CSR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CSR - Essay Example 2. Company 1: The first company selected for review is Apple Inc., which has been the leading cellular firm since its beginning. 2.1 Apple’s Corporate Social Responsibility The main features of Apple’s corporate social responsibility as stated in the website of the company include a safer supply chain, respect and dignity for employees, and eco-friendly manufacturing processes. All of these features suggest that Apple Inc. takes good care of its adherence to the principles of corporate social responsibility. It is also stated on the website that the company considered and followed the guidelines of Global Reporting Initiative to prepare the information about CSR. Let us now discuss the main aspects of Apple’s Corporate Social Responsibility. 2.1.1 Environment Protection Apple Inc. makes special efforts for greenhouse gas emissions. In 2012, it is estimated that the company’s input in the greenhouse gas emissions was nearly 30.9 million metric tons (Apple I nc. 2013). Apple Inc. has adopted a well-planned approach to ensure environmental friendliness. The company finds ways to reduce the carbon footprint though everything ranging from all types of products to all facilities. Apple Inc. large input in the greenhouse gas emissions represent the way the company manufactures its products and carry out all business processes. The main source of Apple’s greenhouse gas emissions is its products, which include every activity involved in product development from manufacturing to recycling. The other but comparatively very minor source of emissions is its facilities and data centers. The company pays special attention towards bringing reduction in the use of energy to manufacture the products because to be energy efficient is essential for large-scale greenhouse gas emissions. 2.1.1.1 Renewable Energy If we talk about the efforts of Apple inc. towards environmental sustainability, we come to that the company makes use of renewable energy sources to reduce the burden on current sources of energy. The use of renewable energies also reduces the carbon footprint by reducing the impact of data centers and corporate facilities (Apple Inc. 2013). 2.1.1.2 Recycling The company also stresses on the importance of recycling and takes considerable steps to recycle the used products to make them usable once again. The company collects all e-waste through voluntary and regulatory programs and processes it for reuse. 2.1.1.3 Energy Efficiency The company measures the amount of greenhouse has emission released by the products, as well as during production of products through the life cycle approach. The company believes that this is the step that no other company takes to measure the level of energy efficiency (Apple Inc. 2013). 2.1.2 Supplier Responsibility Apple Inc. also takes care of employee rights and provides them with safe workplace so that they can fulfill their responsibilities properly. Not only this, the company also pr ovides educational opportunities to employees in order to for them to improve their knowledge and work potential. Through inspections and improvement plans, the company makes sure that the suppliers adhere to the company’s code of conduct. 2.1.3 Labor and Human Rights Apple Inc. also holds suppliers responsible for upholding the employees’

The Origin Of Anatomically Modern Essay Example for Free

The Origin Of Anatomically Modern Essay Introduction The origin of modern humans and the fate of the Neanderthals are two of the most hotly debated topics in paleoanthropologist   Recent fossil finds new information from the field of molecular genetics that led to a re-evaluation of the question of the origin of the modern human beings. Where, when and how did modern human beings first appear? These critical questions have engaged anthropologists since the birth of their science. In last several decades paleoanthropologists have concentrated in solving the problems of Plea- Pleistocene origins of our genus, Homo. Interest in this issue remains passionate, but we have grown to understand that the origin of our species, Homo sapiens, is the outcome of an equally interesting and complete set of evolutionary factors.   Origin of Homo Sapiens and the Fate of Neanderthals   Neanderthal refers to a group of morphologically distinct human fossils. It is found throughout Western Eurasia way back ca. 130,000-30,000 BP. They evolved in Europe from Homo heidelbergensis populations, such as those from Sima de los Huesos in Atapuerca, Spain, Steinheim in Germany and Petralona in Greece. The primary Neanderthal fossils of the Levant come from the cave sites of Tabun, Amud, Kebara, and Dederiyeh, as well as Shanidar Cave in northern Iraq. Neanderthals physically were ruggedly built, with thick chests and relatively short limbs, a body shape today found among arctic populations. The modern humans evolved from archaic Homo sapiens primarily in East Africa.   A 195,000 year old fossil from the site in Ethiopia shows the beginnings of the skull changes that we associate with modern people, including a rounded skull case and possibly a projecting chin. A 160,000 year old skull from the Herto site in the Middle Awash area of Ethiopia also seems to be at the early stages of this evolution.   