Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xiii
Author's Background xiv
Introduction 1
Functions of Punctuation 3
Why This Book? 4
Organization of Chapters 5
Notes 6
1 Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points 8
Purpose and Application 8
Quick Reference Glossary 8
Periods 10
Ending a Sentence 10
Providing Visual Closure 11
Following Abbreviations 11
Following Numbered and Lettered Items 13
Positioning with Quotation Marks and Italicized Titles 14
Positioning with Parentheses 15
Positioning with Footnotes/Endnotes 16
Positioning with Parenthetical Information 16
Question Marks 17
Posing a Direct Question 18
Posing an Indirect Question 19
Following Abbreviations 19
Positioning with Quotation Marks and Italicized Titles 19
Positioning with Parentheses 20
Positioning with Other Forms of Punctuation 21
Exclamation Points 22
Following Exclamations 23
Following Abbreviations 23
Positioning with Quotation Marks and Italicized Tides 23
Positioning with Parentheses 24
Positioning with Other Forms of Punctuation 25
Rhetorically Speaking 25
Key Differences between American and British Style 28
Notes 29
2 Commas 30
Purpose and Application 30
Separating Independent Clauses 30
Separating Items in a Series 35
AP Stylebook, Chicago, APA, MLA, and Oxford Style 36
Separating Dependent Clauses 38
Separating Adjectival Clauses 39
Separating Appositives 40
Separating Transitional Words and Phrases 41
Separating Introductory Adverbs 42
Separating Other Introductory Words 44
Separating Adverbial Phrases 45
Separating Participial Phrases 46
Separating Participial and Adverbial Phrases in a Compound Sentence 47
Chicago 48
Separating Absolute Phrases 48
Separating Coordinate Adjectives 49
Separating Parenthetical Material 50
Rhetorically Speaking 50
Separating Contrasting Material 51
Separating Direct Questions 51
Separating Tag Questions 51
Separating Indirect Quotations 52
Signifying Omitted Words 52
Avoiding Confusion 52
Separating Abbreviations 53
Separating Elements in a Date 53
Chicago 54
Separating Elements in an Address 54
Separating Numbers 55
Rhetorically Speaking 55
Notes 56
3 Semicolons 58
Purpose and Application 58
Connecting Related Independent Clauses 58
Rhetorically Speaking 61
Chicago 63
Rhetorically Speaking 64
Separating Items in a Series 64
Rhetorically Speaking 65
Eliminating Incorrect Semicolon Use 66
Rhetorically Speaking 68
Rhetorically Speaking 69
Notes 69
4 Colons and Dashes 71
Purpose and Application 71
Colons 71
Introducing a List 71
Rhetorically Speaking 73
Introducing Supplemental Information 74
Introducing Quotations, Salutations, Subtitles, and Dialogue 75
Separating Other Data 76
Rhetorically Speaking 76
Dashes 76
Formatting Dashes 76
AP Stylebook 77
Emphasizing Parenthetical Information 78
Rhetorically Speaking 78
Completing a Sentence's Meaning 80
Introducing a List 81
Avoiding Confusion 81
Showing Interrupted Speech 81
Formatting Special Cases of Source Attribution 82
Signifying Missing Words or Letters 82
Omitting Preceding and Following Punctuation 83
Rhetorically Speaking 83
Notes 84
5 Apostrophes 85
Purpose and Application 85
Indicating Possession 85
Chicago 87
MLA, 7th ed. 88
APA 88
AP Stylebook 88
Chicago 89
Rhetorically Speaking 90
Chicago 91
AP Stylebook 92
Chicago 92
AP Stylebook 93
Rhetorically Speaking 94
AP Stylebook 94
Signifying Missing Letters and Numbers 95
Rhetorically Speaking 95
Avoiding Confusion 96
ML4, 7th ed. 96
Rhetorically Speaking 97
Key Differences between American and British Style 97
Notes 97
6 Double and Single Quotation Marks 99
Purpose and Application 99
Double Quotation Marks 99
Quoting Others 100
Rhetorically Speaking 100
Introducing Quotations 101
Introducing Block Quotations 103
Quoting Dialogue 105
Positioning Commas and Periods within Quotations 105
Paraphrasing Quotations 106
Placing Other Works in Quotation Marks 106
AP Stylebook 107
Calling Attention to Specific Words 107
Rhetorically Speaking 108
Single Quotation Marks 108
Quoting within a Quotation 109
AP Stylebook 109
Key Differences between American and British Style 110
Notes 110
7 Ellipses and Slashes 112
Purpose and Application 112
Ellipses 112
Formatting Ellipses 112
AP Stylebook 113
Omitting Text 114
AP Stylebook 115
Chicago 115
AP Stylebook 116
Chicago 118
AP Stylebook 118
Using Ellipses as a Literary Device 119
Chicago 121
Eliminating Unnecessary Ellipses 121
Rhetorically Speaking 122
Key Differences between American and British Style 123
Slashes 124
Pairing Words 124
Chicago 125
Rhetorically Speaking 125
Separating Lines of Poetry 126
Abbreviating and Formatting Information 126
Notes 126
8 Parentheses and Brackets 128
Purpose and Application 128
Parentheses 128
Subordinating Information 128
Rhetorically Speaking 130
Positioning Commas with Parentheses 131
Enclosing Numbers and Letters with Parentheses 131
Eliminating Unnecessary Parentheses 131
Rhetorically Speaking 132
Brackets 133
Commenting Editorially 133
AP Stylebook 134
Bracketing Parenthetical Information within Parentheses 134
Editing Quotations 135
Rhetorically Speaking 135
Key Differences between American and British Style 136
Notes 136
Index 137
