Definition
 Punctuation
is used in writing to show the stress, ryhthm, and tone of
the spoken word.
It
is also used to clarify the meaning of sentences.
Examples
There
are four common marks of punctuation:
These
represent pauses of increasing length in a sentence.
Use
The
following paragraph uses all the four common
marks of punctation.
Punctuation should always be used
lightly, even sparingly, and as accurately as possible. You
will discover through practice that there are three basic rules: the
comma, semicolon, and colon mark increasingly long
pauses; full stops are used to separate distinct sentences; and
a new paragraph should always be employed to begin a new topic
or point of argument.
The
four most common marks of punctuation are dealt with in detail
in their own sections:
The
other common marks of punctuation are described below:
Some miscellaneous
remarks on punctuation.
Brackets (these)
are used to insert a remark (like this, for instance) or a qualification
of some sort into a sentence.
Take
care! If they are used too frequently they create a choppy, unsettling
effect.
Full
details in the section on brackets.
The dash (—)
is used to indicate a sudden change of thought, an additional comment,
or a dramatic qualification.
That was the end of the matter — or so we thought.
Dashes
can also be used in pairs to insert a comment or a short list:
Everything — furniture, paintings, and books — survived
the fire.
They
should not be used as a substitute for brackets,
or mixed with them.
The
dash is not the same thing as the hyphen (which
is shorter) but this distinction is rarely made in the UK.
The exclamation
mark (!) indicates surprise, anger, or alarm.
Get out of this house at once!
The ship is sinking! Jump in the lifeboat!
Exclamation
marks should be used with restraint. The more frequently they occur,
the weaker becomes their effect.
The question
mark [?] is used to show that a question has been
raised.
The
question mark is always placed at the end of the sentence.
The
following examples are questions:
What are you going to do?
How much is that doggy in the window?
Why is that woman staring at us?
The
following are not questions.
He wondered what to do next.
She asked herself the same question.
What will happen to them is a mystery.
The hyphen [ - ]
is a short dash used to connect (parts of) words.
These
might be prefixes:
re-enter co-operate pre-enrol
They
can be compound adjectives:
multi-storey car park extra-marital sex
They
can be used when when forming compounds such as
son-in-law couldn't-care-less
Full
details in the section on hyphens.
The oblique
stroke [ / ] is sometimes used to separate items in
a list:
oil/water mix |
|
Kent/Surrey boundary |
italic/Roman type |
|
1972/73 |
It
should not be used as a substitute for words such as and, plus,
and or.
Try
to avoid the either/or construction and such lazy (and ugly)
compounds as 'an entire social/sexual/ideological system'.
The
oblique stroke might be useful when taking notes, but it should
be avoided in formal writing for the sake of elegance.
Miscellaneous
remarks on punctuation.
Many
aspects of punctuation are ultimately a matter of personal preference
and literary style.
The
general tendency in most public writing today is to minimise the
amount of punctuation used.
There
are also minor differences in practice between the UK and the USA.
The
suggestions made above are based generally on conventions in the
UK.
Double
punctuation ["What's the matter!?"] is rarely used, except
in very informal writing such as personal letters or diaries.
The
combination of colon-plus-dash [: — ] is never necessary.
Some people use this [it's called 'the pointer'] to indicate that
a list will follow, but the colon alone
should be sufficient.
The
importance of punctuation can be illustrated by comparing the two
following letters. In both cases, the text is
the same. It's the punctuation which makes all the difference!
| Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind,
thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior.
You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings
whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy -- will you let me
be yours?
Gloria
|
| Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind,
thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior.
You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings
whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me
be?
Yours, Gloria
|
|
