and/or images available online through Google search, Pinterest, and other image-sharing and art-shopping platforms as training data for their algorithms.

By supporting text-prompt-driven image creation, these AI generators then produce artwork that can imitate individual artists’ styles. In doing so, they compete with if not displace artists who have spent decades improving their craft. 

AI-assisted writing faces similar challenges in terms of transparency, explainability, plagiarism and authorship attribution. Using online texts as training data, AI writers such as GPT-3 can generate original summaries and syntheses based on existing content. 

Traditional writing classes are disrupted by these AI tools, which speed up and automate the process of online research and the summary and synthesis of reference materials. Students can easily copy and paste AI-generated content as their own written work without being caught by plagiarism-detecting tools such as Turnitin.

In other words, natural language generation tools such as GPT-3 transform how we detect and define plagiarism. That, in turn, calls for new research and adaptation from writing instructors and scholars. 

Outside the classroom, professional writers and businesses use AI content generators to create preliminary ideas, generate quick summaries of online publications, write stories and engage with customers in chatbot conversations.

While famous artists such as Greg Rutkowski may feel their rights infringed by AI art generators, other artists are using AI-generated art for inspiration. In the content generation marketplace, these AI tools can compete with writers and artists or can be used as human-augmenting tools to help writers and artists produce content more creatively, efficiently and collaboratively. 

From: https://chass.ncsu.edu/news/2023/03/27/how-is-ai-changing-how-we-write-and-create/

Impersonal Verbs

 

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/impersonal-verbs/

Have you ever used an impersonal verb? Of course you have, you just didn’t know it.

Impersonal verbs are verbs that do not use a specific subject, but instead use the generic subject it. They’re often called “weather verbs” or “meteorological verbs” because they’re commonly used to describe the weather, like in the impersonal verb examples “it’s raining” or “it’s snowing.” 

Although they’re fairly straightforward, impersonal verbs can be confusing if you don’t know how they work. Below we explain what they are and how to use them, plus we provide an impersonal verbs list so you can learn to recognize them. 

Unlike other verbs, impersonal verbs don’t use what’s called a “determinate subject,” which is a subject that describes something specific, like the person or thing doing an action. Instead, they mostly use the impersonal pronoun it, which does not represent anything in particular. In other words, impersonal pronouns don’t specify who or what does the action, the action just happens on its own. 

Impersonal verbs usually refer to the weather or other general conditions, like light and dark, but they can also be used with certain idioms or common phrases, which we will explain later. 

In other languages, stating the subject of a verb is sometimes optional, but English requires the subject be stated for all sentences except imperatives (commands), which use the “understood” second-person subject. So while in Spanish you can say that it’s raining by shouting “llueve!” in English it’s incorrect to shout only “is raining!” because that’s not a complete sentence. You need to add the impersonal pronoun it as the subject. 

With impersonal verbs, the subject it doesn’t actually mean anything; it’s more like a placeholder because the sentence needs a subject. When we say things like “it’s storming” or “it occurred to me,” the subject it doesn’t represent anything in particular. For this reason, the subject of an impersonal verb is sometimes called a “dummy subject.” 

Some verbs are always impersonal, but sometimes normal verbs can act like impersonal verbs depending on how they’re used. For example, the verbs be and happen can act as impersonal verbs when used to talk about the weather or certain general conditions. 

Why is it so hot today?

It’s darker in here than it is outside. 

It happened to rain during our camping trip. 

The majority of impersonal verbs relate to the weather, but not all. Certain idioms and phrases use otherwise normal verbs as impersonal verbs. 

So it’s come to this. 

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to war. 

Likewise, the verb phrase looks like can act as an impersonal verb when used in a generic sense or when used to talk about the weather. 

It looks like a win for San Lorenzo. 

It looks like a storm is coming. 

The verb occur has one particular meaning that causes it to act as an impersonal noun: when something comes to mind. 

It occurred to them too late that the whole thing was a scam. 

