| Back
to Index
Why Punctuation Really
Matters?
By Linda Correli
"Surely, there is one supreme
rule: that punctuation is best which best serves to make writing
subtle, supple, delicate, nuanced and efficient. Of course you
can write using only periods and commas for punctuation. You can
cook using only salt and pepper for seasoning. But why do it when
there are so many seasonings pleasing to a mature palate?"
George Will
The purpose of
punctuation is to help make clear the meaning of printed or written
language.
Correct punctuation
is based, in varying degrees, on three things:
(1) Thought or meaning,
(2) The structural patterns of
the sentence,
(3) The conventions of the age.
The practice
of writers may be codified into a number of rules or principles.
These rules or principles govern a very large number of typical
situations in writing. At times, certain marks are optional, depending
on the decisions of publishers or on levels of usage; on the whole,
however, a university students will succeed if he or she follows
codified usage. When in doubt, one can always resort to common
sense.
Using the Period
*
Periods are used to mark the end of a declarative sentence, a
mild command, or an indirect question:
1. I wish I owned
a couple of acres of land now, in which case I would not be writing
autobiographies for a living. - Mark Twain
2. Please do not smoke.
3. Junior asked Susanna whether
she wanted any more pancakes.
*
Periods are used to mark the end of some abbreviations
Titles: Mr.,
Capt., Hon., Ms. Degrees: B.A., Ph.D.,
M.D., B.Sc. States: Calif., N.Y.,
Tex. (But not in postal abbreviations
- CA, NY, TX) Names of political entities: U.K.,
U.S.A.,
C.I.S. Months: Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Names: T.S. Eliot, John
F. Kennedy
*Generally,
you don't need periods with acronyms (pronounceable word, such
as UNESCO, WHO, formed from the initial letters of a multiword
title), with capital-letter abbreviations of technical terms,
or with abbreviated names of agencies and organizations:
CBS, TVA, IBM, NATO, ID, IQ, FM,
CIA, VISTA
*
Periods are used to mark letter or numerals used in vertical lists:
Woven into the
history of the human race is the history of its four great religions:
1.
Buddhism
2.
Judaism
3.
Christianity
4.
Islam
*
Periods are not used after another period or other end mark.
1.
To please our customers, we have ordered scarce materials
from Home Supplies Company, Inc. We don't want customers saying,
"Why don't you have what I want?"
2.
Please give me a wake up call at about 6:00 A.M.
Using the Question
Mark
*
A question mark is used to mark the end of a direct question.
Would you feel
better as someone else? - Alice Walker
*
A question mark is used to indicate uncertainly within a statement.
Socrates (470?-399
B.C.), the Greek philosopher and teacher, was condemned to death
for his unpopular ideas.
Using the Exclamation
Mark
*
The exclamation point is used to mark an expression of strong
feeling.
Poor Columbus!
He is a minor character now, a walk-on in the middle of American
history. - Frances Fitzgerald
*
Because exclamation points make a special appeal to the reader,
you should use them sparingly. If oh introduces an expression
of strong feeling, put the exclamation point at the end of the
expression. Never use more than one exclamation point after an
exclamation.
1. Oh, that is
unspeakable!
2. "Great guns!" he
shouted in consternation.
Learning how
to use punctuation correctly will help you express ideas in more
effective ways and will also help you to see how punctuation can
give you the freedom to write new kinds of sentences.
About the author:
Linda Correli is a staff writer of http://www.CustomResearchPapers.us/
and an author of the popular online tutorial for students "What
Teachers Want: Master the Art of Essay Writing in 10 Days",
available at http://www.Go2Essay.com/ Visit Linda's web log at
http://custom-research-papers.blogspot.com/
This Article was found at: http://www.articleblast.com/
|