When watching through the viewer’s lens, the primary concern becomes whether satisfaction awaits at the film’s conclusion. A compelling storyline that keeps the audience engaged holds more value than the presence of their favorite artist in the cast. Similarly, scriptwriters hold the pivotal responsibility of intricately weaving a story’s twists and turns into the fabric of a narrative’s plot. It’s nearly an inherent nuance that an ideal book should feature a figurative trigger, strategically placed in a pivotal part of the story. This gun will be later on used to complete the compelling arch ..read more

On its surface, plagiarism seems pretty straight forward—if you copy someone else’s work and claim it as your own, you’ve plagiarized. At it’s most basic definition, that definitely true. But plagiarism is actually a little more complicated than that. Truth is, if you break it down, there are at least twelve different ways to plagiarize! Some violations are more serious than others but plagiarms, in any form, is serious. So let’s break this down to ensure you don’t accidentally plagiarize! What is Considered Plagiarism? The basic idea of plagiarism is that you unfairly and unethically take cre ..read more

The OPTIC Strategy for Visual Analysis is a simple method of rhetorical criticism designed to help with the process of analyzing visuals. OPTIC is an acronym, standing for Overview Parts Title Interrelationships Conclusion By following the five steps of the OPTIC strategy, you can take nearly any visual artifact (like a poster, painting, advertisement, video clip, cartoon, and so forth) and develop a good sense for what the visual was intending to portray and how effective it may be in portraying it. See the graphic here, or read the description in larger text below. Also check out other met ..read more

APOSTROPHES BRACKETS COLONS COMMAS ELLIPSES EM DASHES EN DASHES EXCLAMATION MARKS HYPHENS PARENTHESES PERIODS QUESTION MARKS QUOTATION MARKS SEMICOLONS Semicolons are often seen as a strange and mysterious punctuation mark; they’re part period and part comma. So why use them? They’re useful to break up the stylistic approach to sentence structure, allowing writers to combine two related thoughts, often removing a word or two in the process. They’re also important for clarity purposes when too many commas start being used—the semicolon can create more obvious visual separation between comple ..read more

APOSTROPHES BRACKETS COLONS COMMAS ELLIPSES EM DASHES EN DASHES EXCLAMATION MARKS HYPHENS PARENTHESES PERIODS QUESTION MARKS QUOTATION MARKS SEMICOLONS Quotation marks are most widely used to signify direct quotes. However, they also have a unique quality in that they can communicate sarcasm or snarkiness. They can also draw attention to words being described as words and they distinguish a short media piece from its larger container. Good writers need to be very proficient in the use of quotation marks; used incorrectly they can cause confusion or even plagiarism. Terms You Need to Know to ..read more

Apostrophes Brackets Colons Commas Ellipses Em Dashes En Dashes Exclamation Marks Hyphens Parentheses Periods Question Marks Quotation Marks Semicolons Periods (also known as “full stops” or “full points”) are probably the most recognizable and widely used punctuation mark. Their primary and most common purpose is to end a sentence. But periods can (and should!) be used for a variety of other purposes as well, including creating acronyms and abbreviations. Terms You Need to Know to Use Periods STATEMENT/INDEPENDENT CLAUSEAn independent clause is a phrase including a subject and a verb that ..read more

Apostrophes Brackets Colons Commas Ellipses Em Dashes En Dashes Exclamation Marks Hyphens Parentheses Periods Question Marks Quotation Marks Semicolons Parentheses are valuable writing tools; they allow writers to insert added detail within a sentence, clarify a writer’s thinking, or include citations to avoid plagiarism. It’s important to know how to use parentheses—especially for citation purposes!—but you won’t want to overuse parentheses for the purposes of inserting added detail. Be strategic about when and why you include them. Terms You Need to Know to Use Parentheses CITATIONS Citat ..read more

Apostrophes Brackets Colons Commas Ellipses Em Dashes En Dashes Exclamation Marks Hyphens Parentheses Periods Question Marks Quotation Marks Semicolons Exclamation marks (also known as exclamation “points” in American English) help clarify emotion or emphasis. While their interpretation is nuanced, exclamation marks help declare a dramatic declaration that feels more emphatic than a sentence ending in a simple period. In order to really make the emotion work, it’s best to limit exclamation marks to a maximum of one or two per document. 3 Ways to Use Exclamation Marks Show Excitement Give E ..read more

Apostrophes Brackets Colons Commas Ellipses Em Dashes En Dashes Exclamation Marks Hyphens Parentheses Periods Question Marks Quotation Marks Semicolons En dashes are probably the most misused and misunderstood punctuation mark. They are longer than a hyphen yet shorter than an em dash and they really only serve one purpose: to indicate a period of time. While their use may seem subtle, using them correctly can show an acute awareness of how visual use of punctuation affects how people read information. Terms You Need to Know to Use En Dashes “EN”: The “en” dash is a bit mysterious in it’s n ..read more

Apostrophes Brackets Colons Commas Ellipses Em Dashes En Dashes Exclamation Marks Hyphens Parentheses Periods Question Marks Quotation Marks Semicolons Terms You Need to Know to Use Ellipses OMISSION/OMIT: To “omit” is to remove something or not include something that is normally there. In English, we omit letters and numbers in words (don’t) and dates (‘90s) to simplify and shorten ideas. HESITATION/HESITATING: Hesitation is a show of uncertainty. It is often shown through a pause in speech or action. CUT OFF: Being “cut off” is an abrupt stop in speech or action. It is common to hear of s ..read more