Be careful not to confuse impersonal verbs with their noun forms. For example, the impersonal verb snow can also be used as a noun, in this case the mass noun snow. Although spelled the same, the verb snow functions very differently than the noun snow, so you’ll have to consider the context to tell the difference.  

Why are they called weather verbs?

Impersonal verbs are often called “weather verbs” or “meteorological verbs” because, simply, we use them to talk about the weather. Most impersonal verbs are directly linked to weather, such as rain, storm, snow, and thunder. 

Some weather verbs are not always impersonal and have other meanings unrelated to the weather. For example, pour can be used to talk about moving liquids, and in this case it is not impersonal and requires a standard subject. 

The scientist poured the acid into a safe container. 

However, when the meaning of pour is “to rain heavily,” pour becomes an impersonal verb. 

It’s pouring outside, so I’m taking an umbrella. 

What is valency?

In grammar, the valency or valence of a verb refers to how many elements in a sentence depend on that verb. Let’s look at transitive and intransitive verbs as an example. With an intransitive verb like sleep, only the subject is connected to the verb, so the verb has a valency of one. With a transitive verb like give, both the subject and the direct object are connected to the verb, so the verb has a valency of two, and when there’s also an indirect object, it has a valency of three. 

Impersonal verbs, however, have a valency of zero. That’s what makes them special. The only reason they take a subject at all is because English grammar rules require it.

Writing with impersonal verbs

Aside from their subject, impersonal verbs work like every other verb. You can still use impersonal verbs in different tenses, like the present perfect or future continuous, and you can use them with modal verbs, like can or might. Just look at these impersonal verbs examples below: 

It snows all the time here. 

It has snowed every day this week.

It will be snowing all month. 

It can snow as long as the temperature stays cold.  

As you can see from these examples, impersonal verbs use the third-person singular conjugation to match the subject it, no matter the tense, even when used with the contraction it’s. 

It’s snowing outside. (It is snowing outside.) 

There is only one exception to this rule, which we will address below. 

As mentioned above, some normal verbs can act impersonal depending on their usage. These include some irregular verbs or expressions that use irregular verbs, such as the idiom go without saying or the verb get when used to describe the weather or general conditions. Even when acting as impersonal verbs, irregular verbs still use their same unique conjugations. 

It goes without saying that smoking is dangerous. 

I thought it went without saying, but I guess not. 

In summer it gets dark in the late evening. 

Why has it gotten dark already?

While nearly all impersonal verbs use the impersonal pronoun it as their subject, there’s one common impersonal verb phrase that doesn’t. The impersonal verb phrase they say uses the impersonal pronoun they instead of it. This phrase refers to common knowledge or popular adages, so in this case, they doesn’t actually refer to anyone or any group in particular. 

They say all that glitters is not gold. 

They say spring is a time of new beginnings. 

Note that with the impersonal pronoun they, the verb takes the third-person plural conjugation rather than the third-person singular conjugation that all other impersonal verbs take.

Impersonal verbs examples

Luckily, there aren’t many impersonal verbs, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble using them. Here’s an impersonal verbs list, featuring the most common ones in English. Words and phrases with asterisks mean that they are not always impersonal, depending on the meaning. 

• be*
• blizzard
• come to*
• darken*
• drizzle*
• get*
• go without saying*
• hail*
• happen*
• look like*
• occur*
• pour*
• rain
• say*
• sleet
• snow
• storm
• thunder

Impersonal verbs FAQs 

What are impersonal verbs?

Impersonal verbs are verbs that do not use a specific subject, but instead use the impersonal pronoun it as a generic subject. 

How do impersonal verbs work in English vs. other languages?

Because English sentences almost always require a subject, impersonal verbs must use a generic subject, like the impersonal pronoun it. In some other languages, subjects are optional, so this rule does not apply. 

Why are they sometimes called weather verbs? 

Impersonal verbs are often called “weather verbs” or “meteorological verbs” because they are used to describe the weather, such as the verbs rain, snow, storm, and thunder. Even other verbs can temporarily act as impersonal verbs when discussing the weather, such as the verb be, as in, “It is cold today.”

