A quick reference this time for those annoying punctuation issues that commonly cause us to write inconsistently.
You know there’s a rule about parentheses and period placement, but you’re unsure about it. The result is you have to make a decision about this and other punctuation issues every time you’re faced with them. It slows you down, interrupts your thought, wastes your effort, and makes it hard to write consistently.
Our Top Ten List
Here’s a top ten list for punctuation problems (by no means exhaustive, but familiar to many of us).
- Apostrophe. For the possessive of it, make sure you remove its apostrophe. But it’s a requirement for it is or it has. Dave Barry famously advised that an apostrophe is used to indicate that an s is coming; this is true in the case of pluralized words, where the s may otherwise be confused with the word itself (no if‘s about it).
- Capitals. Capitalize sentences and quoted sentences; as our editor told us, “Remember that rule!” Capitalize proper nouns such as people, places and things. Don’t capitalize common nouns which are generic classes of things. Microsoft produces software called Office from its Redmond office. That reminds me; when you refer to something like Microsoft Online Services, follow the inventor or owner’s capitalization. As a general rule, use capitals in headers except for logistical words like articles (a, the) conjunctions (if, and) and prepositions (in, for).
- Dashes, Colons, and Semicolons. Dashes are almost as powerful as highlight pens, and so should generally be used just as sparingly. They can emphasize small things – words – or entire phrases – which might otherwise be overlooked. They can also mark a switch of emphasis – and I mean this most sincerely – or additional information – often too important to be enclosed in parentheses.
- Colons are much more straightforward: they mark examples, explanations such as this, and lists. The important thing is not to combine them with words or phrases that already provide that function, such as: this.
- Finally there are semicolons, which also link independent phrases or clauses, but less dramatically. Sometimes you can link two short sentences with a semicolon; this creates a single sentence that has a better rhythm. If your writing seems too staccato, maybe you need more semicolons.
- Hyphenation. Simple rule: if in doubt, leave it out. Hyphens are often a historical waypoint in the migration of two words to one (for example: touch line, touch-line, touchline). So if you’re unsure then you’re better off ahead of this game rather than behind it; go straight to a single word. Hyphens are often introduced in an adjectival/adverbial role, where they modify a thing or an action. In these cases, eventually, the modifier and the modified are merged (I know I risk pigeonholing here).
- Inside or Outside? In general, punctuation accompanies the material quoted or parenthesized. Keep punctuation marks inside quotes and parentheses where it’s part of the quoted material. If the quoted or parenthesized material is inside a sentence, or at the end of a sentence, or if the punctuation is a colon or semicolon, place it outside the quotes or parentheses instead. “Why should I?” you may ask (because it’s a pain to remember all these rules).
- Italics. Use italics to indicate you’re referring, rather than directly using, words or names; for example, the word italics in this sentence or Keats’ use of the word fibble.
- Numbers. Spell them out at the beginning of sentences, or if that’s too unwieldy, move them inside the sentence and use figures. Rule of thumb: within text, use figures for numbers above 99. Spell out ordinals (ranked numbers) like first, sixth, eleventh instead of using figures. Spell out percentages and use the word percent. Use all figures inside tables.
- Quotation. Quote titles of short works, articles, episodes, and blog entries like “Common Punctuation Problems”, but use italics to refer to major works, series titles or collections such as readytext’s rewrite newsletter or Lambs Tales from Shakespeare.
- Serial Commas. The most unassuming of punctuation marks, commas try to quietly order things without drawing any attention. In a list of three or more items, use a comma after each of them to help keep them separate. “My parents, Mother Theresa, and the Pope” is a common example that always raises a smile, a smirk, or a complaint.
- Spaces. Notorious for evading automated grammar checking, spaces should be avoided whenever you have to think about it, and double spaces are almost invariably optional. In general, don’t use spaces before punctuation marks of any sort (apart from parentheses and quotes). You don’t need a second space after a period.
The Importance of Being Consistent
A good rule is that consistency is as important as accuracy. Even if they’re not familiar with the rules, readers are surprisingly good at picking up inconsistency in punctuation, and this can lead to a sense of uncertainty or lack of authority in your writing. And even if you make a mistake, if it’s consistently made then it’s easier for your editor to correct.
So pick a rule and stick with it until your editor successfully argues you out of it. And let me know when you spot the punctuation errors in this blog!