Punctuation, Italics, and Capitalization

Good punctuation can make or break your essay. With good punctuation, you can create an essay that flows well and is interesting to read. Without it, your essay will be choppy and confusing. You do not need to memorize all of this, it is just meant to be used for reference.

The Period

A period is used

To end a statement.

e.g. I am 15 years old.

To end a mild command.

e.g. Meet me at the park.

To end an indirect question.

e.g. She asked why I was at the park.

With most abbreviations.

e.g. 59th Ave., Dr., p.m.

Note: Abbreviations for organizations, corporations, and government agencies do not usually use periods.

e.g. IBM, CIA, USMC

Pronounceable acronyms do not need periods.

e.g. UNESCO, WHO

The Comma

A comma is used: (Buckle in there's a lot of uses)

To separate words, phrases, and clauses in a series.

e.g. His vision, strength of character, and enterprise have brought about great changes.

To separate parts of a date or address or to set them apart from the rest of the sentence.

e.g. On March 6, 1978, Joe arrived in Dallas, Texas.

To separate a short question from a statement when the question is dependent upon the statement for its meaning.
e.g. It was Paul who bought the radio, wasn't it?
To set off words of direct address.

e.g. "Ann, can you type this paper?"

No, Joe, someone else will have to type it."

To set off the name of the speaker from a direct quotation.

e.g. "I hate to go home without any fish," said Jim, "but today the fish just aren't biting."

To separate two adjectives modifying the same noun equally if the adjectives could be joined by a conjunction. Adjectives should not be separated with a comma when the one nearer the noun is more closely related to the noun.

e.g. A tall, thin figure appeared in the doorway.

The figure was tall and thin.

To set off introductory verbal phrases modifying the subject of the sentence.

e.g. Driving carefully over the slippery pavement, we finally reached our house. (participle)

After unpacking the car, we took it to the garage. (prepositional phrase)

To advance in the profession, one must work hard. (infinitive)

To separate the main clauses in a compound sentence.

e.g. We finished our homework, and we listened to music for the rest of the evening.

To set off an adverb clause at the first of a sentence.

e.g. When I finished the assignment, I walked to the front of the room and turned it in.

Note: Adverb clauses appearing at the end of the sentence do not need commas.

To set off introductory prepositional phrases if they are lengthy, if several phrases are used together, or if the comma is needed for clarity. A single prepositional phrase at the beginning of a sentence does not usually require a comma.

e.g. At the beginning of the year 1950, they set off for their trip.

In 1950 they set off for their trip.

To set off parenthetical expressions.

e.g. He has, we understand, been very successful.

You are, however, very fortunate to obtain the position.

He is, to tell the truth, unable to meet the obligation.

To set off adjectives that follow the noun they modify.

e.g. The child, carefree and happy, wandered into the forest.

To set off contrasting expressions from the rest of the sentence.

e.g. It was John's attitude, not inefficiency, that lost him the job.

To set off an appositive from the rest of the sentence.

e.g. George Powers, a former football star, gave a talk.

To set off nonrestrictive adjective clauses from the rest of the sentence.

e.g. The boy, who is my friend, will come to visit us.

The Semicolon

A semicolon is used:

Before such words and expressions (conjunctive adverbs _adverbs that join) such as however, then, thus, so, hence, in fact, in truth, that is, therefore, etc., that join related independent clauses.

e.g. My brother has lived many years in the West; therefore, I understand his attitude.

Note: The conjunctive adverb is preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma.

Between two independent clauses when the conjunction is not expressed.

e.g. Alice looked at the letter for a long time; it was illegible.

The Colon

A colon is used:

To introduce lists. The words these, as follows, and the following are frequently used to introduce a list.

e.g. You are asked to bring the following: sandwiches, pickles, cake, and lemonade.

To follow the salutation in a business letter.

e.g. Dear Mr. Andrews:

To introduce a quotation with a complete sentence.

e.g. He quoted this proverb: "The rain falls on the just and the unjust."

The Dash

A dash may be used:

To set off a series of appositives.

e.g. A number of the flowers—daisies, larkspurs, lilies, and roses—were in bloom on Memorial Day.

Before a summary of preceding details in a sentence.

e.g. June, July, August—These are the usual vacation months.

To show an unexpected or abrupt change in thought or structure of a sentence.

e.g. Grace inherited a fortune—at least that is what we heard—from her uncle in California.

To make an appositive more emphatic.

e.g. There was only one possible means of entrance—the window in the coal bin.

Note: The dash is not to be confused with the hyphen (-), which is shorter.

Italics

Italics are used:

To indicate complete publications, such as titles of books, magazines, plays, newspapers, movies, ships, planes, trains, etc.

e.g. We saw Gone With the Wind yesterday.

The Queen Mary just docked.

To designate words when spoken of as words.

e.g. The word iron has an unusual history.

To emphasize a word or phrase. (Use sparingly.)

e.g. I'm betting she's going to be somebody.