 

How to Write a Biography

 

How to Write a Biography: A 7-Step Guide [+Template]

From time to time, nonfiction authors become so captivated by a particular figure from either the present or the past, that they feel compelled to write an entire book about their life. Whether casting them as heroes or villains, there is an interesting quality in their humanity that compels these authors to revisit their life paths and write their story.

However, portraying someone’s life on paper in a comprehensive and engaging way requires solid preparation. If you’re looking to write a biography yourself, in this post we’ll share a step-by-step blueprint that you can follow. 

How to write a biography: 

• 1. Seek permission when possible 
• 2. Research your subject thoroughly
• 3. Do interviews and visit locations
• 4. Organize your findings
• 5. Identify a central thesis
• 6. Write it using narrative elements
• 7. Get feedback and polish the text

🤓 Obsessed about someone's life enough to want to write their biography? Here's how you do it in 7 steps. 

 

Click to tweet!

 

 

FREE RESOURCE

Biography Outline Template

Craft a satisfying story arc for your biography with our free template.

The Semicolon

 

The semicolon is similar in name and appearance to the colon, but its function is unrelated; it serves as a weak period, as employed here, or as a strong comma, as shown in the next paragraph. In its weak-period guise, it marks the end of one statement and the beginning of another; however, it is appropriate in place of a period only if the second statement is closely related to or dependent on the first one. Note that when a semicolon appears in such a case, no coordinating conjunction (such as and or but) should follow it. (However, when the conjunctive adverb that begins this sentence, or others such as moreover or therefore, follows a semicolon, as occurs earlier in this paragraph, a comma should follow the word.)

A strong-comma semicolon is one used in place of two or more commas when the elements in a run-in list are themselves lists, as in this sentence: “The three most frequent color schemes in flags are red, white, and blue; red and white; and, tied for third place, red, yellow, and green and red, white, and green.” (Note that not all list items must include internal punctuation.)

Many writers are reluctant to use semicolons because they do not understand how to use the punctuation mark correctly or consider it overly formal, but its roles are simple and helpful.

Write How You Write, Not How You Speak

 

Inspect your writing for anything that smacks of spoken English.

If you’ve ever seen a transcript of an extended discourse -- a written record of someone’s comments, rather than the prepared script for a speech -- you’ll understand how widely spoken and written English can diverge.

Spontaneous speech, at least, is riddled with qualifications and equivocations. It’s easy enough to dispose of “um”s and “uh”s, “well”s and “you know”s when converting a transcript to an essay, but writers should purge their prose of other utterances, words, and phrases as well that add a lot to a word count but little to a description or an argument. (See this post, for instance, for a list of adjectival intensifiers and their adverbial forms to avoid.)

In addition, omit hedging phrases such as “as I see it,” “from my point of view,” “in my opinion,” and “it seems to me.” Search and destroy such pompous filler as “be that as it may” or “other things being equal.” These are all understandable (though not necessarily forgivable) indulgences in spoken English, whether impromptu or rehearsed -- at best, they’re nearly meaningless phrases one tosses off while thinking of what to say next, and at worst, they clutter a speech, distracting and discouraging listeners. But readers expect your prose to be direct and dynamic, and there’s no place for such self-gratification in written form.

From: Daily Writing Tips

Uses of Do

  “Do” is used with the simple present form of the verb to make a question: “Do you like pizza?” But I have seen “do” used with the “-ing” form of the verb:

“Does closing a scheme for new money pay off?”
“Does shutting furnace vents improve efficiency?”
“Does doing a tattoo hurt?”

Please explain.

Do may be used as either a main verb or as a helping verb. Its forms are do, did, (have) done, doing.

As a main verb, do means “to carry out some action.”

What shall I do about the spoiled fruit? (main verb)
Mr. Baxter does odd jobs. (main verb)
She did all the cleaning for her mother. (main verb)

As a helping verb, do is used to pose questions:

Do you live in the neighborhood? (The main verb is “do live.”)
Does your dog know the basic commands? (The main verb is “does know.”)
Didn’t I see you at the Court House yesterday? (The main verb is “did see.”

