The Difference Between Appositives and Descriptions

The Difference Between Appositives and Descriptions The Difference Between Appositives and Descriptions The Difference Between Appositives and Descriptions By Mark Nichol It is important for writers to distinguish between appositives and mere descriptions. A noun is said to be in apposition when it is set off from another noun that refers to the same idea. The phrase â€Å"set off† is significant, because a pair of commas separate the parenthetical apposition from its referent noun by a pair of commas. A description, however, needs no such bracketing. For example, take a look at this sentence: â€Å"Here’s what the CEO of Chrysler Sergio Marchionne said to his employees in a blog post.† â€Å"The CEO of Chrysler† and â€Å"Sergio Marchionne† are one and the same appositive so one or the other needs to be framed by commas. This can be accomplished in one of several ways: â€Å"Here’s what the CEO of Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, said to his employees in a blog post.† â€Å"Here’s what Sergio Marchionne, (the) CEO of Chrysler, said to his employees in a blog post.† (The optional the is often omitted in journalistic contexts and retained in more formal writing.) â€Å"Here’s what Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler’s CEO, said to his employees in a blog post.† (This is a less formal variant of the previous two options.) A description, meanwhile, such as the job title in this case, is followed directly by the name without intervening punctuation, and no comma should follow the name, either: â€Å"Here’s what Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said to his employees in a blog post.† The first sentence in each of the following pairs appeared in a printed or online publication with commas framing the name as if it was an appositive an error, and a distressingly common one. But notice below the differences between the statements labeled â€Å"Description† and the ones marked as â€Å"Apposition.† In a description, both the descriptive phrase and the name it applies to are essential; without either one, the sentence is incomplete. However, an apposition, being parenthetical, can be omitted without altering the integrity of the sentence. Description: â€Å"Ex-reservist and current war gamer Mike Brown admits his battle tactics may be a bit too aggressive for a real-life situation.† Apposition: â€Å"Mike Brown, an ex-reservist and current war gamer, admits his battle tactics may be a bit too aggressive for a real-life situation.† Description: â€Å"Kitchen queen Nigella Lawson comes to town, shops, chops, cooks, and raves about our produce.† Apposition: â€Å"Nigella Lawson, the kitchen queen, comes to town, shops, chops, cooks, and raves about our produce.† Description: â€Å"Conservative radio jock Michael Savage gets his own TV show.† Apposition: â€Å"A conservative radio jock, Michael Savage, gets his own TV show.† (The person’s name can come first, as in the previous examples, without a change in meaning, though the focus changes.) Description: â€Å"The San Francisco–based schooner C.A. Thayer begins a $9.6 million overhaul.† Apposition: â€Å"The C.A. Thayer, a San Francisco–based schooner, begins a $9.6 million overhaul.† (If the schooner has already been referenced generically, the sentence should read something like this: â€Å"The San Francisco–based schooner, the C.A. Thayer, begins a $9.6 million overhaul.†) Description: â€Å"The Emeryville studio Pixar hopes to cash in on its fish flick.† Apposition: â€Å"The Emeryville studio, Pixar, hopes to cash in on its fish flick.† (If two or more studios, each located in a different city, were previously mentioned, this sentence is correct. Otherwise, something like â€Å"Pixar, the Emeryville studio, hopes to cash in on its fish flick† would be appropriate.) Description: â€Å"Bryan Young is editor of the blog Big Shiny Robot.† Apposition: â€Å"Bryan Young is editor of the blog, Big Shiny Robot.† (The comma is necessary to indicate that the blog was already mentioned, but not by name. If not, the comma signals, fallaciously, that Big Shiny Robot is the only blog in existence.) 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 Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About NumbersCapitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and MovementsPrepositions to Die With

