Dance history announcements

Affect, as a verb, means to influence. (His illness will affect his attendance.) Effect is infrequently used as a verb and means to cause or bring about. (We will effect a major reorganization of the office.)

Affect is rarely used as a noun, and its correct use as a noun relates to psychological emotional states. (During the trial, psychologists described the unstable affect of the accused.) Effect, as a noun, has a variety of meanings and uses, including consequence or result (The effect of the budget cuts will affect us all.); becoming operative (The policy goes into effect immediately); media technology (The special effects won an Academy Award.); creation of a desired result (Nearly everything Lincoln did was calculated for effect.); and the stuff in your purse, always used in the plural (Your personal effects.).

Writing tip--Both farther and further can be used to create greater meaning as adjectives or adverbs. Although similar, these words are not the same in meaning and should not be used interchangeably in writing.

Used correctly as an adjective or adverb, farther means at or to a greater distance. (Your house is farther from campus than ours. We have farther to go.) Used correctly as an adjective, further means going or extending beyond. (She attended graduate school for further education.) As an adverb, further means to a greater degree or extent. (We pushed further for an answer.) Further can also be used as a verb meaning to advance or move forward. (He used examples to further his case.)

In short, use farther to convey physical distance. Use further to convey metaphorical distance and when expressing the addition of something other than distance.

Semi-colons have the effect of creating a pause stronger than that of a comma, but not as strong as that of a period. Their primary uses are to link coordinate independent clauses and to separate items in a series.

An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. The dancer circled the area.

A dependent clause, as the name suggests, is grammatically subordinate to an independent clause, linked to it by a subordinating conjunction of a relative pronoun. The dependent clause can function as an adjective, an adverb, or a noun. The dancer circled the area that remained in partial darkness (adjective clause). The dancer, when she went to the edge of the stage, circled the area (adverb clause). The dancer circled what remained in the center of the area (noun clause).

The second clause often restates an idea expressed in the first, and it sometimes expands on or presents a contrast to the first.

Large three-dimensional programs were distributed; the audience, in addition to adjusting their eyes to the light, had to don their disposable glasses.

The problem, of course, is that it is one thing to require a student to attend a dance concert; it is quite another to get him to engage with it.

“conjunctive adverbs connect independent clauses. As their name suggests, they can be considered both adverbs and conjunctions because they modify the second clause in addition to connecting it to the preceding clause”.

also                           indeed                        now
anyway                    instead                        otherwise
besides                    likewise                       similarly
certainly                 meanwhile                 still
finally                       moreover                   then
furthermore           namely                        therefore
however                  nevertheless              thus
incidentally             next                             undoubtedly

Independent clauses connected by a conjunctive adverb must be separated by a semi-colon or a period, not just a comma.

Some of these problems could occur in any dance department; however, many could happen only in the Department of Dance.

Writing tip--In general writing, common nouns are capitalized only when
used at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a specific individual
name. Capitalize Waldo Library. Do not capitalize library, the library
or our library. When used alone, do not capitalize association, board,
center, chapter, college, committee, council, department, foundation,
institute, office, program or school.

Writing tip--A period is a form of punctuation used to end a declarative
sentence. Periods are frequently, but not always used, after initials
and with abbreviations.

Declarative sentence: Harry S Truman did not use a period after his
middle initial.

Periods should be placed inside closing quotation marks, except when
followed by a parenthetical note.

Abraham Lincoln said, "Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not
for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it."

When used in e-mail and Web addresses, periods are pronounced "dot"
(wmich dot edu).
Writing tip--An exclamation point is used to end a sentence expressing
strong emotion or commands (Stop!), and may be used to close questions
that are meant to convey extreme emotion (What were you thinking!).

Put an exclamation point inside closing quotation marks when the
punctuation applies to the quotation itself and outside when it applies
to the whole sentence.

Can you believe he said, "You're my best friend"!
He said, "You're my best friend!"

Exclamation points should be used very sparingly, and never end a
sentence with more than one exclamation point!!!!!! Does that apply to
question marks, too????? Yes!!!!!!!
Writing tip--An ellipsis ( ... ) consists of three evenly spaced periods
and is used to indicate the omission of words or suggest an incomplete
thought. In general, an ellipsis should be treated as a three-letter
word, with a space, three periods and a space. (Western Michigan
University is ... nationally recognized and internationally engaged.)

Never delete words that are central to the original meaning. Do not use
ellipses at the beginning or end of direct quotes when writing a news story.

Other guidelines and examples:

When the words before an ellipsis make up a complete sentence, place a
period before the ellipsis. (Western Michigan University is a
student-centered research university. ... ) When the phrase preceding an
ellipsis calls for a question mark, exclamation point, comma or colon,
the correct order is: phrase, punctuation mark, space, ellipsis, space,
next phrase. (What is a healthy university? ... The ability to think
beyond our individual and limited view.)
Writing tip--Commas are one of the most commonly misused forms of
punctuation. Omitting a comma causes information to run together,
leading to a change in meaning or loss of clarity. Excessive commas
cause information to become choppy and disconnected, confusing the
reader. Avoid making these mistakes by learning the rules of comma
usage. Use commas to separate:

Three or more items in a list: Homecoming is for students, alumni,
parents, families and friends. (Do not include a comma before the
conjunction in a simple series.)

A series of adjectives equal in importance: WMU is a dynamic,
student-centered institution.