Do is used both to frame a negative statement and to contradict a negative statement:

A: I don’t think you know Charley. (negative statement)
B: I do know him. (contradiction)

A: I don’t think Mrs. Wong turned off the lights last night. (negative statement)
B: She did turn them off. (contradiction)

Do is used for emphasis:

I do love chocolate chip cookies!
Jack certainly does love his Monday night football!

The form doing can be used with a helping verb to form a main verb, as in “She was doing her best not to cry,” but in the examples that puzzle the reader, the -ing form doing is not part of the verb. It is a noun (gerund):

Does closing a scheme for new money pay off? (The verb is “does pay off.” The subject is “closing a scheme for new money.”)

Does shutting furnace vents improve efficiency? (The verb is “does improve.” The subject is “shutting furnace vents.”)

Does doing a tattoo hurt? (The verb is “does hurt.” The subject is “doing a tattoo.”

In some contexts, the verb do cannot be replaced. For example, “What shall I do?” But in many others, it can be replaced by a more specific verb. For example, “I’m doing the dishes” can be rephrased as “I’m washing the dishes.”

Here are some common expressions that use do as a main verb:

do a favor
do well/do badly
do good/do evil
do damage
do homework
do housework
do nothing
do research
do something
do the math
do one’s best
do 70 miles an hour
do time (serve a prison sentence)

From: Daily Writing Tips

10 Types of Hyphenation Errors

 

1. Omitting Hyphens in Phrasal Adjectives

Some phrasal adjectives (including “civil rights,” “stock market,” and “high school”) don’t require hyphenation when they appear before a noun; they’re so well entrenched in the language that no risk of ambiguity exists, and their status is enshrined by inclusion in dictionaries.

But when two words team together to describe a noun, they’re usually hyphenated. (Leave them open after a noun, however.) If you can’t find them in your well-thumbed dictionary, attach them -- and don’t hesitate to link more than two words: “The company instituted a pay-as-you-go plan.”

2. Adding Hyphens to Compound Words

Compound words come in three forms: open (“sand dollar”), hyphenated (sand-blind), and closed (sandbag). As you see from these examples, compounds including the same particular word are not necessarily treated the same; compounding is a random process related to usage. (Popular treatment of long-hyphenated compounds changes so rapidly that dictionaries change them in new editions to reflect prevailing usage; pigeonhole -- formerly pigeon-hole -- is just one example.)

3. Adding Hyphens to Prefixes

Prefixes, on the other hand, are almost always closed up to the root word. Exceptions include when the root word is a proper name (pre-Christian) and when the prefix ends and the root word begins with an i (anti-inflammatory). Note, however, that this is not true in the case of e (preempt). Another exception is words beginning with c preceded by co-, because to many people, terms like co-chair look awkward without a hyphen.

4. Omitting Hyphens from Potential Homographs

Sometimes, prefixed words that would otherwise be closed up retain a hyphen to distinguish them from otherwise identical-looking words, such as re-cover as opposed to recover and re-creation as distinct from recreation.

5. Omitting Hyphens in Verb Phrases

Compound verbs, those consisting of more than one word, are hyphenated (test-drive) or closed (troubleshoot); the dictionary will let you know which form to employ. Note, however, the difference in nearly identical-looking compound verbs and open compound nouns: “I’m going to test-drive it tomorrow,” but “I’m going to take it on a test drive tomorrow.”

Also, consider the subtle difference between gerunds formed from a hyphenated compound verb that are followed, or not followed, by an object: “I was spot-checking the report when I found a serious error,” but “I’m going to do a little spot checking.”

6. Adding Hyphens to Adverbial Phrases

Adverbs are not attached to adjectives when they team up to modify a noun: “The slowly melting ice rendered the river crossing a perilous enterprise.” However, the presence of an adverb does not negate the need for a hyphen in a phrasal adjective that follows it: “Hers was an eloquently sharp-tongued response.”

7. Adding Hyphens to Prepositional Phrases

Phrases telling the reader to do something in which the first word is a verb and the second is a preposition are not hyphenated: “Sign in at the registration table.” (The phrase is hyphenated, however, when it modifies a noun: “Go to the sign-in table.”)

