Answers to Questions About Hyphens

Answers to Questions About Hyphens Answers to Questions About Hyphens Answers to Questions About Hyphens By Mark Nichol Here are several questions from DailyWritingTips.com readers about hyphenation, followed by my responses. 1. Please help settle an ongoing debate in my office. We often use the phrase â€Å"City of Los Angeles-owned property.† Of the following examples, which, if any, is correct? a) City of Los Angeles-owned property b) City of Los Angeles -owned property c) City of Los Angeles owned property Of course we could change the wording to something like â€Å"property owned by the City of Los Angeles† but that would take the fun out of the debate! The correct answer is d), â€Å"none of the above.† If the reference were generic, â€Å"city-owned property† would be correct, but when a phrase that represents a single concept (such as â€Å"City of Los Angeles†) is attached to a one-word adjective to form a phrasal adjective that precedes a noun, an en dash is used in place of a hyphen to signal that the entire phrase, not just the final word in it, is being attached to the adjective: â€Å"City of Los Angeles–owned property† (not â€Å"City of Los Angeles-owned property,† which appears to suggest â€Å"Angeles-owned property having to do with the City of Los†). (Many readers will miss the subtlety of this convention, which is also little known among writers, even those in the journalism and publishing realms if you see an en dash, thank an editor! but it observes a useful distinction.) Even correctly rendered, however, the phrase is cumbersome. Now that the debate has been settled, relax the wording to â€Å"property owned by the City of Los Angeles.† 2. I recently wrote a hyphenated word, and the spell-checking program underlined it and took out the hyphen. So I replaced the hyphenated word and made it unhyphenated. To my great surprise, when I did that, the spell-checking program highlighted it again and put the hyphen back in! You say look it up? A very good idea, but if a spell checker can’t make up its mind, can we rely on different dictionaries having the same spellings as each other? That’s puzzling! But take solace in the fact that spell-checking programs will never prompt you to misspell a word; they just might prompt a variant spelling. And, no, dictionaries don’t always agree on the best variant, but they never lead one astray. Just use a single dictionary (and, if you write for a client or a company, find out which dictionary it prefers). 3. â€Å"The less-traveled road† is correct. Is a hyphen required for â€Å"the road less traveled†? No. As is usually the case, the hyphen is omitted when the phrasal adjective follows the noun. 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 Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Arrive To vs. Arrive At"Certified" and "Certificated"8 Great Podcasts for Writers and Book Authors

University of Puget Sound Admissions and Admit Rate

University of Puget Sound Admissions and Admit Rate Admission to the University of Puget Sound is not highly selective. In 2016, the university had a 79 percent acceptance rate. Successful applicants tend to have high school GPAs above a B and above average standardized test scores (note, however, that ACT and SAT scores are optional).   application, those interested in the University of Puget Sound will need to send in official high school transcripts, a personal essay, and letters of recommendation. For complete information and guidelines about applying, be sure to visit the University of Puget Sounds website, or get in touch with the admissions office. Will You Get In? Calculate Your Chances of Getting In  with this free tool from Cappex Admissions Data (2016) University of Puget Sound Acceptance Rate: 79 percentGPA, SAT and ACT graph for Puget SoundWhat these SAT numbers meanTop Washington colleges SAT comparisonWhat these ACT numbers meanTop Washington colleges ACT comparison University of Puget Sound Description The University of Puget Sound is grounded in a strong liberal arts curriculum that has earned the college a chapter of the prestigious  Phi Beta Kappa  Honor Society. The University of Puget Sound can boast of an 13 to 1  student / faculty ratio. The school is located in Tacoma, Washington, so students have easy access to the cultural and social opportunities of the city, as well as proximity to the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges. Students come from 46 states and 8 countries, and on the financial front, the great majority of students receive grant aid. Student life is active with over 100 clubs and organizations, and 23 varsity sports teams that compete in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Enrollment (2016) Total Enrollment: 2,791  (2,508 undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 40  percent male / 60 percent female99 percent full-time Costs (2016  - 17) Tuition and Fees: $46,552Books: $1,000 (why so much?)Room and Board: $11,800Other Expenses: $2,300Total Cost: $61,652 University of Puget Sound Financial Aid (2015  - 16) Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 100 percentPercentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 99 percentLoans: 45 percentAverage Amount of AidGrants: $19,322Loans: $8,660 Academic Programs Most Popular Majors:  Art, Biology, Business Administration, Communication Studies, Economics, English, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology What major is right for you?  Sign up to take the free My Careers and Majors Quiz at Cappex. Graduation, Retention and Transfer Rates First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 86 percentTransfer Out Rate: 16 percent4-Year Graduation Rate: 70 percent6-Year Graduation Rate: 80 percent Intercollegiate Athletic Programs Mens Sports:  Basketball, Crew, Football, Swimming, Cross Country, Tennis, BaseballWomens Sports:  Lacrosse, Softball, Volleyball, Swimming, Golf, Crew, Track and Field Data Source National Center for Educational Statistics If You Like University of Puget Sound, You May Also Like These Schools Reed College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphWhitman College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of Washington: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphGonzaga University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphSanta Clara University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphWhitworth University: Profile  Stanford University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphLewis Clark College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphSeattle University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of Portland: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphWashington State University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT Graph