How to Cancel Your SAT Registration and Test

How to Cancel Your SAT Registration and Test SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You registered for the SAT, but as test day draws near, you find that you don’t want to take the test anymore! You may want to take the ACT instead, or maybe you decided to opt out of the SAT altogether and apply to colleges that don’t require you to report SAT scores. But what can you do? Well, first, don't panic! We at PrepScholar noticed how hard it was to find this information online, so we put it all together for you in one place. Here are some things you need to consider: Can you cancel the SAT test? Can you get your money back? Will this go on your permanent record? Do you need to cancel your SAT to change your test date? Canceling Your SAT Without a Refund If you don't want to take the test on a certain day and you don't want to reschedule, then to cancel the test, all you need to do is not show up on test day. The College Board emphatically states that it is not necessary to notify them of this. And they also note that no score reports will be sent out as a result. Your no-show will not show up on your record. Because the College Board will count it as a missed test, which could happen for any number of reasons, they do not keep records of who misses their tests. The way they see it, you paid the fees already, and if you miss the test, then that's on you. This is good, because it means there's only one thing you have to do to cancel your SAT. Just don’t show up for the test. However, if you do this, you won't get a refund for the test you missed. If you're interested in getting some of your money back, keep reading. Canceling Your SAT With a Partial Refund Unfortunately, no matter how early you cancel your SAT registration, you won't get a full refund. Therefore, it's best to hold off on actually completing the online registration in the first place until you’re absolutely sure you want to take the test on that date. Once you've registered, at best, you'll only get a small part of your money back. How Do You Get the Refund? The College Board states that students who don't want to transfer their registration to another test date or location should contact Customer Service. We’ve included the Customer Service information below for your convenience. If you call Customer Service, it’s possible you may receive a partial refund of up to $10. (The full price you paid for the SAT is $46, or $60 with the essay, so they refund you only about 1/5 of the total.) In order to get the refund, you must call at least five days before your exam date. After that, there's no chance of a refund. Remember, once you call and cancel, there is no going back - you will not be able to take the test on that test date and the College Board will not report the scores from this test date. Refunding Question and Answer Service If you ordered the Question and Answer Service but are now canceling your SAT registration, it's also possible to get that fee refunded. To get the refund, you must call Customer Service. Any additional score reports that you ordered are also refundable if you were absent the day of the test. Refunds are processed six weeks after the test date. Is There a Difference Between Canceling and Not Taking the Test? According to the College Board, there is no actual difference between calling and canceling your SAT and not taking the SAT on test day. In other words, whichever action you decide to take, their records of you will not show any difference. The only difference is monetary. If you call in to cancel at least five days before, you may get a partial refund ($10). Perhaps just as importantly, canceling means that you may get refunded for any additional services you paid for, like QAS. Changing Your SAT Exam Date Remember, you should only cancel your SAT if you don't ever plan on taking another SAT. If all you want to do is change the date of your SAT, you don't need to cancel your test to do that. However, there is a fee for rescheduling your SAT (although it's less than canceling your SAT and registering for a new test). It costs $29 to reschedule your SAT, and you can do this anytime, even after your original test date (as long as you didn't show up for it). We have an entire guide on how to reschedule your SAT, but below are the key steps to take: Sign in to your College Board account. On the â€Å"My SAT† page, you’ll see the tests you’re registered for. Click â€Å"Change Registration† under the test that you want to reschedule. You’ll next see a new page with your SAT admission ticket information on it. At the bottom of the page, click â€Å"Change my test date.† You’ll be brought to a new page where, under â€Å"Test Date†, you can see the new SAT date(s) you can change to. Select the one that works best for you. Next select your test center, confirm your personal information is correct, and pay the reschedule fee. When you’re finished, you’ll receive an email confirmation and a new admission ticket with your updated test date. How to Contact College Board Customer Service By online form: Contact CollegeBoard Online Here By telephone (the best and fastest way to get a response) Domestic: 866-756-7346 International: 212-713-7789 Services for students with disabilities: 212-713-8333 TTY (for deaf or hearing impaired) Domestic: 888-857-247 TTY (for deaf or hearing impaired) International: 609-882-48 Summary To go over your options once more, here's what you can do to cancel your SAT test. Canceling before the test: If you cancel up to 5 days before the test date, then it's possible to get a refund up to $10, plus the QAS or score reports refunded. Day of the test: If you simply do not show up to the test and cancel by default, then you do not get any test refund, but you can still cancel the QAS for your 'missed test'. After you take the test: If you want to cancel after taking the test, then you should look into How to Cancel Your SAT Scores. There is a strict deadline on this, so make sure you send them the cancellation before midnight, the Wednesday after your test. What’s Next? If you want to re-register for the SAT, then check out Step-by-Step Guide with Pictures SAT Registration. Needed to cancel because of the test location? Then check out How You Can Pick the Best SAT Test Locations. Maybe you’re not sure whether you want to take the SAT, but keep in mind Future Years’ SAT Test Dates, Schedules, and Deadlines Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: