Editing for Capitalization

Copy this file and paste it into your word processor. Using the following symbols, show how the errors should be edited.

\-aaa\ = omit the word or phrase aaa
\+aaa\ = add the word or phrase aaa
\aaa > bbb\ = change the word or phrase aaa to bbb

Refer to Correction Symbols, as necessary. After editing the paragraphs, check the answer key.

Exercise 11A Calculus

Find the 15 capitalization problems in the following paragraph; then, make the necessary revisions.

1 Calculus was first proposed in the seventeenth Century by the english philosopher and mathematician sir isaac newton while he was an undergraduate student at cambridge university. 2 History books say that the thought of gravitational attraction came to Newton one sunday afternoon in the fall of the year while he was sitting underneath an apple tree. 3 After an Apple fell from the tree and hit his head, newton questioned why apples always fall down rather than up. 4 He spent the next 18 months of his life developing the mathematical principles that explain the gravitational attraction of objects for each other. 5 As a consequence of developing his theories of gravitational attraction, Newton was also able to explain how the planets in our Solar system move in relation to the Sun. 6 He explained his theories of gravity and motion using his newly invented Mathematical principles, which are known today as Calculus. 7 twentieth-century space flight has been developed from the fundamental principles first proposed by Newton over 300 years ago.

Exercise 11B Thanksgiving

Find the 20 capitalization problems in the following paragraph; then, make the necessary revisions.

1 Thanksgiving has been a national holiday in the United States since october 3, 1863. 2 0n that date, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the fourth thursday in november as a national day of giving thanks. 3 However, the practice of proclaiming a day for thanks did not originate in the united states. 4 The ancient hebrews, the greeks, and the romans celebrated harvest festivals; the english also celebrated a harvest festival. 5 Nevertheless, because of its special history, thanksgiving is probably the most american of the national holidays in the United States. 6 The settlers who are now called Pilgrims had left england in the seventeenth century because they had not been allowed to worship in their own way. 7 They first fled to holland and in 1620 sailed to North America on the mayflower, seeking a place to worship as they pleased. 8 Their original destination was Jamestown, Virginia, but storms blew them northward, and they landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in icy november. 9 During their first winter, over half of the settlers died of starvation or illness. 10 The next year, friendly indians taught them how to plant corn and how to hunt animals. 11 After their good harvest the next fall, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of special thanks. 12 In 1789, president george washington proclaimed the first national celebration to celebrate the adoption of the constitution.

From Improving the Grammar of Written English: The Editing Process, Beverly Benson and Patricia Byrd

[Answer Key] [Go to class at cvc.blackboard.com] [marsha_chan@wvmccd.cc.ca.us]


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