Mechanics: Spelling, Punctuation and Accentuation
What the question is really asking
Mechanics items test the conventions that make writing correct and readable: spelling, capitalisation, punctuation (commas, semicolons, colons, apostrophes, quotation marks), and, where the language requires it, accents and diacritics.
Concepts to master
- Comma uses: separating items in a list, marking introductory elements, setting off non-defining clauses, and joining clauses with a conjunction. A comma alone cannot join two independent clauses.
- Semicolon and colon: a semicolon joins closely related independent clauses; a colon introduces an explanation, list, or quotation after a complete clause.
- Apostrophes: possession (the student's book, the students' books) and contraction (it's = it is; its = possessive).
- Non-defining vs. defining clauses: "My brother, who lives in Lyon, is a teacher" (extra information, commas) versus "The man who lives next door is a teacher" (identifying, no commas).
- Capitalisation: proper nouns, sentence starts, titles; not common nouns or seasons.
- Accents and diacritics: in languages such as French, accents change pronunciation and meaning (ou vs. où; a vs. à; sur vs. sûr). Omitting them is a spelling error, not a typographic detail.
Traps to expect
- A comma splice offered as a correct sentence.
- An apostrophe inserted into a plural ("the 1990's" for decades, "three cat's").
- Commas around a clause that is actually defining.
- A missing or misplaced accent that changes the word's meaning.
- A semicolon used before a fragment.
Rule of thumb
Test each punctuation mark by asking what job it does. If you cannot name the job (join, introduce, separate, enclose), remove it. For accents, learn minimal pairs as vocabulary, not as decoration.
Worked example
"The results were clear, however, the sample was small." This is a comma splice. Correct versions: "The results were clear; however, the sample was small" or "The results were clear. However, the sample was small."