article, comma, hyphen
The usage of these items is difficult for me.
1
Why doesn't "unified theme" need the definite article in the sentence below.
I sometime can not decide whether I should use the definite article or zero article.

"As you are doubtless aware, you need to develop a picture of the thesis as a whole, to have a clear idea of the argument or unified theme and how to structure, as well as to understand the relevance and role of each part."

Another question is What "As" stands for in this sentence.

2
Do ", weather" and "-and the fact ........-" mean same thing the mice fighters?

"The mouse invasion ended in April, the time of the cold and rainy season in Australia. Thanks to the mice fighters, the weather- and the fact that the mice ate many of their own kind- the battle was over."

Why does this sentence need hyphen? It seems that I can take away those hyphen. Can I?

Thanks a lot.

Question

article, comma, hyphen
The usage of these items is difficult for me.
1
Why doesn't "unified theme" need the definite article in the sentence below.
I sometime can not decide whether I should use the definite article or zero article.

"As you are doubtless aware, you need to develop a picture of the thesis as a whole, to have a clear idea of the argument or unified theme and how to structure, as well as to understand the relevance and role of each part."

Another question is What "As" stands for in this sentence.

2
Do ", weather" and "-and the fact ........-" mean same thing the mice fighters?

"The mouse invasion ended in April, the time of the cold and rainy season in Australia. Thanks to the mice fighters, the weather- and the fact that the mice ate many of their own kind- the battle was over."

Why does this sentence need hyphen? It seems that I can take away those hyphen. Can I?

Thanks a lot.

Answer

In the first case there is a "the" before "unified theme", but it does not need to be expressed because there is a " the" before the preceding noun - "argument".  When you have a list of things which need the same article, you must use the correct article with the first thing but you don't need to use an article at all for the other things.

The first "As" means "because".

The two hyphens surround a distinct clause.  You could exchange the hyphens - which are less formal - for commas, which are more formal.  You shouldn't omit punctuation altogether, though this mistake is common.

Answer

Hi Kohei,

1) "Unified theme" does have the definite article. It's implied based on the rest of the sentence. When you see "the" for "argument", it also includes "unified theme".

"to have a clear idea of the argument or (the) unified theme..."

2) A dash and a hyphen can look the same, but a dash doesn't touch other words. Any phrase between two dashes is a side-comment. So, it was mainly the mice fighters that eliminated the mice, but also the fact that those mice were cannibals.

Answer

Thank you all. The answers helps me a lot to understand those items.