Coordination, Subordination, Punctuation
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Coordination/kəʊˈɔːdɪneɪʃn/ | Coordination |
| Subordination/ˌsʌbɔːdɪˈneɪʃn/ | Placing a dependent clause within a sentence so that it supports or qualifies a main clause. |
Sentence structure asserts a relationship
- Writers convey their ideas in a sentence through strategic selection and placement of phrases and clauses.
- Coordination 并列 illustrates a balance or equality between ideas.
- Subordination 从属 illustrates an imbalance or inequality — so the structure makes a claim before the words do.
“And” seats two ideas as peers; “although” makes one wait while the other gets the final word.
Subordination illustrates...
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So put your point in the main clause and subordinate the concession.
Use subordination on purpose
- The evidence is strong and the reading is contested gives both equal weight.
- Although the reading is contested, the evidence is strong subordinates the objection and asserts your point.
- Same two facts, opposite claims — and the second is usually what you meant.
Joining two ideas with and leaves the reader to decide which one you were arguing for.
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Coordination asserts equality — which is rarely what an argument means.
Words that enhance clear communication
- Writers use words that enhance the clear communication of an interpretation.
- The stated criterion is clarity of the interpretation — not sophistication, not variety.
- The right word is the one that makes your reading unmistakable, and it is often a short one.
What does this structure assert?
Sort each construction by the relationship it claims.
The stated criterion for word choice is clarity of the ____.
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Not sophistication, not variety — and the right word is often a short one.
Coordination and subordination make different claims about the same two facts. A and B says they are equal; although B, A says A wins. Writing everything with and hands the reader two equally weighted ideas and leaves them to guess which one you were arguing for.
Select all the relationships this lesson gives for punctuation.
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A comma does not start a paragraph.
Punctuation conveys relationships
- Punctuation conveys relationships between and among parts of a sentence.
- A colon says what follows explains what preceded; a semicolon says these two are equals; a dash says stop here.
- So an unchecked mark can assert a relationship you never meant.
Put the sentence-structure pass in order.
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Structure first, punctuation second, vocabulary last.
A sentence-structure pass
- In every two-part sentence: is my point in the main clause and the concession subordinated?
- For each colon, semicolon and dash: does the relationship it asserts match what I mean?
- For each unusual word: does it make my interpretation clearer, or only longer?
Coordinated: the narrator omits her account and the reader loses her motives. Subordinated: because the narrator omits her account, the reader loses her motives. The first reports two facts; the second asserts that one causes the other — which is the claim you were actually making.
Coordination illustrates balance or equality; subordination illustrates imbalance — so put your point in the main clause. Words should enhance the clear communication of an interpretation, not display range. Punctuation conveys relationships: a colon explains, a semicolon balances, a dash stops.