Punctuation for
College Writing:
A Cast of Characters
Goals
• Learn the names and functions of
Standard American English punctuation
marks
• Practice using the marks in college-level
writing contexts
• Ask and answer your questions
• Have fun!
Punctuation . . .
• is based on grammar, not speech.
• is not interchangeable—each mark
has a role to play.
• is used according to an author’s
purposes.
Cast of Characters
The Advanced:
• quotation marks
• square brackets
The Intermediates:
• dash
• colon
• ellipsis
• semicolon
Controversial: italics
• hyphen
• parentheses
The Basics:
• period
• apostrophe
• question mark
• exclamation point
Controversial: capitals
Period: The Sentence Sheriff
The sentence sheriff says,
“Stop. This idea about
your subject is finished.
You’d better have a new
subject and action before
you proceed further.”
Complete Sentences
A complete sentence is made of a subject doing an action
or being a certain way:
The people of Madagascar speak Malagasy and French.
China has a large population.
A lot of basketball players are very tall.
A sentence is a subject
and a verb: S V.
Or a subject and two
verbs: S V and V.
If you want to
add more, you’ll
need to use other
punctuation!
Periods end sentences, including
indirect questions:
I wondered whether I would be
late or not.
Our boss asked if our guest
would be on time.
Periods are used in abbreviations:
For example,
Mr. Mrs. Ms. Dr. B.A.
i.e. e.g. etc. a.m. p.m.
Note: When an abbreviation ends a sentence,
use only one period.
We returned from our fact-finding
mission at 2:35 a.m.
Apostrophe: The Placeholder
The apostrophe takes
the place of a letter or
letters in contractions.
It also marks the place
for the idea of “has” in
possessive cases.
Apostrophes in Contractions
•
•
•
•
did not
cannot
will not
is not
didn’t
can’t
won’t
isn’t
Apostrophes are also used for
possessive nouns:
He tended to obsess over his cell phone’s apps
and features.
Her article presents an overview of Marx’s
teachings (Hacker and Sommers 319).
The beach’s sand was burning hot.
Consider the number of the noun first,
then the possessive apostrophe:
Use ’s
Noun about 1: man, Venus
Possessive noun: man’s, Venus’s
Plural (2+) noun (irregular form): women
Poss. pl. noun (irregular form): women’s
Use just
’
Regular plural noun: girls
Possessive plural noun: girls’
Use an apostrophe alone when a
noun is plural and ends in -s:
After the accident, both my bicycle tires’
rims were bent.
The messages’ subject lines were the
same.
When two or more together possess
something, use -’s or -s’ on the last
noun only:
I haven’t tried Ben and Jerry’s new flavor.
When each one in a pair has
something, put -’s on both:
Hernando’s and Maria’s hopes for their
daughter were wildly dissimilar.
Question Mark: The Scientist
A scientist inquires,
wanting to know more.
A question mark is for direct
questions:
The interviewer demanded, “Where
were you, and what did you know?”
Polite questions and indirect
questions take a period:
Would you please send me five copies of
Edward Lear’s Complete Nonsense with
an invoice.
I was asked who would be attending with
me at the conference.
Questions in a series may be written
with question marks, even when not
complete sentences:
Where would I go at this time of night?
To my friend’s house? To a hotel? To my
mother-in-law’s?
Exclamation Point: The
Wrestler
The exclamation point is
“Grrr!” for shouting and cries of
shock or delight.
For a calm academic
discussion, don’t invite
the wrestler.
Controversial 1: Capitals
Most consider capitals
an element of
mechanics rather than
punctuation.
Capitals are used for
official identification
and at the start of a
sentence, like the
start of a journey.
Capitals
• Titles as (or part of) names: Madam
Prime Minister, Dr. Jekyll, Ms. Janssen,
Aunt Judy, Mom and Dad
• Beginnings of sentences: We hold these
truths to be self-evident . . .
• Titles of works: Schindler’s List,
Of Mice and Men, The Woman Warrior,
“A Little Less Conversation”
• All proper nouns, including course
titles, regions and other geographical
names, historical periods:
Geography 206, the Southwest,
the Middle Ages
Never to merely emphasize
Mini Quiz: Part 1
Add, Delete, No Error, or Revise:
1. I hurried to catch the bus. Even
though I had plenty of time.
I hurried to catch the bus, even
though I had plenty of time.
2. I wonder what we’re having for
dinner tonight?
I wonder what we’re having for
dinner tonight.
Add, Delete, No Error, or Revise:
3. Dr Welbys medical license has expired .
Dr. Welby’s medical license has expired.
4. I’m majoring in biochemistry; my first
class is chemistry 101 on Tuesday nights.
I’m majoring in biochemistry; my first
class is Chemistry 101 on Tuesday nights.
