Teaching Myself - The Elements of Style (Comma joining two independent clauses)

The Elements of Style, the most respected and recommended book on writing, is a thin book. Just 100 odd pages. But I have already started having a feeling that my journey through this book is going to be a long one.

Today, I have just read about adding a comma before the conjunction which joins two independent clauses. Like:

The floods in Pakistan are an unfortunate natural calamity, and all countries are trying to extend help.
Apple has recently hired an expert in mobile payment technology, but the company has not publicly announced any plans to get into mobile commerce.

Similarly, if two independent clauses are separated by as, for, or, nor or while, a comma will be required.

An important variation to this rule: If a dependent clause or introductory phrase precedes the second independent clause, no comma is required after the conjunction.

The situation is difficult, but if we persist, there are still chances of succeeding in the mission.

Enough for the day!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Website Content

This morning I was looking for some information on "phases of team building." Immediately Google responded with 10 search results. There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of websites giving this information, but what Google showed me on the first page of search results served my purpose. After visiting some of the top websites, I got what I wanted and ignored the other websites.

Which websites you would visit and which ones you would ignore depend on what shows up in Google search results. That brings me to the ever hot topic of Search Engine Optimization or SEO as it is commonly known as. Since I often get requests for writing website content, I recently decided to do some grounding of myself in the fundamentals of this subject.

The question that I asked myself was this: As a writer, what key SEO guidelines should I follow when writing website content? And then I went on to study two key resources on this subject:

a. Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide by Google
(Available at  http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769)

b. Brian Clark's How to Create Compelling Content That Ranks Well in Search Engines
(Available at http://www.copyblogger.com/seo-copywriting/)

So what have I learnt? In nutshell, here it is:

1. Know the audience: Have some idea of who is likely to be visiting your website. Ask yourself: Who should be visiting this website? What could be their needs? What would they be looking for? What is this website offering and to whom?
2. Focus on visitors: Write useful and compelling content for your visitors -- and not for the search engines. Now this sounds paradoxical because the whole purpose of SEO copywriting seems to be writing the content in a way that website climbs up in search ratings. But this is where most writers and website developers have to stop, and really understand and digest this particular sentence straight from Google's guide:
"Creating compelling and useful content will likely influence your website more than any of the other factors discussed here."
3. Write easy-to-read content. That means divide the content into logical paragraphs with proper headings, sub-headings and bullets. And yes, avoid sloppy text, large chunks of content and grammatical errors.
4. Use relevant language: Think about what words or phrases visitors might use to search your website and include those so-called "keywords" into the content. Again, Google warns that one should not over-stuff  "keywords" or else your website will be punished. According to Brian Clark, keyword density of more than 5.5% could be considered by Google as "tricking" it.
5. Write fresh and unique content. No spinning of existing content; that won't work.

In the end, the main point that I should remember is this: SEO copywriting is not about manipulating your content to attract search engines, rather it is writing useful, clear and compelling content for your targeted visitors. If a website can keep its users happy, search engines will be happy, too.

Teaching Myself - The Elements of Style (Comma for Parenthetic Expressions)

Moving on with my journey through The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White, today I am teaching myself a bit more about the placement of "might" comma.

A. Comma for the name or title in the direct address:

If, Sir, you wish, we could extend the warranty.
Thank you, Mr. Sharma.

B. Abbreviations like etc., i.e., and e.g.

Lecture, role play, group discussion, etc., are all methods of facilitating learning among adult learners.
The game is over, i.e., we have come to the end of this debate.
There are many reasons, e.g., not engaging fully with the work, for not being able to perform well.

C. No comma between a noun and restrictive term of identification.

The novelist Grisham
The poet Tagore


D. Set off a nonrestrictive clause ( a clause that can be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence)  by a comma

My father, who was still composing songs, was 82 years old when we met last.
This blog, which is my second blog, is purely on the art, science and business of writing.
Jaipur, where I come from, is known as Pink City.


E. And, of course, no commas for restrictive clauses.

People who are impatient can't understand why would Japanese drink tea slowly and with full concentration.
His cousin Jane was a talented engineer and inventor.

F. Use comma to separate introductory words, phrases and clauses

Encouraged, the students offered to stay back and complete the lesson.
Hoping for the best, we decided to move ahead with our plan.
Like a car spinning its wheels, the American economy hasn’t been getting much traction. 

Teaching Myself - The Elements of Style (Serial Comma)

I find it boring to read the rules of grammar. When I was in school, I used to do the grammar part of the exam by simply asking myself, "Am I stopping here? Better to insert a comma?" Now, the life is different. I am trying to be a perfect technician who knows the rules and plays by them. 

Comma looks like a small stuff when it comes to punctuation, but it is better to address it as "mighty comma," for comma has the potential to sow the seeds of confusion more than any other punctuation mark.

Serial comma: One of the most basic usage of comma happens when we write a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction. For example:

I've brought moong sprout, red bean sprout, and chana sprout. (Well, this morning I had a meeting with someone who is doing the business of supplying sprouts, a very healthy, nutritious food).

The point here is simple: Use comma after each term in the series including the one before the conjunction. But, as with most rules in English, there is some controversy about the last comma -- the one before the conjunction. It seems not many publications follow it. For example, AP style doesn't require a comma before before the last item for a series of items, but it suggests to use it for a series of complex terms.

I would be more watchful to find who follows this rule and who flouts it. But it's important to remember, grammar rules are there to serve a purpose: to bring clarity to the reader.

Finally, if you're still wondering what are all these sprouts, here are some photos:

 

Teaching Myself - The Elements of Style

The best way to learn something is to teach it. Peter Drucker, the legendary management guru, discovered this when he was a sophomore in high school. He had a close friend who had difficulty in learning Latin, Greek and math. Before we go on with Drucker's story, why would I capitalize the two languages but leave out math as math in the previous sentence? That's how it should be. If, however, a subject appears in a course title, like in Physics 210, then it is appropriate to capitalize it, otherwise only the languages need to be capitalized.

Back to Drucker and his friend who was slow in those three subjects. And so Drucker started teaching him. What did Drucker discover? Six weeks after he started teaching his friend, he had climbed to top of his class. And no wonder that he started enjoying all the three subjects.

Well, taking a cue from Drucker, I am going to study the most respected and recommended book on writing: The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White. But unlike Drucker, in this case, the student and teacher are not two, but the same person. No choice and let me begin with the first lesson.

Lesson # 1: Adding 's to form possessive singular of nouns

A. Seems like a straightforward thing. Just add 's regardless of the final consonant.

Amir's next film
Bush's exit
Thames's

A(E). As usual, there are exceptions to the above rule.

- Ancient proper names ending in -es and -is: Moses' laws, Isis' temple
- Jesus'
- forms like for conscience' sake and for righteousness' sake


B. Pronominal possessives: hers, theirs, its, theirs, yours, ours

This house is ours.
Theirs is a nice campus.
Is this pen yours?

C. When it comes to indefinite pronouns, however, one must use 's to show possession.

What about one's rights?
It seems like someone else's book.

Classic writer

I feel I have something to say. I also feel I have nothing to say.
I know it doesn't matter what others think of my writing. I do worry what others will think of it.
I know if I start writing something will surely come out of me. I also fear nothing may come out of me.
I tell myself I should write -- now! I also keep myself busy with mundane stuff to avoid writing now.
I tell myself to write with no specific purpose. I also question myself why I lack a purpose.
I think I am a writer. I ask myself what makes me think I am a writer.