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Punctuation and Capitalization
The rules for each of the marks of punctuation and for capitalization are divided into two parts. The rules in the boxes are more basic than the remainder. If you learn the basic rules, you will be able to punctuate and capitalize correctly in most situations. Refer to the additional rules when less common problems arise. Note that plagiarism is briefly discussed along with the use of quotation marks, since failure to use quotation marks can lead to this serious academic crime. For more detailed information on plagiarism, see "Internet Resources."
[Apostrophes] [Brackets] [Colons] [Commas] [Dashes] [Ellipses] [Exclamation Point] [Hyphens] [Italics] [Parentheses] [Periods] [Plagiarism] [Question Marks] [Quotation Marks] [Semicolons] [Capital Letters]
A. The Apostrophe (')
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1.to indicate omissions in contracted forms
Contractions are frequently used in conversation and informal writing. However, they should be avoided in academic writing. 2. in the word o'clock (originally of the clock) 3. to indicate possession, origin, or measure
Exception: Non-living things (except for places, times, and money followed by "worth") and expressions containing one of normally use a prepositional phrase beginning with of to indicate possession.
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4. to mark the omission of one or more digits in a number
5. to form the past participle of certain verbs derived from nouns and the plurals of letters mentioned as letters, numbers mentioned as numbers, words mentioned as words, and abbreviations
Exception: The apostrophe may be omitted when the plural of years referring to a decade is formed: 1880's or 1880s. |
B. Brackets [ ]
1. Brackets are used to put the writer's own insertions into a quotation. They
indicate that the words inside the brackets are not the words of the person
being quoted but of the person reporting them.
2. To indicate that a misspelling or other peculiarity in a quotation occurred in the original and is not an error of your own, add [sic], a Latin word meaning thus, immediately after the peculiarity.
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C. The Colon (:)
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1. to introduce a list or an example of what has gone before
2. after the names of speakers in a dialogue
3. between hours and minutes in time references
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4. after the salutation in a business letter
5. to separate the titles and subtitles of books and articles
6. before a clause that restates or explains the idea of the preceding clause
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D. The Comma (,)
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1. after yes or no in a response to a question
2. before the coordinating conjunction between clauses in a compound sentence (See #N1.)
The comma may be omitted between the two clauses when the clauses are very short (usually under four words each). However, many people still prefer to include the comma even under these circumstances. 3. to separate items in addresses (See #D14.)
Note that if the above address were placed on an envelope, the street address would go on a separate line from the city and state. In that case a comma would not be used after Street. 4. to separate items in a series (See #E3.)
British English often omits the comma before the and in a series. American English usually includes it. Since confusion sometimes results if the common is left out, it is safest to use the comma in this situation. 5. to separate the introductory words from the speaker's words in direct quotations (See #D15.)
6. to separate large numbers into groups of thousands, millions, and so forth (counting backward from the right)
7. to set off the name of the person spoken to in direct address
8. to separate an introductory dependent clause from the main clause
9. after a mild exclamation
10. before and after an appositive (unless the appositive is at the end of the sentence)
12. before and after a nonrestrictive adjective clause
13. to set off conjunctive adverbs and other transition expressions from the rest of the sentence
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14. to separate elements in dates and place names (See #D3.)
15. at the end of the final sentence in a direct quotation when the quotation is followed by a phrase identifying the speaker if the sentence would ordinarily end with a period (See #D5.)
However, if some mark of punctuation other than a period ends the quotation, that mark of punctuation is used, not a comma.
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E. The Dash (--)
1. to separate an abrupt break in thought (usually a phrase or a nonrestrictive
clause) from the rest of the sentence. By using the dash the writer indicates
that this break in thought should be noticed. (See #D12, #J1.)
2. to separate an explanation of (or an example of) what has just been stated from the remainder of the sentence when the writer wishes the explanation or example to be noticed (See #C1.)
3. to mark the beginning and end of a series which might otherwise get mixed up with some part of the remainder of the sentence (usually because of internal commas) (See #D4.)