Character Recap 1
Period: The Sentence Sheriff
Apostrophe: The Placeholder
Question Mark: The Inquiring Scientist
Exclamation Point: The Aggressive Wrestler
Capitals: Passports to the start of sentences
and names
The Colon: A Fanfare
After an intriguing
independent clause,
a colon signals
the entrance of
its explanation.
IC: a list, an appositive, or a quotation.
IC = “independent clause”: a person,
place, or thing doing an action.
IC is basically equal to S V .
I have three essentials for a day in the sun: a
hat, sunscreen, and water.
She coined a new term: hyperbolic gratitude.
IC:IC (if the second IC explains)
Faith is like love: It cannot be forced (Hacker and
Sommers 317).
Note: a capital after a colon is APA format;
for CMS or MLA, use lowercase letters.
Other Uses of the Colon:
Salutation in a formal letter, a ratio,
analogies, between title and subtitle, and
between city and publisher in documentation
Dear Sir or Madam:
The ratio of women to men was 2:1.
Nouns : Verbs :: Things : Actions
The Glory of Hera: Greek Mythology and
the Greek Family
Boston: Bedford, 2011
The Semicolon: The Hybrid
The semicolon
has qualities of
a period, a
comma,
and a colon.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toyota_Prius.jpg
IC; IC.
Many writers have expressed opinions
about the semicolon; Kurt Vonnegut and
Ben Yagoda are two who spring to mind.
IC; transitional expression, IC.
Transitional expressions (TE) include
•
conjunctive adverbs: besides,
consequently, subsequently, next, now
•
transitional phrases: as a result,
for example, in fact, on the other hand,
i.e., e.g.
IC; transitional expression, IC.
I had to think of an interesting sentence
using a semicolon; however, all I could
conjure were boring ones.
She spent her childhood watching
television; as a result, she did very well
at trivia games.
IC; subject, TE, predicate.
The students read a lot of novels and essays
exploring the relationship between humans
and the environment; the works,
consequently, informed their writing.
A semicolon may also be used between
items with internal punctuation in a list:
Classic science fiction sagas are Star Trek,
with Mr. Spock and his large pointed ears;
Battlestar Galactica, with its Cylon Raiders;
and Star Wars, with Han Solo, Luke
Skywalker, and Darth Vader (Hacker and
Sommers 314).
The Hyphen: The Linker
Connects two or
more words
functioning
together as one
kind of word.
Hyphens link two or more words
working together as one kind of word
Adjectives before nouns:
Mrs. Sato gave me some wax paperwrapped candy.
Freida Pinto is not yet a well-known
actress in the U.S.
Nouns: sister-in-law, cul-de-sac, half-life
Hyphenated words may be written in
a series:
Do you prefer first-, second-, or third-class
tickets? (Hacker and Sommers 339).
He taught preschool to three-, four-, and
five-year-olds.
Other Uses of the Hyphen
Fractions and compound
numbers (21–99):
one-fifth, two-thirds, twenty-three,
fifty-six, ninety-nine
Prefixes all-, ex-, and self-,
and the suffix -elect:
At the bookstore, I met my ex-patriot
friends in the all-encompassing
category of the self-help section.
When in doubt, check a dictionary
for suspected compound words!
Parentheses: The Whisperers
Used when a
phrase is outside
of the important
elements of a
sentence.
Use a set of parentheses around added
info and letters or numbers labeling
items in a series.
Nurses record patients’ vital signs
(temperature, pulse, and blood pressure)
several times a day (Hacker and Sommers
332).
There are several things which could end a
sentence: (1) a period, (2) a question mark,
or (3) an ellipsis.
Use parentheses around slight tangents
and afterthoughts
When I was a teenager (and isn’t it
always when one was a teenager?), I
liked to use a lot of dashes and
parentheses in my writing.
Now, I choose very judiciously when to
employ a set of dashes or parentheses
(one mustn’t seem too chatty).
In MLA- and APA-style research papers, a
parenthetical citation may be put at the
end of a sentence containing a
paraphrase or quotation.
When reading a text, Diana Hacker and
Nancy Sommers advise us to “note
details that surprise, puzzle, or intrigue
you” (70).
A citation may also occur at a natural
clause break in the sentence:
They go on to say that “the views of an
expert can contribute to the force of your
argument” (86), but you should always
lead the reader through your own logic and
only use experts to illustrate your own
points.
Mini Quiz: The Intermediates
1. What is the main difference between
the use of a colon and that of a
semicolon?
SV: anything that explains the SV.
SV; SV.
Add, delete, or no error:
2. Four-fifths of all politicians think they are
great, but ninety-nine percent of their
constituents know if they are.
3. When asked if we want to know a secret
(and who among us doesn’t, many of us
will lean closer to the speaker.
doesn’t?),
Now you’re ready for the
Advanced Marks!