8. Adding or Omitting Hyphens When Referring to Ages or Physical Dimensions

When a person is identified by their age with the phrase “seven-year-old,” for example, the phrase is hyphenated whether it modifies child, boy, girl, and so on or the noun is implied. (Note that two hyphens are necessary and that, for the spelled-out form of a two-digit number, three are required: “twenty-seven-year-old.”) However, the constituent words are unattached when the phrase follows the noun: “The child is seven years old.

By the same rules, words describing an object’s physical dimensions are similarly linked: “Cut the eight-foot-long board in half.” Note, again, that all the words describing the length of the board are attached: If the final hyphen is incorrectly omitted, the reference to a board that is eight feet long is erroneously changed to describe a long board with eight feet.

9. Omitting Letter Spaces When Using Hyphens

When you see a hyphen followed by a letter space, don’t assume the space is an error. “The assignment is a 2,000- to 5,000-word essay” is correct; word has been omitted after the first number because it is implied by its presence after the second number. (This usage is called suspensive hyphenation.)

10. Confusing Hyphens and Dashes

Many publications, for the sake of simplicity or because the producers don’t know any better, use single hyphens in place of em dashes or double hyphens (the less aesthetically pleasing alternative that is frequently employed online). But they look stubby and ugly, and this crime against aesthetics is compounded when letter spaces around them are omitted, producing abominations such as “The key-and this is important-is to keep stirring constantly.”

 

From: Daily Writing Tips

What Is A Pundit or Punditry?

 

The word pundit entered English in 1672 with the meaning "learned Hindu," from a Hindi word for "a learned man" or "teacher." Pundit took on the broader meaning of "expert" in the 19th century.  Now  it seems to mean any self-proclaimed authority with something to say about the news. 

Reporting is supposed to be an objective gathering and presentation of the facts. The reader or the listener is presumed to possess the intelligence needed to process the information and arrive at his/her own conclusions.

"Punditry" is ideological opinion masquerading as objective analysis of the news. Punditry assumes that the average reader or listener can't be trusted to draw the "right" conclusions and must be guided by "pundits." 

The fact that a question can arise regarding the difference between "reporting" and "punditry" is evidence of how much the treatment of news has changed since the days in which straight news reporting and editorial opinion were kept strictly separate.

 

From: Daily Writing Tips

Misinformation and public opinion

 A summary of the public opinion research on misinformation in the realm of science/health reveals inconsistencies in how the term has been defined and operationalized. A diverse set of methodologies have been employed to study the phenomenon, with virtually all such work identifying misinformation as a cause for concern. While studies completely eliminating misinformation impacts on public opinion are rare, choices around the packaging and delivery of correcting information have shown promise for lessening misinformation effects. Despite a growing number of studies on the topic, there remain many gaps in the literature and opportunities for future studies.

The popularity of “misinformation” in the American public consciousness arguably peaked in 2018 during the lead-up to the US midterm elections (1). Shortly after the midterms, “misinformation” was Dictionary.com’s “word of the year” (2), just 1 y after Collins English Dictionary had granted “fake news” the same title (3). Interest was driven largely by a focus on politics and the role that misinformation might have played in influencing candidate preferences and voting behaviors. However, certainly more can be said about a topic that has captured the attention of governments and citizens across the globe. What does “misinformation” (and the terms that are oftentimes treated synonymously) mean? How big of a problem is it in areas outside of politics, including science and health? What do we know about the ways in which it impacts citizens? What can be done to minimize the damage it is doing to public understanding of the key issues of the day?

See: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1912437117

 

15 Purposes for Parentheses

 

Parentheses are versatile tools for writers. These examples illustrate their uses; use them to enclose the following:

Examples, directions, explanations, and clarifications:

1. “Retain ampersands when they appear as part of an official name (Barnes & Noble, Ben & Jerry’s).”

2. “At that point, you may want to consult with a professional. (Refer to the Resources chapter for a list of tax advisers.)”

