PUNCTUATION INFORMATION SHEET
Using correct punctuation gives meaning to your written work. Incorrect punctuation
can completely change or destroy the intended meaning. You may find it useful to
revise your understanding of the following punctuation marks.
Full Stops (.)
There should be a full stop at the end of each sentence. Make sure you sentence is
complete before you use a full stop.
A series of full stops (….) can be used to indicate either that you are breaking off
before finishing something or that you are omitting part of a quotation. This is called
an ellipsis.
A full stop is also used to indicate an abbreviation as in Co..
Question Marks (?)
These are used instead of a full stop at the end of any sentence which asks a direct
question, such as ‘What do you want to do when you graduate?’
Exclamation Marks (!)
These can be used to denote excitement or amazement, or to denote humour or
sarcasm. They should be applied sparingly.
Commas (,)
These are used to split up parts of a sentence to make the meaning clearer and allow
the reader to draw mental breath. They may be used to split a string of nouns, such
as ‘I need to buy tea, sugar, biscuits and milk.
Inverted Commas or Quotation Marks (“..”) or (‘..’)
Use these whenever you are quoting, whether speech or a section of text. You can
use single or double inverted commas, but you should be consistent. If you have a
quote within a quote, for example if a passage of text itself includes a quotation, use
double marks for the inner quote if you normally use single or vice versa.
Apostrophes (’)
These indicate where a word has been shortened by omitting letters, e.g. didn’t. An
apostrophe is also used to indicate possession where ‘s’ is added to a normal word,
as in ‘a dog’s breakfast’. When using possessive plurals, the apostrophe should be
placed after the ‘s’, as in ‘eight weeks’ work’. Ordinary plurals should never include
apostrophes. For example ‘I am responsible for paying the employee’s’ is wrong! It
should be ‘I am responsible for paying the employees’.
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Brackets or Parentheses ( ) or { } or [ ]
These are used to separate off something that is an addition or insertion. For
example ‘The man (who had suddenly appeared) was wearing a black overcoat. If
the bracket is at the end of the sentence, close the bracket before adding a full stop.
Dashes (-…-)
These can be used instead of brackets to separate off the same sort of thing or used
singly to indicate a break in the train of thought – those occasions when inspiration
strikes in mid-sentence.
Semi-colon (;)
This is a weaker form of full stop. It is used to separate things which could be
separate sentences but which are closely linked, thus making the writing less abrupt.
Both parts of the sentence must be able to stand alone; if it does not, you probably
should have used a comma. You can also use semi-colons to separate items in a
list, provided you have started the list with a colon. You will need many resources for
successful study: access to a good library; access to a PC; good tutors; a quiet place
to work and sufficient time.
Colon (:)
This can be used to introduce a list. It can also be used to link two clauses that could
stand as sentences in their own right. The colon is used where you want to highlight
a strong contrast between the two parts or draw attention to the connection between
them. For example: ‘He had no trouble getting on to the course: his father was head
of department.’
Capital Letters
These are used at the start of each sentence, for names (people, places, months
etc.) or for adjectives derived from them (Elizabethan, French, Mancunian). They are
also used for the first and main words from the title of a book or film (The Oxford
English Dictionary, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie).
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