Quatation Marks

Quotation marks are used:

To enclose a direct quotation.

e.g. "You can't do that," he shouted.

To set off titles of stories, articles, chapters, poems, essays, works of art, and radio and television programs.

e.g. We read "To Build a Fire" in English class.

To draw special attention to or set off a word or expression.

e.g. She described him as being "cute."

The Hyphen

A hyphen is used:

In writing fractions and in all numbers from 21 to 99.

e.g. two-thirds, forty-five

To separate the parts of a compound word.

e.g. self-control

Between the words of a group of words taking the place of a single adjective before a noun.

e.g. The student consulted an up-to-date dictionary.

It was a well-documented report.

Between a prefix and a proper noun or adjective.

e.g. She is neither un-American nor pro-German.

With the prefixes all-, self-, ex- when they mean "former" and sometimes between a prefix ending in a vowel and a root beginning with the same vowel.

e.g. God is all-knowing and all-powerful.

They liked the candidate's self-possession.

The ex-champ was dining with her ex-husband.

He entered the contest as the anti-intellectual candidate.

Parentheses

Parentheses are used to enclose a side remark or a parenthetical expression. Sometimes this is an appositive.

e.g. Beside this stream (we were camping here at the time) we unearthed a skeleton.

Note: No capital letter is needed. Unless "?" or "!" is needed, do not use end punctuation.

My typewriter (a Remington portable) has been restored.

The Apostrophe

An apostrophe is used:

To indicate possession.
- If the noun is singular, add an apostrophe and s.
- e.g. boy—boy's
- If the noun is plural ending in s, add an apostrophe only.
- e.g. boys—boys'
- If the noun is plural, but does not end in s, add an apostrophe and an s.
- e.g. women--women's
To represent omitted letters in contractions and omitted numbers in year designations but not to indicate plural dates or eras.

e.g. I will—I'll, should have—should've, you are—you're, did not—didn't, could not—couldn't

'04 (2004), Spring '97 (1997)

Note: Be sure the omitted letters are clearly understood from the context of what is written.

To form plurals of numbers and single letters.

e.g. She has four A's on her report card.

There were four 3's on the board.

The Exclamation Mark

A exclamation mark is used to:

Indicate a sudden order.

e.g. Get over here!

Indicate a intensity of emotion.

e.g. He has to do it!

Indicate a rise in volume.

e.g. Taxi!

End an interjection (if appropiate).

e.g. Yikes!, Wow!

The Question Mark

A question mark is used:

To indicate a query.

e,g, What time is it?

To indicate a request.

e.g. Could you help me make dinner?

To indicate a rhetorical question.

e.g. What could go wrong?

To indicate uncertainty.

e.g. He won the prize?

Capitalization

Use capitals with:

The first word of every sentence, most lines of poetry, or direct quotation.

e.g. Lydia said, "My lawn doesn't need mowing."

Proper nouns, proper adjectives, and titles that precede a name.

e.g. Judge Jones, Uncle James, Chinese food

All sacred names, such as the Bible, and all of its parts, the names of all religious sects, and the names of churches.

EXAMPLES: We found the quotation in the Old Testament in the book of "Job":"Follow the

Christ, the King.

"I mark'd Him in the flowering of His fields."

St. James Lutheran Church, Jewish, Catholic

The months, the days of the week, and all holidays.

e.g. Memorial Day, Monday, the fourth of June, the Fourth of July

Note: The seasons are not capitalized.

The words north, south, east, and west when they refer to a part of the country, but not when they refer to a direction.

e.g. The company feels that the Northwest offers greater opportunities than the East.

We were driving east.

Special events, historical eras, and geographical areas.

e.g. the Spanish-American War, the Louisiana Purchase, the Boston Tea Party, the Victorian Era

The names of special buildings, organizations, and companies.

e.g. Travelers Insurance Company, the Woolworth Building, Rotary Club

The titles of books, documents, stories, poems, musical works, art works, and plays. Capitalize all words in titles except prepositions, conjunctions, and the articles a, an, and the except when the first word in a title.

e.g. The Story of Bermuda, "On Carrying a Cane"

"Journey Through Brooklyn"

The Tempest

Note: Prepositions of more than four letters are frequently capitalized.

The word "president" when it refers to the President of the United States.

e.g. The President vetoed the bill.

The names and abbreviations of educational degrees.

e.g. Master of Science—M.S., Bachelor of Arts—B.A., Doctor of Philosophy—Ph.D.

The names of all races and nationalities.

e.g. Indian costumes, French soldiers, Mexican food

Mother and Father unless they are preceded by my,

e.g. I knew Father would coach the team.

I knew that my father would coach the team.

All languages.

e.g. Spanish, English, Latin, Russian

School subjects that are languages or that have numbers after them. Do not capitalize other subjects.

e.g. He is taking Russian.

1 plan to take algebra and art.

I plan to take Algebra I and Art Il.