3. “Here is a selective glossary of editing and production terms. (Synonyms are in italics; cross-referenced terms are in bold italics.)”

4. “Precede the dollar amount with the initials US only to avoid confusion (in, say, an article about Australia, where the basic unit of currency is also called the dollar).”

Numerals that confirm a spelled-out number in a contract:

5. “The confirmation letter is due within thirty (30) days.”

Abbreviations (usually) after the first reference to the full version of the term:

6. “The country’s import and export levels are regulated by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).”

Note: If the abbreviation is well known or is used again within the next sentence or two after the full name, omit the parenthesized abbreviation immediately after it.

Numbers or letters that distinguish items in a run-in list:

7. “The constituent parts are (1) the thingamajig, (2) the whatchamacallit, and (3) the whatsit.”

Note: Sometimes, only the close parenthesis is used in this format. However, usually, neither numbers nor parentheses are necessary in such cases.

Modifying words or phrases, or interjections:

8. “The writer will (one hopes) produce well-crafted prose.”

9. “It turns out that he had (gasp!) told the truth.”

Translations, pronunciations, or equivalents:

10. “She ran from the kuma (bear).”

11. “Stay at the warung (wah-ROONG) near the mosque.”

12. “The distance from Marseille to Paris is 771 kilometers (479 miles).”

The area code in a phone number or a unit in a mathematical or logical expression:

13. “(213) 867-5309”

14. “a(b) = c”

In-text citations:

15. “However, the literature is ambivalent on this issue (Howard, Fine, and Howard 1925; Marx et al. 1912).”

Punctuation in Parentheses
A full sentence in parentheses is capitalized and is followed by a period preceding the closing parenthesis: “Have these resources on hand before you begin. (Items listed in parentheses are desirable but not essential.)”

A partial sentence in parentheses is not capitalized and is not followed by a period but may precede a question mark or exclamation point: “Use a dark, fine-pointed pen (erasable pens allow for neat alteration) or pencil.” “Now that you’re finished (you are finished, aren’t you?), we will proceed.”

 

 

From: Daily Writing Tips 

How to Format Block Quotations

 

A block quotation is a distinct body of type set off from the default text (also called the running text), usually distinguished by insertion of line spaces above and below and formatting of a narrower margin (and sometimes even type of a different point size or a distinct font).

When reproducing written text from another source, consider setting the quoted material off from the rest of the content in a block quotation if it

• is more than a hundred words long.
• consists of more than one paragraph.
• is made up of a number of shorter passages (so that it would resemble an indented list without numbers or bullets).
• constitutes a letter or other correspondence, complete with salutation, signature, and the like, or another type of templated form.
• requires any special formatting.

However, determine whether it might be better to simply paraphrase a long quotation in one or more normal paragraphs with perhaps some partial quotations when phrases should be reproduced verbatim.

When the first line of each paragraph in the running text is indented, block quotations of a single paragraph, and the first of multiple paragraphs, are not indented, but subsequent ones should be. When paragraphs in running text are distinguished not by indentation but by line spaces, follow the same format in block quotations.

If the block quotation is inserted in a framing paragraph that continues after the quotation, do not indent the first line of the rest of the paragraph. If paragraphs are set off by line spaces, a new paragraph that immediately follows a block quotation should be separated from the quotation by two line spaces so that the new paragraph is not mistaken for a continuation of the paragraph in which the quotation is inserted.

When a block quotation is the continuation of an introductory sentence, use punctuation or capitalization (or a lack thereof) accordingly. In this case, the quotation is a continuation of the introduction, so no punctuation or capitalization is necessary:

“The writer described the apparition as

a tall, thin wraith of diaphanous constitution, as if made of smoke . . . .”

(Note also that a block quotation is not enclosed in quotation marks; it is assumed that such an excerpt is quoted material.)

If the first word of the quoted material had originally been capitalized (“A tall, thin wraith . . .”), silently correct it, as above; it’s not necessary to call attention to the change, as is sometimes done in specialized contexts (“[a] tall, thin wraith . . .”).