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F. Ellipses ( . . .) ( . . . . )
Ellipses are used to indicate that something has been omitted from a
quotation. Three periods (with spaces between them) are used if the omission
occurs at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence, while four periods
are used if the omission is at the end. MLA style requires ellipses to be
placed inside of brackets to indicate that the omission was not made by the
original author. If the ellipses are at the end of the sentence, brackets
are placed around only the first three periods.
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G. Exclamation Point (!)
Exclamation points follow
emphatic statements, interjections, and commands in order to indicate strong
surprise or other strong emotion. Employ them sparingly because their
use is the equivalent of shouting and continual shouting can both distract
and annoy readers.
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H. The Hyphen (-)
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1. in certain fixed expressions
2. in compound numerals
3. between syllables when dividing a word at the end of the line
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I. Italics
Italics is a special kind of type that cannot be imitated by most typewriters
or in hand-written material. Underlining is substituted for it. If, however, a
computer is used, either italics or underlining can be employed in most
circumstances. The most common use of italics is to indicate the exact title of
books, magazines, newspapers, CDs, feature-length movies, and other long
literary works. Short literary works employ quotation marks. (See #M4.)
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J. Parentheses ( )
1. Parentheses are used in situations similar to those in which dashes are used
(See #E1.), but with the effect of de-emphasizing the words included between
them. In other words, putting something in parentheses is the equivalent to
giving the reader permission to skip the material if he is in a hurry.
2. to set off incidental information such as numbers and dates
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K. The Period (.)
1. at the end of a statement
2. after most abbreviations
The U.S. Postal Service does not employ periods in its list of recommended abbreviations for states of the United States to be used in addresses. However, periods are normally used in such abbreviations elsewhere. 3. in the expressions a.m. and p.m. 4. in decimal numbers to separate whole numbers from fractions and to divide dollar from cents in prices
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L. The Question Mark (?)
Question marks are placed at the end of a direct question, no matter what the sentence pattern employed.
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M. Quotation Marks (" ") (` ')
In general, periods and commas always go inside quotation marks, but other punctuation marks go inside or outside depending on whether they belong to the quotation alone or to the entire sentence.
Bill inquired, "Don't you know the way to Bob's house?"
How do you pronounce "San Jose"?
1. to enclose the exact words of a speaker or writer when the words are reported
by someone else, no matter whether the words are reported as those of a speaker
in a conversation or are incorporated into a sentence of the person doing the
reporting
PLEASE NOTE: Failure to employ quotation marks to acknowledge that words are not original with the reporter can sometimes lead to the charge of plagiarism, the "theft" of someone else's words or ideas. Plagiarism is considered a serious offense in the academic world and can lead to severe penalties, including dismissal from school. There are legitimate ways to paraphrase ideas that you have gotten from your reading, but even then the source of the idea must be indicated. Check a handbook specific to your field for preferred methods of paraphrasing, summarizing, and identifying ideas from sources. The page "Internet Resources" provides a link to a site defining plagiarism in more detail as well as to ones detailing common styles for citing sources. 2. around foreign words used in English sentences
Some writers, however, use italics or underlining in this situation.
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3. around words used as words (and not for any meaning they might have)
4. around the title of a magazine article, a short story, a chapter in a book, or some other short literary work such as a poem or a movie short (See #I1.)
5. In American English single quotation marks (‘ ') are used for quotations within quotations.
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N. The Semicolon (:)
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1. between the clauses in a compound sentence when no coordinating conjunction
is used, even if a conjunctive adverb or a transitional expression is used (See
#D2.)
2. between items in a series when the items contain commas
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1. the first word of every sentence
2. titles used with the name of a person
3. proper names: i.e. the names of persons, places, things, courses, and so forth
4. adjectives coming from the names of countries, continents, or cities
5. the days of the week
6. holidays
7. the months of the year
8. streets, cities, states, countries, continents
9. the first quoted word of a speaker
10. the first word and all important words in a title
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11. points of the compass when they are used to designate geographical areas
However, if the points of the compass are merely used to indicate direction, they are not capitalized.
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