MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

I want to chat about four grammar/convention items:

• that v. which
• that v. who (things v. people)
• punctuation with quotation marks, the US convention
• commas with appositives (extra information or details, set off by TWO commas) 

Now, on to paragraph coherence, a style topic, in the coffee cup memo:

Lesson on paragraphs: Coherence in a paragraph (sample content but the paragraphs might not be complete for the purposes of your coffee cup paper):

"Meh" paragraph
Plastic and paper cups pose problems for recycling. Ceramic cups are very energy intensive to produce. Recycling seems environmentally-sound.  Paper does not degrade deep within most landfills and the plastic coating is also difficult.  Not all plastic can be recycled.  You need to check the bottom of the container.  Landfills are increasingly full.  There is a huge "patch of garbage" in the Pacific Ocean.

Better paragraph
Paper and plastic both pose disposal problems.  First, not all plastic can be recycled. Check the bottom of the plastic container. "No. 1" and "No. 2" types can be recycled by most facilities. Second, paper does not degrade deep within most landfills because of low oxygen conditions. The plastic coating also interferes with decay. Landfills are increasingly full.  There is a huge "patch of garbage" in the Pacific Ocean.

Even better paragraph (can you see the re-thinking of content as well as sentence-level revision)
Paper and plastic both pose disposal problems.  First, not all plastic can be recycled. Check the bottom of the plastic container. "No. 1" and "No. 2" types can be recycled by most facilities. Second, paper does not degrade deep within most landfills because of low oxygen conditions. The plastic coating also interferes with decay. Landfills are increasingly full, with paper and plastic part of the waste stream. Not all plastic is recycled or landfilled. MISSING SOMETHING? According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) huge "patches of garbage" in the Pacific Ocean are further evidence of the environmental harm posed by plastic that "leaks" out of disposal/recycling systems.

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Life cycle analysis definition paragraph content items:

use a source sentence like

• According to ........Life cycle analysis (LCA) assesses......
• Life cycle analysis is the primary decision criteria used in this memo to evalauate our coffee cup choice.

Note the life cycle definition paragraph leads (transitions) to either

• Martin Hocking's work uses LCA to assess the energy intensivity of paper, styrofoam, and ceramic cups. OR
• Charles Moore's work on the fate of ocean plastic can be understood as focusing on the "grave" or last stage of ilfe cycle analysis.

Be sure to establish the ethos of both Hocking and Moore, in these research summary or evaluation paragraphs.  Recall what we did with Allen Davis.  Use signal phrases on these huge paragraphs.

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Ok, let's focus a bit on the case for the Oxford comma: