English Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, and Word Usage
Domain 3: English Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, and Word Usage
This domain tests control of standard written English in a legal register. The exam expects you to punctuate quotations and interruptions, choose the right homophone, and keep subject-verb agreement when legal nouns intervene.
Rules to apply
- Use commas to set off nonrestrictive appositives and parentheticals, but not to splice two independent clauses.
- Use semicolons before conjunctive adverbs joining independent clauses: “The witness paused; however, he continued.”
- Use the em dash for interrupted speech and brackets for editorial clarification.
- Capitalize specific courts and titles when they precede a name; lowercase generic references.
- Distinguish “principal/principle,” “counsel/council,” “capital/capitol,” and “shall/may.”
- Make verbs agree with the grammatical subject, not with a noun in a prepositional phrase.
Worked example
Incorrect: “The witness said that he had not seen the defendant, however, he heard the car.” This is a comma splice. Correct: “The witness said that he had not seen the defendant; however, he heard the car.” The semicolon joins the two independent clauses, and the comma after “however” marks the introductory adverb. If the sentence were a quotation, the punctuation would sit inside the quotation marks only if it belongs to the quoted material.
Traps that cost marks
Treating “however” as a conjunction; using an apostrophe for a plural; capitalizing “plaintiff” everywhere; writing “alot”; and confusing “imply” with “infer.” In legal transcripts, a punctuation change can alter meaning, so do not “improve” a speaker’s words; punctuate them as spoken.