It had the rounded skull case but retained the large brow ridges of archaic Homo sapiens.   Somewhat more advanced intermediary forms have been found at Laetoli in Tanzania dating to about 120,000 years ago.   By 115,000 years ago, early modern humans had expanded their range to South Africa and into Southwest Asia shortly after 100,000 years ago.   Evidently, they did not appear elsewhere in the Old World until 60,000-40,000 years ago.   This was during a short temperate period in the midst of the last ice age.   The Fossil and Genetic study of Homo Sapiens and Fate of Neanderthal   At present the only way of studying ancient ancestors was through old fossils and stone tools. As we go back further in time fossils become rarer. Of the billions of people who lived before the invention of agriculture only the fossilized remains of a few hundred have been found. In the absence of fossils, human DNA that transmits genetic information from one generation to the next has proved to be a valuable tool in recording the evolution of the human species. Two pieces of the human genome are particularly useful in discovering human history. One is the Mitochondrial DNA and the other is the Y chromosome. These are the only two parts of the genome that are not interchanged about by the evolutionary mechanisms designed to generate diversity with each generation. Hence the Mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome are passed down generation to generation intact. Studies of modern DNA, especially mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) which occurs only in the cellular organelles called mitochondria, reveal that humans are amazingly homogeneous, with rather little genetic variation.   In fact, there is significantly more genetic variation between two individual chimpanzees drawn from the same population than there is between two humans drawn randomly from a single population. Until recently, the Levant was seen as furnishing the strongest evidence for a biocultural transition between the Neanderthals and early modern human populations. In the mid-1980s, geophysicists had developed several methods, thermoluminescence, electron-spin resonance, and uranium-series, for dating sites older than 40,000 BP that provided revolutionary results. While estimated ages for the Levantine Neanderthals were broadly comparable to those from Europe, between 65,000-47,000 BP, the new dating methods showed that the early modern humans from Skhul and Qafzeh date to 130,000-80,000 BP, older than the Neanderthals who were supposedly their ancestors (Valladas et al. 1998). Minimally, these new dates call for a reinterpretation of Neanderthal vs. early modern human biological and behavioral contrasts. Overview from the revolution of Homo sapiens and the Fate of Neanderthal The evolution of these two hotly debated topics in paleoanthropologists was basically about to, when and where they lived, their physical appearance, their way of living and to whom they originated. According to paleoanthropologists and some people who showed interest in studying those ancient people is that Neanderthals lived in Europe while the coming of modern man or the Homo sapiens was essentially compared to Asian people. There are many similarities in the Neanderthals’ and early modern humans’ according to archaeological records. Both lived in similar Mediterranean woodland habitats and occupied Kars tic caves. Both hunted and gathered the same range of animal species. Such similarities are to be expected between closely related hominids, but they do not necessarily imply a close social or cultural relationship. Instead, evidence for evolutionarily significant behavioral differences between Neanderthals and early modern humans is likely to be delicate, reflected in the different strategies these humans used to realize their settlement, survival, and social goals. The specific topic they end up of arguments was about their physical appearance in which each of them was distinguish by a unique set of anatomical features. The Neanderthals are characterized with a large, long, low cranial vault with a well-developed double-arched brow ridge. a massive facial skeleton with a very projecting mid-face, backward sloping cheeks, and large nasal aperture, with large nasal sinuses an oddly shaped occipital region of the skull with a bulge or bun molars with enlarged pulp chambers, and large, often very heavily worn incisors a mandible lacking a chin and possessing a large gap behind the last molar  . While the Homo sapiens were a cranial vault with a vertical forehead, rounded occipital and reduced brow ridge, a reduced facial skeleton lacking a projecting mid-face  a lower jaw sporting a chin, a more modern, less robustly built skeleton. These two descriptions gave much idea on how they differ each other. Are we genetically different from our Homo sapiens ancestors who lived 10-20,000 years ago?   The answer is almost certainly yes.   In fact, it is very likely that the rate of evolutionary change for our species has continuously accelerated since the end of the last ice age, roughly 10,000 years ago.  The evidence for a biocultural transition between the Neanderthals and early modern human populations they creatively construct social and cultural identities that transcend actual biological kinship (Wobst 1977). The best-documented early examples of symbolic artifacts are bone, ivory and stone beads from â€Å"Aurignacian†.   