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.