A lead-in line consisting of a complete clause, and the first word of the following quotation, should be treated otherwise:

“The writer described the apparition as follows:

It was a tall, thin wraith of diaphanous constitution, as if made of smoke . . . .”

The same rules hold for run-in quotations (those that are assimilated into the running text):

“The sage says that ‘a fool and his money are soon parted.’” (Though the adage, standing alone, would begin with an uppercase a, it is part of the framing sentence here and must be lowercased; alternatively, you could write, “The sage says, ‘A fool and his money are soon parted.’”)

If the writer wishes to amend or comment on a quotation, several strategies are available:

To clarify that a typographical error is in the original, insert sic (Latin for “thus,” or “so,” and meaning “as originally published”), italicized and in brackets, after the offense. Take care, however, not to employ this term as a textual smirk, and if the quotation is full of unconventional, outdated, or variant spelling, an explanatory note before the quotation is preferable to a quotation repeatedly interrupted by [sic].

When you don’t need the entire quotation to illustrate a point, you may delete irrelevant passages and indicate the elision with ellipsis points. However, it is not necessary to precede or follow a passage with ellipses to indicate that you are not reproducing the entire text from which the excerpt is derived; the reader will assume this.

If you must make comment or clarify a point, enclose the note in brackets, but be as concise as possible, or provide a longer explanatory note outside the quotation.

If you wish to emphasize one or more words or phrases, follow the quotation with the parenthesized note “Italics added” or “Emphasis mine,” or vice versa. But a quotation with extant italicization should be treated differently: Insert the comment in brackets immediately following your emphasis.

From: Daily Writing Tips

Proper Use of The Colon

 

The colon is a versatile punctuation mark. Here are its three primary functions, followed by a few other uses:

Definition or Expansion

“But here’s the interesting thing: He hadn’t ever been there before.”

Note the capitalization of the first word after the colon. All usage guides agree that in a sentence like “I want you to tell me one thing: the truth,” the first word should be lowercase because it begins a phrase, not a complete sentence. But handbooks are divided over whether to capitalize complete sentences.

The Chicago Manual of Style advises doing so only when the defining or expanding passage following the colon consists of two or more sentences. Others disagree, and though I usually follow Chicago, I concur with them: It can be difficult in a passage to know when the definition or expansion ends, and the distinction between a single sentence and two or more seems trivial and inconsistent.

Setting up a Quotation

He makes this moral argument: “Taking whatever we need from the world to support our comfortable lives is not worthy of us as moral beings.”

Note that the colon concludes an independent clause that introduces a statement; it brings the reader to a temporary halt. Writers, ignoring the grammatical distinction between this construction and a simple attribution, widely but incorrectly use colons in place of commas, as in this erroneous usage: “He voted against it, declaring: ‘The only thing this bill will stimulate is the national debt.’” In this case, or after “He said” or “She asked” or a similar term, a simple comma suffices.

Introducing a List

When a phrase that introduces a numbered, unnumbered, or bullet list, or a run-in list, syntactically comes to a stop, use the colon as the bumper:

“The two central questions in ethical theories are as follows:
1. What is the good for which we strive or should strive, and what is the evil that we would like to or must avoid?
2. What is the proper or desired course of action, and what is the inappropriate or forbidden course of action?”

But when each item in the list is an incomplete sentence that continues an introductory phrase, omit it:

“For this experiment, you will need electrical wire (at least 3 feet), a pair of wire cutters, a battery, a flashlight bulb, and electrical tape.”

When, in the latter example, the list is formatted with the introductory phrase and each item on its own line, “For this experiment, you will need” remains bereft of a colon, and each item ends with a period.

(Notice that my explanatory introduction to each list type above is closed, with a colon.)

Colons are used in several other ways to clarify relationships between words and numbers: They set off a character’s name from a line of dialogue in a script; separate titles and subtitles of books, films, and other works; distinguish between chapter and verse in reference to books of the Bible and in similar usages; and separate numerals denoting hours, minutes, and other units of time.