This is mostly due to the fact that our human population has deliberately grown and moved into new kinds of environments, including cities.   This has exerted strong selection for individuals who were fortunate to have immune systems that allowed them to survive.   We have been exposed to new kinds of environmental pollution that can cause increased mutation rates. There has been a marked change in diet for most people around the globe to one that is less varied and now predominantly vegetarian with a heavy dependence on foods made from cereal grains.   It is not entirely clear what all of the consequences of these environmental and behavioral changes have been.   However, it does appear that the average human body size has become somewhat shorter over the last 10,000 years. Finally, can we say what direction human evolution will take in the future?   This is a captivating question to consider but impossible to answer because of innumerable unknown factors.   Though, it is certain that we will continue to evolve until we reach the point of realizing factored that could possibly affect our lives. Bibliography Aiello, L.C. The fossil evidence for modern human origins in Africa: A revised view. In American Anthropologist, 1993. vol. 95, no. 1, pp. 73-96. Bar-Yosef, O. 1995. â€Å"Modern Human Origins and Neanderthal Extinctions in the Levant   ,† Athena Publications, Inc.( 2001). Accessed September 27, 2007 http://www.athenapub.com/8shea1.htm   â€Å"Early Modern Homo Sapiens.† Dennis ONeil (2007). Accessed September 27, 2007   Ã‚   http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_4.htm â€Å"Homo Sapiens.† Smithsonian Institution (2000). Accessed September 27, 2007 http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/sap.htm Johanson, Donald. â€Å"Origins of Modern Humans: Multiregional or Out of Africa?† American Institute of Biological Sciences (2001). Accessed September 27, 2007 http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/johanson.html Kreger, David C. Homo sapiens.† Archaeologist .com (2005). Accessed September 27, 2007 http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/homosapiens.htm -2005    McBrearty, Sally. â€Å"The Origin of Modern Humans.† JSTOR (2007). Accessed September 27, 2007 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0025-1496%28199003%292%3A25%3A1%3C129%3ATOOMH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Wsize=LARGEorigin=JSTOR-enlargePage ArchaeologyInfo.com All Rights Reserved â€Å"Recent single origin hypothesis.† Wikimedia Foundation, Inc (2007). Accessed September 27, 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_Africa_theory

Overview Of Science Teaching Yesterday Today And Tomorrow Education Essay

Overview Of Science Teaching Yesterday Today And Tomorrow Education Essay The development of science education in the United States is said to have been pushed by a perceived lack and deficiency with laggard innovations in science and the declining quality of students the science curriculum has produced. Reforms in the science curriculum in the past were triggered by Soviet Unions Sputnik launch and how the event placed the US behind their Russian counterparts (Matthews, 1994). Today, in the era of globalization, a growing concern is the declining standards and performance of American students in mathematics and science. The challenge falls upon the entire American education system to ensure scientific literacy among its citizens and equip them with the scientific competency to become productive members of a democratic society. This paper discusses the evolution of science education in the United States in order to evaluate how the science teacher or educator could initiate reforms in the classroom or the systemic setting. Science Education: The Past It is a common perception among students that science is a difficult and deplorable subject in school (Krehbiel, 1999). Responsibility has fallen upon policy-makers and science teachers to make the sciences more appealing to students. As Stephen Jay Gould said, We think that science is intrinsically hard, scary, or arcane, and that teachers can only beat the necessary knowledge, by threat and exhortation, into a small minority born with inborn propensity (as cited in Osborne, 2007, p. 117). Why has science education acquired this brand or label as a seemingly impossible subject which only a handpicked few could appreciate and comprehend? The history of science education suggests that the rigidity, prescriptive curriculum, and standardized form of science teaching as a subject based on memorization of facts on a very wide range of science content might have contributed to this perception (Matthews, 1994). The standardization of science teaching in the late 1800s was undertaken in order to address the problem of the lack of qualified science teachers. The school curriculum concept grew out of the London School Board in the United Kingdom in 1870, prompting the training of science teachers who can ably teach science courses to the general public. In the United States, the standardization of science education came in the 1890s and there was a great debate on what ideology should guide the school science curriculum: citizen science or professional training. In 1892, a group called the Committee of Ten was tasked by the National Education Association (NEA) to make recommendations for a school science curriculum. This commi ttee emphasized on science teaching as a citizen science that is important in grooming professional scientists in the future. As a result, the entire American education system applied the curriculum recommended by this Committee (Wallace and Loughran, 2003). The emphasis was theoretical and stressed on the teaching of facts and principles of the disciplines. The approach was foundationalist, where the curriculum attempts to make the future scientist learn all the basic concepts of every science discipline. Cohen opines that the tradition of attempting to make students memorize a series of dry facts was impractical because no practicing scientist readily memorizes such as the density of various substances, the atomic weight of different chemical elementsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the distance in light years from the Earth to various stars (and so on) (as cited in Osborne, 2007, p. 173). This tradition still dominates science education today, but has also been challenged with the introduction of other ideologies to guide science teaching. One is the applied approach where science is taught in relation to how everyday things function and contribute to society, and the liberal or humanistic approach, where emphasis is given on the implications of science in a historical and cultural sense (Matthews, 1994). Science Education: The Present The same concerns still exist in science education today. Attitudes toward science and mathematics among students remain negative and parental support for a science-geared education has declined (Osborne, 2007). K-12 science educators in many states in the US still follow the rigid, theoretical tradition in science teaching and conform strictly to the curriculum and content prescribed among age groups. Policy makers and education lobbyists have expressed concern that emphasis on facts and theories have resulted to teachers who merely cover the material, without teaching the material. The process of science is overlooked and the student fails to develop critical thinking skills and appreciation for the scientific method. Osborne (2007) articulates the tension in science teaching today. She argues that the science curriculum is geared at developing future scientists, hence, the stress on factual and theoretical presentation on a wide range of content. This contributes to the perception that becoming competent in science is practical only to students who want to pursue a career in the sciences someday. The aim of scientific literacy for all citizens is missed if this kind of thinking is not corrected. According to Krehbiel (1999), science teachers have the responsibility of clarifying to students that science competency is not only suited for the future scientist, it is also beneficial to non-scientists. Scientific literacy contributes to the development of problem-solving skills that greatly benefit non-scientists and can be applied in everyday life. Science education development today wants to enhance the competency of teachers. Teachers are central to the development of scientific literacy which is the end goal of science education (Osborne, 2007). Their qualifications and their attitudes play a great role in accomplishing this mission. State Boards have specific requirements and credentials for science teachers. Studies have shown that teachers who possess subject-specific degrees are better qualified to influence positive science outcomes among students than those who do not (Cronginer et al., 2003). However, secondary characteristics such as teachers attitudes and belief systems play a major role in motivating students to learn. Wallace Loughran (2003) suggest that there are many factors that contribute to the belief systems of science teachers, such as social pressure (or the need to conform to prescribed methods of instruction) and the apprenticeship of observation (or the mirroring of style of teaching they experienced a s students in their science classes). Attitudes about practice reflect upon a science teachers teaching style, which in turn influence comprehension. Teachers who consider themselves as transmitters of knowledge apply a teacher-centered style of instruction where the main goal is the delivery of the content or subject matter (Wallace Loughran, 2003). A teacher who espouses this tradition adheres strictly to the organization of content while the needs of students are secondary considerations only. Lesson plans are designed to conform to prescribed content with no concern for student readiness or aptitude. Wallace and Loughran (2003) identify this method as the most dominant form in science teachers. An alternative style is the student-centered method which focuses primarily students comprehension. A teacher who practices this style first considers his or her students prior knowledge or aptitude before planning lessons and concentrates on forming social interactions or collaborative relationships with students (Wallace L oughran, 2003). Science Education: The Future If the international rankings of American students in science and mathematics are predictive of the quality of science education, then there are great challenges to be overcome in the near future. As American students lag behind their European and Asian counterparts in science competency, reforms in policy and corporate support are today heavily emphasized to produce more globally competitive students in the future. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has contributed billions to encourage students to take science course in college. Organizations such as Tapping Americas Potential provide scholarships for more students to graduate with degrees in science, mathematics, and engineering (Osborne, 2007). In the education system, policy reforms are also under way. In 1996, the National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment (NCSESA) came up recommendations on how to better produce more scientifically literate students for the future. Standards related to science teaching were presented in the book National Science Education Standards, such as: The vision of science education described by the Standards requires changes throughout the entire system. What students learn is greatly influenced by how they are taught. The actions of teachers are deeply influenced by their perceptions of science as an enterprise and as a subject to be taught and learned. Student understanding is actively constructed through individual and social processes. Actions of teachers are deeply influenced by their understanding of and relationships with students. (p. 30) Among the reforms in elementary and secondary science education emphasize on the need for inquiry-based and hands-on curriculum used in schools. It has been a major thrust advocated in the National Science Education Standards and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Conclusion The development of science education has been made possible by the careful study of its past, an assessment of the present, and a positive outlook on the future. Remnants of the heavily theoretical orientation of science teaching of the 19th century are still practiced today. At present, there has been a noticeable decline in the competency of students in science and mathematics, pushing the drive for more reforms in science education. The recommendations, while focusing on the systemic need for science education reform, also highlight the important role of the science teacher in achieving better science outcomes among students. Teachers competency, decisions about the content, peer interactions, behaviors, attitudes, and belief systems significantly influence students comprehension, appreciation, and attitudes toward science.

Charles Lindbergh :: essays research papers

Charles Lindbergh Shortly after Charles Lindbergh landed, he was swarmed by 25,000 Parisians who carried the wearied pilot on their shoulders. They were rejoicing that Charles Lindbergh, the American aviator who flew the first transatlantic flight, had just landed at Le Bourget field in France. Having just completed what some people called an impossible feat, he was instantly a well-known international hero. Despite his pro-German stance during World War II, Charles Lindbergh is also an American hero. A record of his happiness and success exists in the material form of his plane hanging in the Smithsonian Institute; however, much of Lindbergh's life was clouded by turmoil. The life of Charles Lindbergh though best remembered for his heroic flight across the Atlantic, was marred by the kidnapping of his baby and his fall from favor with the American public following his pro-German stance during the 1930's. Charles Lindbergh, the famous American aviator, was born February 4, 1902 in Detroit, Michigan. As a boy he loved the outdoors and frequently hunted. He maintained a good relationship with his parents "who trusted him and viewed him as a very responsible child". His father, for whom young Charles chauffeured as a child, served in the U.S. Congress from 1907 to 1917. Lindbergh's love of machinery was evident by the age of 14; "He could take apart a automobile engine and repair it". Attending the University of Wisconsin, Lindbergh studied engineering for two years. Although he was an excellent student, his real interest was in flying. As a result, in 1922 he switched to aviation school. Planes became a center of his life after his first flight. His early flying career involved flying stunt planes at fair and air shows. Later, in 1925 he piloted the U. S. Mail route from St. Louis to Chicago. On one occasion while flying this route his engine failed and he did a nosedive towards the ground. Recovering from the nosedive he straightened the plane successfully and landed the plane unharmed. This skill would later be invaluable when he was forced to skim ten feet above the waves during his famous transatlantic flight. As early as 1919 Lindbergh was aware of a prize being offered by the Franco-American philanthropist Raymond B. Orteig of New York City. Orteig offered 25, 000 dollars to the individual who completed the first non-stop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. Ryan Air manufactured his single engine monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, so named because many of his investors were from that city. In preparation for the flight, Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St.

