Transcript Schemes of interruption and omission

Adapted from: Everyday Use and http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/silva.htm
DEVICES FOR INTERRUPTION AND
OMISSION
INTERRUPTION
Used to interrupt flow of passage to provide
necessary information to the readers right away
 Parenthesis – insertion of material that interrupts
the flow of the sentence (like what you would put
in parentheses)

Sports night at the school always brings out the wouldbe jocks—who would expect any different?—ready to
show that they’re potentially as good as the varsity
players.
 Dashes – most commonly used punctuation to set off
an interruptive word, phrase, or clause
 Can also use parentheses

INTERRUPTION (2)

Appositive – two coordinating elements are set
side by side, and the second explains or
modifies the first
 Joe
Weider, a pioneer in personal weight training,
would marvel at the facilities open to today’s
student athletes.
 Notice that this scheme is set off by commas.
 Also notice that we are modifying NOUNS with
NOUN phrases
INTERRUPTION (3)

Apostrophe – interrupts the discussion and directly
addresses a person or personified thing, present or
absent



Often used to display intense emotion, which can no longer
be held back
O books who alone are liberal and free, who give to all who
ask of you and enfranchise all who serve you faithfully! -Richard de Bury
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and
stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your
children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her
wings, and you would not have it! --Luke 13:34 (NASB)
OMISSION

Writers sometimes omit material from a sentence
so that its rhythm is heightened and sped up


Helps readers pay attention to the effect of the prose
Ellipsis – any omission of words
Context of the overall passage provides the meaning
 In a hockey power play, if you pass the puck to the wing,
and he to you, then you can close in on the goal.

 The
phrase “and he to you” omits the words “passes it”