In addition, they have specific functions in mathematics, logic, and computer programming, as well as informal roles in setting actions or sounds apart from words in email and online chats (much as parentheses are used in quotations and dialogue) and as a basic character in emoticons (arrangements of punctuation marks and other symbols to simulate a facial expression).

But it is when the colon is employed in one of the three primary purposes that errors are most likely to appear and communication is most likely to be compromised.

From: Daily Writing Tips

Attribution - He said, She said

Attribution is the convention in composition of identifying a speaker or writer when you include direct quotes (which should be enclosed in quotation marks) or paraphrases. An entire system of usage -- a choreography, if you will -- has developed around how to arrange quotations and paraphrases and their attributions. Here are the dance steps:

“The basic setup is to reproduce a single sentence, followed by an attribution,” he began. “Then, if the quotation consists of more than one sentence, follow the attribution with the rest of it.” If the quotation extends for more than one paragraph, do not close the first paragraph with an end quotation mark; this omission signals to the reader that the same person is being quoted in the next paragraph.

In that next paragraph, rinse and repeat. Many publications, however, treat long quotations as extracts, specially formatted with narrower margins, sometimes in a different font or font size, and set off from the rest of the text. The tipping point for minimum word count for an extract varies, starting at about a hundred words.

Attributions can also precede a quotation: “The report concluded, ‘Meanwhile, the ecosystems it is intended to save are in peril.’” Or they can be inserted within one, in a natural breaking point: “‘For millions of people,’ she added, ‘reclaimed water has become as ordinary as storm sewers and summer droughts.’”

Beware of sentences that introduce the attribution before the end of the sentence when there is no internal punctuation. Sometimes it works: “‘The lesson,’ Smith says, ‘is that we should have paid more attention to what nature was telling us.’” Sometimes it doesn’t: “‘We knew,’ Jones says, ‘that Microsoft would eventually become a major competitor.’”

You’ll notice that some attributions in the samples above are in present tense, and some are in past tense. Which is correct? The answer is, either. It depends on the medium. News articles generally employ past tense because they’re reporting on an event that has already occurred or recording what someone said about an event, while features and profiles, crafted to make you feel like you are at the writer’s shoulder, often feature present tense.

Books referring to the past, appropriately, quote historical figures with past-tense attributions, but those with interviews of real, live people are likely to be written with attributions formed in the present tense. In all expository writing, let these parameters be your guides.

And what about fiction? Writing novels in the present tense is rare; it can be distracting -- or, worse, exhausting. It’s easier to get away with it in short stories.

 From: Daily Writing Tips

Using Gerunds

Gerunds After a Preposition

A preposition explains a relationship with space or time and modifies the words that come after it. Prepositions include "to," "in," "at," "on," "since," "up," "down," "under," and many others. In order to use a verb properly after a preposition, it must be used as a gerund. (Unless using the preposition "but." Sorry, English is tricky.)

In these examples, the preposition is in italics and the gerund is in bold.

Study hard before taking your exams.

She delivered the joke without laughing.

After riding the bus to work, I stopped for coffee.  

Gerunds can also be used after a noun plus a preposition.

TV shows about cooking are becoming more popular.

And after an adjective plus a preposition.

I’m tired of waking up at 5 a.m. every day.

She’s sad about having to cancel her show.

Gerunds in the Present Simple Tense

The present simple tense is used in English to talk about things that are true at the moment. For example, gerunds could be used to discuss things that someone likes or dislikes.

She doesn’t like driving.

They love hiking!

Gerunds could also be used to talk about things you remember.

I remember watching that show when I was a kid.

Do you recall using a rotary phone?

Gerunds can be used to talk about things being attempted in the present.

I’m trying to learn how to skateboard.

She’s trying to knit a scarf.

It’s common to use gerunds when discussing feelings of remorse or regret.

He regrets not studying abroad while in college.

They regret wearing flip-flops today — it was so cold!

Gerunds as the Subject in a Sentence

When using a gerund as the subject in a sentence, you’ll spot it at the beginning.

Having breakfast in the morning is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

Staying up too late can cause you to be sleepy the next day.

Traveling can expose you to different ideas and experiences.