To demonstrate this last point, lewis thomas, a clever essayist as well as a. Notes on punctuation by lewis thomas there are no precise rules about. As you read thomas s essay notes on punctuation, consider the following. They farm fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into war, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves, engage in child labor, exchange information ceaselessly. There are no precise rules about punctuation fowler lays out some general advice as best he can under the complex circumstances of english prose he points out, for example, that we possess only four stops the comma, the semicolon, the colon and the period the question mark and exclamation point are not, strictly speaking, stops. Sep 21, 2018 lewis thomas, notes on punctuation paper details. Lewis thomas brings this vital ingredient of language to the forefront in the essay notes on punctuation. Lewis thomas lewis thomas 19 1993 was a medical doctor and essayist who won the national book award for the collection of essays lives of a cell.
With a poetic flourish and no small amount of humor, lewis thomas shares his enthusiasm for the psychological effects that can be produced through. The commas are the most useful and usable of all the stops. Here it is necessary to be as economical and parsimonious with commas and. He was trained as a classicist and orientalist at the. Lewis thomas november 25, 19 december 3, 1993 was an american physician, poet, etymologist, essayist, administrator, educator, policy advisor, and researcher thomas was born in flushing, new york and attended princeton university and harvard medical school. Chapter one sust repository sudan university of science. These are some common punctuation marks used in english. Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. Commas commas are the most widelyused and most misunderstood marks of. Instead truss likes lewis thomas view that the semicolon gives a sense of expectancy that something more is coming and that a full stop says author has given everything you need for that. H lewis thomas 191993 was a scientist physician and writer of.
How would you describe thomass attitude towards punctuation in general. Im not trying to get anyone to do my homework, just see others thoughts. More than any other aspect of writing, punctuation obeys clear, simple rules. Includes all of the essays from thomass books the lives of a cell, the medusa and the snail, and late night thoughts on listening to mahlers ninth symphony. Usage basic punctuation rules utah valley state college writing center correct punctuation is essential for clear and effective writing.
Academics are often accused of being pedantic about grammar, spelling and punctuation, but all these seemingly endless rules are actually about effective communication expressing yourself clearly, accurately and precisely. Notes on punctuation by lewis thomas read the article above. Punctuation by thomas lewis, helen dewitt, cormac mccarthy. Lewis thomasattended princeton university and harvard medical school. Click here to download a pdf of a table of commonly used abbreviations and. The medusa and the snail the tucson zoo the youngest and brightest thing around on magic in medicine the wonderful mistake ponds to err is human the selves the healthcare system on cloning a human being on etymons and hybrids the hazards of science on warts on transcendental metaworry tmw an apology on disease on natural death a trip abroad. The medusa and the snail the tucson zoo the youngest and brightest thing around on magic in medicine the wonderful mistake ponds to err is human the selves the healthcare system on cloning a human being on etymons and hybrids the hazards of science on warts on transcendental metaworry tmw an apology. Try to distinguish between the punctuation rules of different languages in order to avoid using punctuation incorrectly. Why do you think thomas cares enough about punctuation to write an essay like this. Among the treasures in this magnificent book are essays on.
The general principles governing the use of punctuation are. Lewis thomas, notes on punctuation1 commas, turning up, everywhere2 april 25, 2008 the onion washingtonin the midst of a crisis that may have reached a breaking, point tuesday afternoon, linguists, and grammarians, everywhere say they are baffled, by the sudden and seemingly random, appearance of commas, in our nations sentences. He grew up in indiana and was proud of his hoosier background. We explore punctuation sequences of a few authors to gain some insight into. Capital letters for a persons initials or title pages 911 4. What is lewis thomas overall argument in notes on punctuation. Do the punctuation styles of authors evolve over time. Shared possessives possession is shared by more than one noun take an apostrophe and s on the last noun only, unless the nouns do not share.
In notes on punctuation by lewis thomas, how would you describe the authors attitude toward punctuation in general. The following list contains some of the most critical punctuation rules. Punctuation 9 misuses of apostrophes do not use the apostrophe to form plurals. Punctuation is an element of text writing that plays an important role in determining. The highly scientifically and medically distinguished dr. How would you describe thomas s attitude towards punctuation in general. Oct 14, 2010 the commas are the most useful and usable of all the stops. Teaching punctuation as a rhetorical tool nevada state college. Punctuation, mechanics, capitalization, and spelling. Does lewis thomas seem to be having fun while hes writing.
President of memorial sloankettering cancer center in new york city, dr. Many grammarians follow a more prescriptivist view. What is the thesis statement of lewis thomass essay notes on. What is the thesis statement of lewis thomass essay notes on punctuation. If you try to come back after doing a paragraph and stick them in the various spots that tempt you you will discover that they tend to swarm like minnows in all sorts of crevices whose existence you hadnt realized and before you know it the whole long sentence becomes. It is true that language is dynamic, so conventional rules about grammar and punctuation change all the time. As you read thomass essay notes on punctuation, consider the following. Thomas was born in flushing, new york and attended princeton university and harvard medical school.
