Student Assistance

Language matters

Many of the assignments a student is required to hand in require a high level of language skills. This document is just one of several offering technical assistance to the student for this aspect of academic learning. It will also be of great help to anybody who on a regular basis has to communictae through medium of the English language - especially in written form.

American spelling

Because there is such a vast amount of American literature available on a great variety of subjects, many South African authors tend to become under the influence of American spelling. A few examples will be given to illustrate the difference between the American and British way of spelling. When in doubt consult a good dictionary.

A or an

Use a before consonants: A book, a house, a hotel, a history. Use an before vowels and unsounded h's: An eye, an ear, an hour, an heir, an honour. But: a university, a unit (note the Y sound, not the vowel sound). We however write: An HMS vessel; An SABC report.

A or an indicate the singular but may also be used in cases where a unit or a group is involved:

• an estimated 2000 prisoners
• a delightful three weeks
• a good three kilometres' ride further

Metric units

Note that the abbreviation for the metric units is always preceded by a space of one letter. See the following examples:

• 8,6 ml (not 8,6ml)
• 10 m (not 10m)
• 6 mm (not 6mm)
• 10 m² (not 10sq. m)

Use the terms metres and litres and not the American spelling meters and liters.

Problems with numbers

It is not good style to start a sentence with numbers. Rather write: Forty per cent of the men were barefoot instead of 40% of the men were barefoot. Instead of referring to: 1980 was a good year ... rather write: The year 1980 was a good year ... The following examples are correct:

• It is clear that 4% of the population is rich.
• Ten percent of the girls play in the garden.
• Ten per cent of the children is a low percentage.
• Twelve per cent of the population is bankrupt.
• Two-thirds of the cake is burnt.
• Four-fifths of the men are drunk.
• Fifty percent of the clients were black.
• One per cent of the group was present.

All numbers from 1-10 must be spelt out; use numerals from 11 and above. There are exceptions, e.g. when an interval and unit accompanies numbers such as 1-3 cm, 2 %, 20-year-olds, scored 8 on a 9-point scale, ratio of 2:1. Large round numbers are often spelled out in news paper articles, e.g. three thousand men or five million Rand. Numbers are spelled out in dialogue.

Exceptions: a Boeing 747, flight 135, the year 2000, after 15h00.

At a soccer game (2–0) or game of rugby they may win 21–18, written in numerals with an en-dash in between the numerals.

Always use figures for percentages. Close up the word percent [which comes from two words meaning per hundred: per + cent]: 35 percent or 2,3 percent. Write out numerals for dialogue but use the percent sign with numerals in tables: "I can get twenty percent interest ..." or 20% [in report tables].

Using an apostrophe

The apostrophe is a raised comma ( ' ). It is used for two different reasons: to indicate the possessive case and contractions.

Contractions: One of the purposes of the apostrophe is to show that one or more letters have been left out. This happens most often with commonly contracted forms. A few examples are:

Seely, J.   1998.   The Oxford Guide to Writing & Speaking.    Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The apostrophe is also used to form the plural of words that are not nouns and consequently do not have a plural form, e.g.:

• There are too many buts's, and's, will's and shall's in the text.
• The A's in the book are too big.
• The 5's and 7's in the book have been printed clearly.
• The 1980's were noted for severe droughts.

However the 's is increasingly being omitted, especially in the case of the four examples mentioned above. Consequently the recommended spelling of the above is the following:

• There are too many buts's, and's, will's and shall's in the text (’s retained).
• The As in the book are too big.
• The 5s and 7s in the book have been printed clearly.
• The 1980s were noted for severe droughts.

The apostrophe is also used to denote possession. Sometimes only the apostrophe is used and sometimes the 's is used. If the word is difficult to pronounce after adding 's, just the apostrophe is used. The examples that follow illustrate the correct usage of the apostrophe or 's:

John's book Columbus's voyage Weiss's property Dickens's novels Peter and Mary's house Adam, Smith and Jones’s book CLT's ministry course

Jesus' disciples Brutus' speech Mr Masters' dog Achilles' heel Husbands' problems For conscience' sake Two days' leave

1. The possessive case. We can say either 'the whiskers of the cat' or 'the cat's whiskers'. This is the possessive case - when something belongs to something or somebody else.

2. When the possessor is single we indicate possession by the use of an apostrophe followed by the letter 's':

• The man's coat
• my sister's hat

3. When the possessors are plural,
the apostrophe is placed after the   's':

• The ladies' cloakroom
• my cousins' parents

4. When names end with the letter 's', either use is acceptable:

• James' wife
• James's wife

5. The apostrophe is never used with possessive pronouns:

• his
• hers
• its
• ours
• yours
• theirs

But it is used with 'one': One must do one's best

6. Note that many shops and business concerns these days omit the apostrophe from their titles:

• Barclays Bank
• Coopers Wines

7. Contractions. In formal prose we would write 'She has told him', but when speaking we would say 'She's told him'. The apostrophe is used to indicate any missing letters.

