Appositives {AP sentence styling}

An appositive Is a noun or noun phrase that tells you more about a nearby noun or pronoun. Examples: It turned out that one of the top students, Denny Davis, had learned of this rule. Kennedy, a wiry fifty-nine-year-old who has a stern buzz cut, was in 1997 the principal of Sarasota High School.

Turn to a partner Partner B ask A: What is an appositive? Partner A: answers Partner A asks B: What is an appositive? Partner B: answers

Another example In 1981, two professors … began following the lives of eighty- one high school valedictorians – forty six women and thirty five men from Illinois.

Punctuation and Appositives If the appositive is not essential to the meaning, but more of an aside or parenthetical remark then the writer should use punctuation to set off the appositive. It turned out that one of the top students, Denny Davis, had learned of this rule. If the appositive is essential to the meaning of the sentence then the writer should not set off the appositive with punctuation. When my cousin Kazumi studied ikebana, she was disillusioned by the unfair judgments her teachers made every year.

If your appositive needs punctuation: Use one or two commasUse one or two dashes In 1981, two professors... Began following the lives of eighty-one high school valedictorians – forty six women and thirty five men form Illinois. Japanese people have to make many of the big decisions of their lives – whom to marry, what company to join – without detailed information. The principal of Sarasota High School in 1997 wan Daniel Kennedy, a wiry fifty-nine-year- old who has a stern buzz cut. Kennedy, a wiry fifty-nine-year- old who has a stern buzz cut, was in 1997 the principal of Sarasota High School.

You can also use a colon as punctuation We were given plenty of instruction about the specifics of writing: word choice, description, style. -- Kyoko Mori Dashes emphasize the appositive more than commas do.

Before or after the noun. Usually the appositive comes after the noun or pronoun it details. It can come before the noun or pronoun as well. A wiry fifty-nine-year-old who has a stern buzz cut, Daniel Kennedy was the principal of Sarasota High School in 1997.

An appositive serves two rhetorical and stylistic functions: 1. It can clarify a term by providing a proper noun or a synonym, by defining or explaining the term, or by getting more specific. Proper noun- Its hero is Scout’s father, the saintly Atticus Finch. Francine Prose Synonym - … an automaton, a machine, can be made to keep a school… Ralph Waldo Emerson Definition - First published in 1970, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is recognized as a survivor memoir, a first –person narrative of victimization and recovery. Francine Prose Explanation – Teenagers might enjoy the transformative science –fiction aspects of The Metamorphosis, a story about a young man so alienated from his “dysfunctional” family that he turns … into a giant beetle. Specificity - Yet in other genres – fiction and memoir – the news is far more upsetting.

Cont. stylistic and rhetorical functions: 2. Second, an appositive can smooth choppy writing. Note how stilted each of the following items is compared with the preceding versions. Its hero is Scout’s father. His name is Atticus Finch. He is saintly. An automaton is a machine. An automaton can be made to keep a school in compliance. Yet in other genres the news is far more upsetting. Other genres are fiction and memoir.

Exercise Complete exercise 1 pg #1-7 Complete exercise 3 pg. 274 #1-8 Complete exercise 5 pg. 274 – 75 #1-5