No one has conferred upon them more dignity and delight than the great physician, etymologist, poet, and essayist lewis thomas november 25, 19december 3, 1993 in his essay notes on punctuation, included in the medusa and the snail. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. If a plural noun does not end in s, add an apostrophe and s. Please read those and then respond to the questions below in notes on punctuation by lewis thomas, how would you describe the authors attitude toward punctuation in general. In this paper, we examine punctuation sequences in a corpus of literary documents and. Commas commas are used to separate parts of a sentence. Are the notes on punctuation by lewis thomas actually about. The medusa is a tiny jellyfish that lives on the ventral surface of a sea slug found in the bay of naples. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the medusa and the snail by lewis thomas. In addition to back to the lake, he is the editor of the norton sampler, the norton critical edition of adventures of huckleberry finn and the author of several other books, among them educated lives. No apostrophe is needed because there is no ownership. We were asked to close read it and im sure the author had other messages to get out other than punctuation.
Lewis thomas notes on punctuation sarcasm is something that ive always appreciated in writing. He became dean of yale medical school and new york university school of medicine, and president of memorial sloankettering. Notes on punctuation by lewis thomas there are no precise rules about punctuation fowler lays out some general advice as best he can under the complex circumstances of english prose he points out, for example, that we possess only four stops the comma, the semicolon, the colon and the period the question mark and exclamation point are not. Capitalization and punctuation rules capital letters always use a capital letter for the first word of a sentence thank you for the letter. Answer the following questions after youve read it. With a poetic flourish and no small amount of humor, lewis thomas shares his enthusiasm for the psychological effects that can be produced through judiciously employed punctuation marks notes on punctuation heres your chance to geek out. Lewis thomass classic notes on punctuation stephen hicks. What is the thesis statement of lewis thomas s essay notes on punctuation. Sep 01, 2005 lewis thomas notes on punctuation sarcasm is something that ive always appreciated in writing.
They tell readers to pause between words or groups of. Capitalization and punctuation rules mesa, arizona. Lewis thomas attended princeton university and harvard medical school. It is highly important to put them in place as you go along. Half the class will complete the exercise with the lewis thomas essay notes on punctuation, and the other half of the class will complete the exercise with excerpts from helen dewitts punctuation blog post. Is this the first time youve seen someone having fun with punctuation. To demonstrate this last point, lewis thomas, a clever essayist as well as a physician and poet, shows us how to use commas effectivelyas well as how to word a long sentence so that commas are not overusedin this excerpt from notes on punctuation. Lewis thomas, notes on punctuation principal uses of the comma separate main clauses linked by a coordinating conjunction the building is finished, but it has no tenants. Please read those and then respond to the questions below. Readers will find themselves caught up in the fate of the medusa and the snail as a metaphor for eternal issues of life and death as lewis thomas further extends the exploration of man and his world begun in the lives of a cell. More notes of a biology watcher public library the altogether scrumptious 1979 collection that. The rise of modern autobiography in america and the ivory leg in the ebony cabinet.
Grammar, spelling and punctuation university of kent. Are the notes on punctuation by lewis thomas actually about punctuation. Set off most introductory elements unfortunately, the only tenant pulled out. Thomas uses the element of imagery to capture his readers interest in the essay, by comparing a humans mind to a computers workings, he goes on to state that a good bank or the government, has to run like a computer or a least somewhat, this connects the reader to something that goes on in everyday life and moves their live along. What is the thesis statement of lewis thomass essay notes. Punctuation john lawler, university of michigan from. There are no precise rules about punctuation fowler lays out some general advice as best he can under the.
Good writers is in reference to nonfic tion by writers of recognized stature, whose. Im sure that says something, either positive or negative, about my personality, but ill leave those speculations to you. Punctuation pointers more than any other aspect of writing, punctuation obeys clear, simple rules. Editors note lewis victor thomas was born in chicago, february 27, 1914, and died in princeton, october 21, 1965. Punctuation is the name for marks used in writing text.
Lewis thomass classic notes on punctuation stephen. Can anyone read those notes and give me hisher thoughts. Thomas cooley phd, indiana university is professor of english at the ohio state university. What is your own position on, or experiences with, writinggrammar. Punctuation full stops commas colons and semicolons apostrophes academics are often accused of being pedantic about grammar, spelling and punctuation, but all these seemingly endless rules are actually about effective communication expressing yourself clearly, accurately and precisely. H lewis thomas191993 was a scientist physician and writer of. Studying his use of words to form the tone of the essay, his intended audience and purpose, it becomes more and more evident that the essay be classified as informal. They are to help understanding and the correct reading. Wartime inventions b now name the types of sentences used in the paragraph above. While using english punctuation appropriately may help your writing to flow more smoothly, dont overdo it. By lewis thomas there are no precise rules about punctuation fowler lays out some general advice as best he can under the complex circumstances of english prose he points out, for example, that we possess only four stops the comma, the semicolon, the colon and the period the question mark and exclamation point are not, strictly speaking, stops. Thomas, 1979 agrees with robinson 2002 and argues the above. Its better to err by omission than to include superfluous, even confusing apostrophes, commas and other marks. The international encyclopedia of language and linguistics, 2nd edition, elsevier, 2006 punctuation.
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