“1984″ vs. Nazi Germany Essay

I have always been fascinated with Adolf Hitler and World War II. It seems that throughout my education and lifetime, the topic of how Hitler’s Germany almost ruled the entire world was constantly mentioned in conversations, books, movies, or television programs. After reading George Orwell’s â€Å"1984†³ I saw that there were big similarities between the town of Oceiana and Nazi Germany. Both types of government were extremely similar; in 1984as well as in Nazi Germany, they killed and vaporized people with no remorse and had no respect for humanity. Therefore, when I read the quote, â€Å"it is impossible to found a civilization on fear and hatred and cruelty. It would never endure,† I immediately thought of Nazi Germany. Hitler’s evil drive for success clearly proved this quote to be true and shows that hatred and fear can’t in fact create a stable civilization. The Nazi’s ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945 when Germany surrendered and admitted defeat in their war of aggression, World War II. This was similar to the war that Oceiana was involved in throughout the book. Also, many German’s were taken to and killed at the concentration camps, just like Winston, along with many others, were taken to the Ministry of Love to be â€Å"taken care of.† In the book as well as in Germany there were no rights granted to citizens and freedom was merely a thought. Moreover, many children had to work at young ages and did not learn the proper skills in order to read or write. See more: Basic Economic problem of Scarcity Essay In the fictional Oceiana, children were also not allowed books and they were taken away because The Party was afraid that people would become too smart and try to overthrow the government. People in both of these countries were treated as slaves and humanity seemed completely outside the realm of possibility. Now, it is a known fact that Adolf Hitler was one of the 20th century’s most powerful dictators. He was responsible for World War II and the death of millions. Hitler saw a nation in despair and used this as an opportunity to gain political power. He saw a nation of unemployed and hungry citizens and promised them economic prosperity in return for absolute power. During his time he caused such a great deal of death and destruction He was indeed a great leader, yet his kingdom’s basis is what caused it to fall. Hitler’s racial and political hatred, along with the fear he instilled in his people were the major causes of the disintegration of his nation. Therefore, this event in history is a prime example of the fact that â€Å"it is impossible to found a civilization on fear and hatred and cruelty.† No one wants to be ruled by someone cruel and full of hate. This form of government didn’t and couldn’t ever endure. Citations * Adolf Hitler.† Jewish Virtual Library – Homepage. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. . * Adolf Hitler.† Spartacus Educational – Home Page. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. . * Adolf Hitler.† Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. .

