If you have ever wondered if punctuation is truly important, try reading a
passage that does not have punctuation. It in nearly impossible to correctly
figure out what the writer was trying to say. Punctuation tells us when one
idea stops and another starts. It tells use who owns things and who said what.
Punctuation helps us to understand what we are reading. (来源：英语杂志 http://www.EnglishCN.com)

Capitalization is also important, generally we capitalize one of a kind
things. We capitalize proper names like Bill and America because they refer to
a particular person or place. We capitalize name brands like Band-Aid but not
the product-bandages. We also capitalize nations, religions, places,
languages, and unique items like the Declaration of Independence.

Abbreviations should only be used if necessary to refer to time, a person's
title like Dr., or organizations that are usually referred to by their
initials.

Chapter 17: Spelling

Spelling is a learned skill not a special talent. Spelling can be mastered by
learning a few basic rules about when to change the endings on words. Most
spelling rules have to do with adding suffixes in some form to a base word. This
chapter reviews the five most important spelling rules including when you should
double the consonant at the end of a word before adding -ed or -ing and when to
change a y to an i before adding an ending.

Another aspect of spelling besides endings is knowing when to join words and
when to separate them. The chapter has a list of words that should always be
separated like the word a lot. A lot is not a word. There is also a look at
words whose spellings change depending on the meaning of the word. Spelling can
be mastered through learning a few rules and getting lots of practice.

Chapter 18: Words That Sound Alike/Look Alike

The English language has a large group of words that sound alike or look
alike. Words like decent and descent look and sound similar, but they have
very different meanings. Decent means suitable or proper while descent means
going down, falling, or sinking. If you use the wrong word in a sentence you
create an unintended meaning for your sentence that will confuse and often
amuse your reader. The confusion and amusement will take away from the
effectiveness of your writing. It is important to learn which word in a sound
alike/look alike pair is the one you need.

Chapter 19: Using Prepositions Correctly

Prepositions are small words that are combined with nouns into phrases.
Prepositional phrases explain time, location, and direction to the reader. As a
writer, it is important that you use the correct preposition for the context you
are writing.

Some verbs in English are paired with a particular preposition to create an
expression. Each of these expressions has a particular meaning. Even though
there are often two or more prepositions paired with the same verb, each
expression has a different meaning and they cannot be used interchangeably. Look
at, look for, and look up have the same verb but three different prepositions.
The phrases have different meanings and you cannot use look up when you need
look for in your sentence. Study the material in Chapter Nineteen carefully and
use the chapter as a reference tool when you need to.

Chapter 20: Writing a Paragraph: Generating Ideas Thought

The first steps in the writing process are the most crucial for developing a
well-written unified paragraph. These steps are called Thought Lines. Taking the
time to develop and focus your ideas will ensure good writing. Ideas for writing
can be developed in three basic ways: freewriting, brainstorming, and
journaling. Each technique helps you generate ideas on a broad topic. Those
ideas can become the specific idea you want to develop into a paragraph. Once
you have generated ideas, they can be organized by grouping the ideas in your
list and then labeling each group or by creating a map or cluster of related
ideas. Once you have evaluated your groups of ideas, you can develop a topic
sentence that reflects the point you want to make about your ideas. A topic
sentence is a single sentence that conveys the main idea you want to make. Your