2. The elements of style Ch 1: Elementary rules of usage Ch 2: Elementary principles of composition Ch 3: A few matters of form Ch 4: Words & expressions commonly misused Ch 5: An approach to style Not relevant to technical writing

3. Ch 1: Elementary rules of usage Punctuation –The apostrophe (rule 1) –The comma (rules 2-4) –The semicolon (rule 5) –The period (rule 6) –The colon (rule 7) –The dash (rule 8) –The hyphen (p. 34)  (Things I add will be “yellow”) –The parenthesis (p. 36) Grammar (rules 9-11)

4. The apostrophe Used to indicate possession: –“The cache’s latency” Used to make a contraction: –“I won’t because it’s too late.” Not relevant to technical writing

5. The apostrophe Used to indicate possession: –Plural nouns: use “ ’ ” “The memories’ latencies” –Single nouns that don’t end in s: use “ ’s ” “The DRAM’s latency” –Single nouns that end in s: usually use “ ’s ” “The hysteresis’s effect” (a clearer alternative: “the effect of the hysteresis”) –Ancient single nouns that end in s: use “ ’ ” Jesus’ teaching, Isus’ temple This exception should be understood because it is confusing when you see it. …but computers are not ancient devices, so

6. The apostrophe Used to indicate possession: –Plural nouns: use “ ’ ” “The memories’ latencies” –Single nouns that don’t end in s: use “ ’s ” “The DRAM’s latency” –Single nouns that end in s: usually use “ ’s ” “The hysteresis’s effect” (a clearer alternative: “the effect of the hysteresis”) –Ancient single nouns that end in s: use “ ’ ” Jesus’ teaching, Isus’ temple This exception should be understood because it is confusing when you see it. But, computers are not ancient devices, so… Not relevant to technical writing

7. The apostrophe When not to use an apostrophe: –The possessive form of “it”: “Its latency” –Plural acronyms Most DRAMs are cheaper than SRAMs

8. The comma to separate items in a list Used to separate all items in a list of three or more terms “red, white, and blue” “gold, silver, or copper” “red and white” Not used before the last noun in a list of names in a business This exception should be understood because it is confusing when you see it. But, computer science is not in the business school, so…

9. Used to separate all items in a list of three or more terms “red, white, and blue” “gold, silver, or copper” “red and white” Not used before the last noun in a list of names in a business This exception should be understood because it is confusing when you see it. But, computer science is not in the business school, so… Not relevant to technical writing The comma to separate items in a list

10. The Comma to enclose parenthetical expressions Long phrases “The cache, being on chip, is faster than DRAM.” Short phrases –If it “feels” OK without commas, you can drop them. But you never drop only one and not the other – the two commas come as a pair. “etc.”, “i.e.”, and “e.g.”, “Many caches exist: e.g., write-through and write-back…” Names “The worst-case execution time, WCET, is the …” Dates Not relevant to CS technical writing

11. The Comma to enclose parenthetical expressions Relative clauses, such as those beginning with which, who, or where: Nonrestrictive relative clauses get commas –The algorithm, which is optimized, is fast. Restrictive clauses do not –The algorithm which is optimized runs faster than the one which is not optimized.

12. The Comma before conjunctions that introduce clauses Independent clauses (i.e., potentially separate sentences) “The cache uses SRAM, and SRAM is faster than DRAM.” “Caches are fast, for caches use DRAM.” Note: Rule #3 said that parenthetical commas must come in pairs, but we drop the first comma of a parenthetical expression that follows a comma- separated conjunction, for aesthetic reasons: “SRAM is faster, but due to its cost, it cannot be used.”

13. The Comma before conjunctions that introduce clauses Independent clauses (i.e., potentially separate sentences) “The cache uses SRAM, and SRAM is faster than DRAM.” “Caches are fast, for caches use DRAM.” Note: Rule #3 said that parenthetical commas must come in pairs, but we drop the first comma of a parenthetical expression that follows a comma- separated conjunction, for aesthetic reasons: “SRAM is faster, but due to its cost, it cannot be used.”

14. The comma to separate adjectives (I added this one) Use a comma (or an “and”) between adjectives of the same kind: He is a tall, thin man; but a squirrel has a thick bushy tail. –“Tall” and “Thin” are both adjectives of size –“Thick” and “bushy” are different kinds of adjectives; “Thick” tells you the size of the tail and “bushy” tells you its surface appearance. The test: try to change the positions of the adjectives. If it sounds strange, the adjectives are of different kinds. –This is because adjectives have an order before a noun according to their kinds: “The large old Malay wooden house.” size → age → shape → color → origin → material

15. The comma to separate adjectives (I added this one) Lets test some: A thick bushy tail. Sounds good. A bushy thick tail. Sounds strange. → no comma A tall thin man. Sounds good. A thin tall man. Sounds good. → use comma The compact low-cost algorithm. Sounds good. The low-cost compact algorithm. Sounds good. → use comma She has long black hair. Sounds good. She has black long hair. Sounds strange. → no comma

16. The comma to separate adjectives (I added this one) Lets test some: A thick bushy tail. Sounds good. A bushy thick tail. Sounds strange. → no comma A tall thin man. Sounds good. A thin tall man. Sounds good. → use comma The compact low-cost algorithm. Sounds good. The low-cost compact algorithm. Sounds good. → use comma She has long black hair. Sounds good. She has black long hair. Sounds strange. → no comma

17. The comma to separate adjectives (I added this one) Lets test some: A thick bushy tail. Sounds good. A bushy thick tail. Sounds strange. → no comma A tall, thin man. Sounds good. A thin tall man. Sounds good. → use comma The compact and low-cost algorithm. Sounds good. The low-cost compact algorithm. Sounds good. → use comma She has long black hair. Sounds good. She has black long hair. Sounds strange. → no comma

18. The Semicolon Connects two sentences into one –To suggest a strong relationship between the sentences; often the second half clarifies or expounds on the first half. It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark. To replace a comma when a comma just doesn’t look right. the tall, thin man; the short, fat man; and the boy.

19. The apostrophe When not to use an apostrophe: –The possessive form of “it”: “Its latency” –Plural acronyms Most DRAMs are cheaper than SRAMs (And while we are on the subject of acronymns, a question often arises about “a” versus “an”: use the form that you use when you speak. So if you pronounce SRAM as “es-ram” then you say: “A DRAM is cheaper than an SRAM”