7 Examples of Incorrect Punctuation with Quotation Marks

7 Examples of Incorrect Punctuation with Quotation Marks 7 Examples of Incorrect Punctuation with Quotation Marks 7 Examples of Incorrect Punctuation with Quotation Marks By Mark Nichol This post points out common errors committed when reporting what has been said or written. Each example is followed by a discussion of the problem and a revision that provides a solution. 1. She pointed out that, â€Å"Speed matters - the faster an organization learns, the faster it evolves.† The quotation, in isolation, is a complete sentence and is properly capitalized. But when dropped into a sentence, as in the example above, it becomes part of the sentence, just as if it were a paraphrase (â€Å"She pointed out that speed matters - the faster an organization learns, the faster it evolves.†) Therefore, a full-sentence quotation integrated into a full sentence like this is demoted and no longer merits capitalization- nor should it be preceded by a comma, because â€Å"she pointed out that† is not an attribution (see the example below pertaining to attribution), because it includes the transitional term that, which is essentially redundant to a comma: â€Å"She pointed out that ‘speed matters - the faster an organization learns, the faster it evolves.’† 2. â€Å"On the outside, he’s a warrior, but on the inside, he’s controlled and focused,† is how one of John Smith’s teammates described him to us. Similarly, when a quotation is integrated into a sentence at the head of a sentence, omit a comma at the end of the quotation unless it is necessary for the sentence’s grammatical structure: â€Å"On the outside, he’s a warrior, but on the inside, he’s controlled and focused† is how one of John Smith’s teammates described him to us. (In the sentence â€Å"She assured us that ‘he is normally very well behaved,’ as if that had anything to do with it,† the comma correctly separates the main clause from the subordinate clause.) 3. Jones screamed â€Å"help me† and â€Å"you’re assaulting me† as the detective forced her into an unmarked car. Quotations that follow an attribution- a phrase that identifies the speaker or writer and explicitly describes the character of the communication with a verb (such as said) and perhaps an adverb (such as â€Å"said sarcastically† or â€Å"said quietly†) or an adverbial phrase (such as â€Å"said as if to a child† or â€Å"said the other day†), are followed by a comma. In addition, when the quotation is a complete sentence, it should be capitalized: â€Å"Jones screamed, ‘Help me!’ as the detective forced her into an unmarked car.† (And, as further edited, an exclamation point should be included when a quotation is described as being delivered with volume or passion, just as a question mark is necessary when asking a question.) If the attribution pertains to more than one quotation, the quotations are treated as a compound phrase (using the generic structure â€Å"[this] and [that]†) and thus an additional comma, after and, is not required: â€Å"Smith screamed, ‘Help me!’ and ‘You’re assaulting me!’ as the detective forced her into an unmarked car.† (Here, unlike in the previous example, punctuation following the quotation is valid because like question marks, exclamation points, which are otherwise interchangeable with commas, provide contextual information that commas do not.) (This post about attribution and quotations is one of many at DailyWritingTips.com that discuss the topics; search the site using the keywords â€Å"attribution† and â€Å"quotations† for more information.) 4. His next comment chilled me, â€Å"We will be watching everything you do.† When what appears to be an attribution is self-contained- structured as a complete thought- the quotation should be set off from the phrase by a colon rather than a comma: â€Å"His next comment chilled me: ‘We will be watching everything you do.’† 5. I heard someone utter the words, â€Å"I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.† When a quotation is preceded by a phrase that provides context but is not a formal attribution, no punctuation should precede it: â€Å"I heard someone utter the words ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.’† (This error implies that those words are the only words; see the next example for more details.) 6. In this issue, we explore the question, â€Å"Are companies curious enough to really understand all aspects of their corporate culture?† The inclusion of a comma here incorrectly implies that a reference has been made in a previous sentence to a specific question, which is explicitly reproduced in this sentence; the resulting implication is that only one question exists, and this is it. But here, â€Å"the question† and the quotation that constitutes the question are appositives- two ways to describe an idea (here, a generic description of a thing- a question- and a specific reproduction of the thing)- and should not be interrupted by punctuation: â€Å"In this issue, we explore the question ‘Are companies curious enough to really understand all aspects of their corporate culture?’ 7. How many times do you want to reheat your leftovers? At some point, you have to say I’m not going to reheat this. You’ve microwaved it six times, and it’s no longer food.† In this passage, â€Å"I’m not going to reheat this† is a conjectural statement the writer is proposing that reader might say at some point. Even though the reader may not actually speak it or write it, the writer should style it as a quotation- and treat you have to say as an attribution: â€Å"How many times do you want to reheat your leftovers? At some point, you have to say, ‘I’m not going to reheat this.’ You’ve microwaved it six times, and it’s no longer food.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:What to Do When Words Appear Twice in a RowHow Many Sentences in a Paragraph?