Complete sentences that are combined with a conjunction: The event is
open to the public free of charge, but reservations are required.

An introductory phrase from the rest of a sentence: First, we must
double the amount of external support.

A nonessential phrase from the rest of a sentence: Sky Broncos, led by
Steven Tkachuk, won the regional flight competition.

Direct quotes: "We must support students in any way we can," Dunn said.

Party affiliation, academic degrees and religious affiliations; and
dates from years: Tim Greene, Ph.D., will compete in "Dancing with the
WMU/Kazoo Stars" Oct. 30, 2009.

Cities from names of states and nations; and names from hometowns and
ages: Nate Knappen, of Grand Rapids, Mich., is the president of WSA.

Yes and no; and names in a direct address: Yes, Mom, I'll be home for
dinner.

Similar words: What it really is, is justice.
Writing tip--It is common for the colon ( : ) and semicolon ( ; ) to be
used incorrectly in place of each other. The two punctuation marks serve
very different purposes, and should not be used interchangeably.

A colon is used to give emphasis, present dialogue, introduce lists or
text, and clarify composition titles.

Emphasis--Capitalize the first word after the colon only if it is a
proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. (She had one love:
Western Michigan University.)

Dialogue--Write the speaker's name, followed by a colon and his or her
statement. (Reporter: What is the Western Edge? Dunn: It is a strategic
plan for promoting student success.)

Introduce lists, text or tabular material--Capitalize the first word
after the colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete
sentence. (Our future is dependent on three things: sustainability,
diversity, and enhancing our strength and health.)

Clarify the titles of books, lectures and other compositions--Use a
colon in titles that express two parallel ideas. The words on either
side of the colon should be able to stand on their own. (He wrote
"Crisis Management by Apology: Corporate Response to Allegations of
Wrongdoing.")

A semicolon has two general uses: to clarify a series and to indicate
two closely related sentences.

Series--If one or more elements in a series contain a comma, use
semicolons to separate them. Include a semicolon before the final
conjunction. (Members of the Western Jazz Quartet are Tom Knific,
bassist; Trent Kynaston, saxophonist; Steve Zegree, pianist; and Tim
Froncek, drummer.)

Two closely related sentences--For the most part, you should use a
semicolon only where you could also use a period, but want to
demonstrate a relationship between two complete sentences. (Good grades
are integral to student success; a strong support network is also
important.)
Writing tip--Parentheses ( () ) can be used to insert explanatory or
qualifying material that you want to de-emphasize, or information that
doesn't fit naturally into the flow of your text. Because parentheses
are so jarring to the reader, they should be avoided whenever possible.
If removing a parenthetical note changes the meaning of the sentence, it
should not be in parentheses.

If you do choose to include parenthetical information, follow these rules:

Place a period outside a closing parenthesis if the material inside is
not a sentence (such as this fragment).

(Place a period before the closing parenthesis if the material inside is
a complete sentence.)
Writing tip--Double quotation marks are used for direct quotations and
titles of compositions such as books, plays, movies, songs, lectures and
TV shows. They also can be used to indicate irony and introduce an
unfamiliar term or nickname.

Single quotation marks are used for a quote within a quote. ("I knew I
wanted to come to WMU when President Dunn said, 'We're committed to your
success,'" Amy said.) Although they are usually unnecessary, single
quotation marks also can be used in headlines that contain a quote or
composition title.

Do not place in quotation marks: names of newspapers, magazines, central
texts of a religion (Bible, Koran), dictionaries, handbooks and
reference books. Names of concertos, operas, overtures, sonatas, suites
and symphonies, such as Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, are not placed in
quotes, but if the work also has a title, the title is placed in quotes.
(Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique.")

Running quotations: If a full paragraph of quoted material is followed
by a paragraph that continues the quotation, do not use closing
quotation marks at the end of the first paragraph, but do use opening
quotation marks at the start the second paragraph. Continue this
pattern, using closing quotation marks only at the very end of the
quoted material.

Placement with other punctuation: The period and comma always go inside
closing quotation marks. ("We hope to win the game," he said.) The dash,
semicolon, question mark and exclamation point go inside closing
quotation marks when the punctuation applies to the quotation itself and
outside when it applies to the whole sentence.

Who said "Ask not what America can do for you"?
He asked, "What time is it?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. President Dunn sent letters to Jane and myself.
2. President Dunn sent letters to Jane and me.
3. President Dunn sent letters to Jane and I.

Times up! If you answered "me," you were correct. In the examples, President Dunn is the subject of the sentence and you and Jane are the objects. "I" is a subject, never an object. If you're fuzzy on the whole parts of speech thing, try eliminating Jane from the sentence. Does this sound right to you? "President Dunn sent a letter to I." Let's hope not.

However, "President Dunn sent a letter to myself" may sound equally acceptable to "President Dunn sent a letter to me." Depending on what you are accustomed to, "myself" might even sound better, but it's wrong.

While "myself" and "me" are both objects, "myself" is what is called a "special object." You should use "myself" and not "me" as the object, only when you are the subject of the sentence. For example, "After the accident, I could not dress myself."

"Who" is a subject pronoun, which means it should only be used when you are referring to the subject of a sentence--the one taking action, not the one being acted upon: Who is the most famed WMU alumnus? David Kool, who is a senior, is MAC Player of the Year.