5. When the sound is c, remember the rhyme, “i
before e except after c ...”
Examples:
a. Believe, belief, relieve, relief
b. Receive, conceive, perceive, conceit
Exceptions:
Weird, seize, neither, leisure, financier, inveigle.
6. The previous rhyme ends “ . . . or when sounded
as a as in neighbor or weigh.”
7. Verbs ending in ie generally change ie to y
before ing.
Examples:
Die, dying; lie, lying
Learning to spell is more a matter of establishing a
correct image of each word than of applying rules.
Usually the image is a visual one. Knowing the correct
pronunciation often helps, but in the English language
we have many words for which pronunciation is no
guide to spelling (e.g., duty, beauty, grew, blue), so we
must rely on the way the word looks. While you are
looking up an unfamiliar word, make an effort to fix its
spelling in your mind along with the meaning and
pronunciation.
PUNCTUATION
Punctuation in writing serves the same purpose as
voice inflection in speaking. Roper phrasing avoids
ambiguity, ensures clarity and lessens the need for
punctuation.
Period
The period (.) serves the following functions as
shown in each example:
Ellipsis
The ellipsis ( . . . ), three periods and two spaces, is
used for the following functions as shown in each
example:
To indicate omitted material
Example: “I pledge allegiance to the flag . . . and
to the Republic. . ..”)
Comma
The comma (,) serves the following functions as
shown in each example:
To separate various elements within a sentence
and to indicate a slight pause
Examples: When lightning struck, Bob Smith
fainted. When lightning struck Bob, Smith
fainted.
To separate clauses
Example: They fought the battle, but no one
won.
To separate a series
Example: Neither snow, rain nor heat ...
To set off attributions
Example: “The work,” he said, “was exacting
and satisfying.”
To set off apposition or contrast
Example: Wilson, the favorite, won handily.
As used in the following examples, the comma is
omitted before Roman numerals, Jr., Sr., the ampersand
(&), the dash, in street addresses and Social Security
numbers.
Examples: Louis XIV, Joe James Jr., Smith &Co.,
54321 Pine St., 123-45-6789.
To mark the end of a sentence
Example: Close the door.
To accentuate most abbreviations
Newspaper usage has, inmost cases, eliminated the
comma before “and” and “or” in a series, but a comma
is still required before “and,” “or” and other
conjunctions in compound sentences. Note the
following example:
Example: Fish abounded in the lake, and the shore
was lined with deer.
Examples: U.S., c.o.d.
To separate integral and decimal numerals
Examples: 3.75 percent, .75, 3.75 meters
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