Apostrophe

- used to show possession or mark omissions in contractions.

·         Forms the possessive case of nouns and pronouns.

                                Sean’s book     the boy’s mother   Aristophanes’ play

·         Marks the omission of letters and numbers.

                                didn’t              o’clock            class of ‘89

·         Forms plural of numbers, figures, punctuated abbreviations, symbols, and letters referred to as words.

                His 7’s look like 1’s.    The two teachers have Ph.D.’s.

Colon

– used to call attention to words that follow it -- follows a completed main clause, and comes before one of the following: a list of items, a word, phrase, or clause that explains or restates the idea expressed in the main clause, or a direct quotation.

·         Must be followed by two spaces when typed.

·         Follows the greeting of a formal or business letter.

                Dear Sir:                                Dear Ms. Smith:

·         Separates numerals indicating hours and minutes or volume and page numbers.

                10:00 A.M.            VII:  108-110

·         Introduces a list.

                Purchase the following ingredients:  flour, sugar, and vanilla.

·         Is always placed outside quotation marks.

Semicolons

– used to connect major sentence elements of equal grammatical rank.

·         Separate independent clauses not connected with a coordinate conjunction.

                Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what stings is justice     H.L. Mencken

·         Separate independent clauses connected with a conjunctive adverb or a transitional phrase.

                Many corals grow slowly; in fact, the creation of a coral reef can take centuries.

                Speeding is illegal; furthermore, it is dangerous.

·         Separate items in a sentence that contain commas.

                Classic science fiction sagas are Star Trek, with Mr. Spock; Battlestar Galactica, with its Cyclon Raiders; and Star Wars, with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Darth Vader.

End Marks – two spaces follow end marks when typed

·         A Period                              

o    ends a sentence that makes a statement.

o    follows an individual’s initials.

o    follows some abbreviations.

o    does not follow abbreviations that are acronyms.

o     always placed inside quotation marks.

o    My mother said, “I know you’ll do well in college.”

·         A Question mark

o    ends a direct question.

o    does not end an indirect question.

o    is placed inside quotation marks when it punctuates the quotation.

o    He asked, “Can you help?”

o    is placed outside the quotation marks when it punctuates the whole sentence.

o    Did she say, “Finish it tomorrow”?

·         An Exclamation point

o    ends a sentence that expresses strong feelings, but usually should be avoided.

o    is placed inside quotation marks when it punctuates the quotation.

o    He screamed, “Help!”

o    is placed outside the quotation marks when it punctuates the whole sentence

o    She said, “Finish it tomorrow”!

Parentheses

– used to enclose supplemental material, minor digressions, and afterthoughts  -- use sparingly.

·         Enclose explanatory material that interrupts the normal sentence structure.

·         Punctuation goes inside the parentheses when intended to mark the material within.

·         Punctuation goes outside the parentheses when intended to mark the whole sentence.

o    Have you ever skied at Big Sky?  (I haven’t, but I intend to this winter!)

Brackets

– used to enclose words or phrases that the writer inserts in an otherwise word-for-word quotation.

·         allows the writer to insert other material for clarification

·         Audubon reports that “if there are not enough young to balance deaths, the end of the species [California condor] is inevitable.”

Quotation Marks

·         enclose direct quotations and some titles such as magazine, newspaper articles, episodes  of television or radio programs, songs, poems, and short stories.

·         Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks.  Semicolons and colons go outside. 

·         Exclamation points and question marks go either inside or outside, according to the demands of the quoted material.

o    They again demanded “complete autonomy”; the demand was rejected as promised.

o    “Brian,” called Mom, “I can’t hear you.”

Underlining or Italics

-designate titles of longer works with underlining or italics. 

·         The writer may use italics when typing material.  When using the web, underlining may indicate a hot link. 

·         When underlining or italics is not available with email, precede and follow the word with one underscore or an asterisk.    

Spelling

·         Use a dictionary and check the spelling of unfamiliar words. 

·         Use a spellchecker on any word-processed work.  Part of your job is to check for correct spelling.

Numbers

·         Numbers that can be expressed in one or two words are usually spelled out; three or more words are usually spelled out.

                                ten            twenty-seven                      394                         2001

·         A combination of words and numerals can be used for larger numbers.

                                26 million

·         Use words, not numbers, to begin a sentence.

                                One hundred fifty children need immediate dental treatment.

·         Use numerals for money, time, date, pages, address, and statistics.

                                $102,00    4 out of 5 consumers    average age 37, average weight 180  

volume 3, chapter 4, page 42        4:00P.M.

Sources

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Additional Resources

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