PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEXT: MECHANICS

Mechanics refers to the conventions of writing which includes capitalization, punctuation,

spelling, numerals, abbreviations and subject-verb agreement. You may have experienced
being confused as to whether you have committed an error in grammar or mechanics when
you accidentally put an apostrophe in the possessive pronoun it’s or in the plural form of a
noun such as cat’s.
1. Capitalization is the practice of using capital letters in writing or printing. Proper nouns, key
words in titles, and beginnings of sentences are generally capitalized. Capital letters identify
proper names, people and their languages, geographical names, and certain government agencies.
There are general rules for capitalization which apply to all writing.
Starting a Sentence
Always capitalize the very first word of a sentence, no matter
what it is.
“Experienced cooks usually enjoy experimenting with food.”
The Pronoun “I”
Always capitalize the first-person singular pronoun “I.”
“Sometimes, I wish I could cook with them.”
Quoting Others
Directly quoted speech is capitalized if it is a full sentence.
The head chef said to me, “Anyone can become a good cook if they are
willing to learn.”

Proper Nouns
Names or nicknames, people, languages, geographical names, religions,
days of the week, months, holidays,
and some organizations are considered proper nouns. Proper nouns
should always be capitalized.

Names and Nicknames

A name or nickname should always be capitalized. This includes brand
names.
Theodore, Pepsi, Fila

People and Languages

Names referring to a person’s culture should be capitalized. Languages are
also capitalized.
African, Americans, French, English, Japanese
Geographical Names

The names of cities, states, countries, continents, and other specific geographic locations are
capitalized.
Arctic Circle, Philippines, Korea, Asia

Organizations
Government agencies, institutions, and companies capitalize their names.
Ford Motor Company, International Red Cross, Philippine Christian University

Days, Months, and Holidays

Days of the week, months, and holidays are always capitalized. However, seasons (fall, spring,
summer, and winter) are not capitalized.
Friday, May, Independence Day
Religions

Religions and their adherents, holy books, holy days, and words referencing religious figures are
capitalized.
Christianity and Christian; Islam and Muslim; Bible, Koran, Talmud, Book of Mormon
God, Allah, Buddha
Titled Work
In titled works (such as books, articles, or artwork) the majority of the words are capitalized. A
few exceptions
are a, an, the, and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet. These words are only capitalized if they come
at the beginning
of the title. This can vary based on style, so be sure to check your manual for specifics.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, High School Musical, Spolarium
2. Numerals
While writing numbers, sometimes we use figures or digits and sometimes we write out the
number in words. Here is a quick overview of the rules for writing numbers.
Small numbers
Numbers smaller than ten should be spelled out.
“Two birds were sitting on a branch.” (NOT ‘2 birds were sitting on
a branch.’)
Two-word numbers should be expressed in figures.
“I got only 35 marks in English.” (More natural than I got only thirty-five marks in English.)
One-word numbers can be spelled out.
“Seventeen students were found hanging out at the computer shop.”
When writing large number we often use commas.
“There are 746,372 voters in this constituency.”

You cannot begin a sentence with a numeral.

Write ‘Twenty years ago...’ (NOT 20 years ago...)

Sometimes you will have to change the structure of the sentence to remove the numeral from the beginning.
Write ‘They sold 400,000 copies on the first day’ instead of ‘400,000 copies were sold on the first day.’

Centuries should be spelled out.

In the nineteenth century

Percentages
In a less formal style, you can use the symbol %. In formal writing, you should spell the
percentage out.
She got 96% marks. (Informal)
She got 96 percent marks. (Formal)
3. Abbreviations
To abbreviate means to shorten an existing word. Abbreviations
are
considered grammatically correct, however there is a series of
rules
governing how to abbreviate words and which words can be
abbreviated.
Names
In formal writing, it is necessary to use someone’s full name.
For example, John Smith.
However, when making a list or writing an address it is acceptable to
abbreviate first names.
For example: J. Smith.

Social Titles
Abbreviations of social titles must always begin with a capital letter and end with a period.
For example: Mr. for Mister, Mrs. for Misses, Ms. for Miss, Jr. for Junior

Other People Titles

Abbreviations of all professional, religious, military or political titles begin with a capital letter
and must end in
a period.
For example: Dr. for Doctor, Rev. for Reverend, Capt. for Captain, Sen. for Senator
When in doubt, consult a dictionary. It is not always appropriate to use an abbreviation. When only a surname
is given, the title should be written out unless the title is a social title or the professional title Doctor. If a first
name is provided, it is acceptable to use a title and initials.

Academic Titles
An academic title should follow a name, and not be used without a name. Academic titles are set off with
commas. In academic titles, every letter is typically separated with a period. Ph. D. is an exception to that
rule.
For example: John Smith, M. D., studied medicine for many years.

Time
There are three types of time that can be abbreviated: time spans, A.M. and P.M., as well as B.C. and A.D..
Time Spans
Abbreviations for clocked time start with a lowercase letter and end with a period. Abbreviations for months
or days begin with a capital letter and end with a period. Typically, these abbreviations are not appropriate for
formal writing.
For example: sec. for second, Fri. for Friday, Apr. for April
A.M./P.M.
A.M. is the abbreviation for ante meridiem, which is Latin for “before noon.” P.M. is the abbreviation for post
meridiem, which is Latin for “after noon.” When writing numeral time, use these abbreviations.
For example: I woke up at 8:00 a.m.
Notice that when the abbreviation falls at the end of a sentence, two periods are not used. It is
acceptable to
use capital or lower case letters with these abbreviations.
B.C./A.D.
The abbreviation B.C. means “before Christ,” and the abbreviation A.D. means “anno Domini,” which is
Latin
for “In the year of the Lord.” Because these phrases contain proper nouns, Christ and Domini, the letters
of the
abbreviations must be capitalized and followed by periods. They are typically used along with numerals.
B.C.
must be placed after the number it refers to.
For example: During 689 B.C., the city-state of Babylon was in revolt.
Geographical Abbreviations
When abbreviating a geographical term before or after a proper noun, the abbreviation is capitalized and ends
with a period.
For example: RM and Hobi vacationed to Mt. Everest.
Measurements
When abbreviating measurements, the system of measurement used will determine the rules for writing out
an abbreviation. It is not common to use an abbreviation with a number spelled out in letters.
Metric
When abbreviating metric measurements, use lowercase letters and do not end the abbreviation with a period.
For example: I drank 2 l of soda!
U.S. Customary System
When abbreviating U.S. Customary measurements, use small letters and put periods at the end.
For example: I am 5 ft. and 8 in. tall.