8. I'm (I am) - he's (He is) - You're (You are)

9. NOTE the difference between it's (it is) and its (belonging to it). These are often mis-used.

10. You should avoid using contractions in academic essays and formal writing. They create a rather casual tone.

Source: www.mantex.co.uk (sample page)

Decimal comma

Note that the decimal comma must be used throughout (except in quotations from publications in countries that still use a decimal full stop).

When writing numbers of a thousand or more, the numbers have to be grouped in threes and separated by a single space. Consequently we should write 2 560 112 and not 2.560,112. Note that when writing decimals smaller that 1 a 0 has to precede the decimal comma. Consequently we write 0,562 and 0,00521 instead of ,562 and ,00521.

Using commas

A compound sentence should be separated by a comma and a conjunction (and, but, or, for, yet, nor or so). If the clauses are short the comma is optional. A comma should never separate a verb from its subject or a verb from its object (e.g.: He mounted a donkey[,] that carried Him along).

An adverbial phrase at the beginning of the sentence is set off by a comma. (Inspired by faith, they evangelized the world). These clauses may begin with If, when, although, etc. This comma is often omitted if the phrase is shorter than five words. Single adverbs such as however, certainly, of course, when they come between the subject and the verb or parts of the verb, get comma's before and after them. (This convention, however, must be followed.) Parenthetical expresions follow the same rule: The call to repentence, for example, mostly falls on deaf ears.

These include:

A comma sets off a nonrestrictive clause that starts with which: On the top of the hill was a cross, which still symbolizes sin and forgiveness.

Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives: An interesting, up-building seminar. (The comma can be replaced by and.)

Use the serial comma before the and in a series: Sin, guilt, and forgiveness will be discussed in class next week.

Introductory words that take a comma: Yes, well, Oh, no, why (exept when beginning a question): No, this is not true.

The semicolon

See Semicolon for a comprehensive discussion.

Use of verbs ending in -ize/ise

Certain verbs can be spelt either with the ending -ize or -ise, for example theorize or theorise, philosophize or philosophise, magnetize or magnetise, etc. The nouns derived from such verbs also take the z or s spelling according tot the writer's particular preference. Some verbs may only be spelt with an s. Examples of such verbs are: exercise, advertise, surprise, televise, comprise, etc. Consequently the verbs with the s spelling are always correct whereas those with a z spelling are only correct in most cases. Editors should ensure that verbs are spelt consistently within particular documents or books.

The following list of verbs however must always be spelt with the ending -ise:

Advertise Advise Affranchise Apprise Chastise Circumcise Comprise Compromise

Demise Despise Devise Disenfranchise Disguise Enfranchise Excise Exercise

Improvise Incise Supervise Surmise Surprise Televise Arise

Using spaces

Always use two spaces after a full stop (.). Leave one space after a comma (,), colon (:) and semicolon (;).

Uppercase versus lowercase

Research shows that phrases printed in all capital letters are read nearly 12 % more slowly than the same phrases printed in capitals and lowercase, and 90 % of readers consider all-capital type to be less legible than lowercase. Therefore, the use of all-capital type should be avoided for virtually all applications, including continuous reading text and headings and titles. Rather, use larger font sizes and bold or italic type (or even a different font) to provide the different look required of titles and the like. Unfortunate is the practice of using all caps within a paragraph of lowercase text to set off certain words, phrases, or sentences (Misanschuk, 1992:148).

Misanschuk, E.R.   1992.   Preparing instructional text.   New Jersey: Educational Technology Publications.

Serifs versus sans-serifs

Sans-serif fonts (those without serifs) generally are thought to have a cleaner, more modern look, but are claimed by some to be more difficult to read. Studies show clearly that there is no difference in legibility between serif and sans-serif fonts. It is widely recommended that a serif font be used for body text, and that, in general, sans-serif fonts be reserved for headings, headlines, or other special uses. However, sans-serif fonts are generally considered to be more legible in smaller sizes (e.g. 6-8 point) than fonts with serifs (Misanschuk, 1992:129-130).

Misanschuk, E.R.   1992.   Preparing instructional text.   New Jersey: Educational Technology Publications.

Italics

Italics should be used in the following cases:

• To emphasize a particular letter, word, phrase or term.
• In the case of foreign expressions excepting those that have become part of the English language, for example et cetera, percent.
• Names of newspapers, books, magazines, films, ships and aeroplanes.
• Names of psychology tests should not be italicized.

Welman, A.   1995.   HSRC Publishers manual.    Pretoria: HSRC Publishers.

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