Character Recap 2
Colon: Fanfare for an Explanation
Semi-colon: The Hybrid Fusion of Marks
Hyphen: The Linker for Joining Words
Parentheses: The Whisperers
Quotation Marks:
The Gossips
Gossips pass on
the words or
information of others.
So I said, “Blahdee blahdee blah.”
And she said, “No!”
And I said, “Yes!”
Don’t use quotes with well-known slang,
to distance yourself from cliché
expressions, or to seem self-consciously
ironic:
NO: The young “hipster” tried to be cute by
using “air quotes.”
YES: The young hipster tried to be cute by
using air quotes.
Also, your own essay titles should not
have quotes around them.
Instead, do . . .
Enclose direct quotations with quotation
marks, whether speech or writing!
Spoken Dialogue:
Jaimie walked into the kitchen. “Hey, can I
ask you a question?”
“Shoot,” I said, drying my hands.
“What’s the difference between ‘pretense’
and ‘pretentious’?”
“The first is a noun, the second an
adjective.”
Quote from Written Text
“Shakespeare [changed] nouns into
verbs (film and champion), verbs into
nouns (dawn and scuffle), verbs into
adjectives (hush), or adjectives into nouns
(accused)” (McQuain and Malless ix).
Around the titles of short works:
• Online articles  Scientific American article
• Essays
“Mars in Motion”
 “Mother Tongue” in our text
• Poems
 Shel Silverstein’s “Warning”
• Short stories
 “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Songs
 the notorious video for
“Wrecking Ball”
• Chapters or
subdivisions of  the section “Mitosis” in our
biology text
books
Quotations in Sentences
Formal introduction to a quote =
Independent Clause: “Quotation.”
Morrow views personal ads in the classifieds
as an art form: “The personal ad is like a
haiku of self-celebration, a brief solo played
on one’s own horn” (Hacker 286).
Says- or said-type expressions take a
comma:
Stephen Leacock once said, “I am a
great believer in luck, and I find the harder
I work, the more I have of it” (Hacker 286).
Blended quotations use either
a comma or nothing,
depending on the sentence
structure . . .
The future spelling bee champion could,
as he put it, “quote like an actor and
define words like a professor.” (said-type)
Charles Hudson noted that the prisoners
escaped “by squeezing through a tiny
window eighteen feet above the floor of
their cell” (Hacker 322). (completes verb)
Quotations that start sentences will end
with a comma unless they require a ? or !
“I love lemon drops,” said Grandma,
looking at me wistfully.
“Why were you late?” I asked, dreading the
answer.
Interrupted quotations use commas for
explanatory words:
“A great many people think they are
thinking,” wrote William James, “when
they are merely rearranging their
prejudices” (Hacker 287).
Use a period in interrupted quote if
more than one sentence in a row from
the same source:
“I was a flop as a daily reporter,”
admitted E.B. White. “Every piece had to
be a masterpiece—and before you knew
it, Tuesday was Wednesday” (287).
Placement of Marks with Quotes
Periods and commas go inside end quotes:
“Worry not,” the sage advised. “It is a
waste of energy.”
Colons and semicolons go outside:
Harold wrote, “I regret that I am unable to
attend the fundraiser for AIDS research”;
his letter, however, contained a substantial
contribution (Hacker and Sommers 325).
Put question marks and
exclamation points inside quotation
marks, unless they apply to the
whole sentence:
Compare:
Contrary to tradition, bedtime at my
house is marked by “Mommy, can I
tell you a story now?”
Have you heard the old proverb “Do
not climb the hill until you reach it”?
(Hacker and Sommers 325)
In MLA, a quoted question with a
parenthetical citation ends with a period:
Rosie Thomas asks, “Is nothing in life
ever straight and clear, the way children
see it?” (77).
(Hacker and Sommers 326)
Around words discussed as things:
The words “accept” and “except” are
frequently confused (Hacker and Sommers 324).
The word stem “-gress” can take many
different prefixes: for example, “egress,”
“ingress,” “progress,” and “transgress.”
Square Brackets: Bodyguards
Bodyguards can give
people safe passage
by forcing their way
in and holding back
the crowd.
Square brackets get
words correctly
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bodyguards_erdogan_01.jpg
changed or inserted
into a quote.
Square Brackets
Brackets go around words or phrases
inserted into quotations to clarify or
make a sentence blend into your writing.
Audubon reports that “if there are not
enough young to balance deaths, the end
of the species [California condor] is
inevitable” (Hacker and Sommers 333).
Brackets are also used around “sic”
to indicate an error in a source is
being reproduced exactly.
“When your [sic] not sure how a word
is spelled, look it up in a dictionary!”
proclaimed an exasperated (and ironyimpaired) blogger.
Use [sic] rarely—no one likes a
language snob.
The Dash—The Drama Queen
The dash is all
about dramatic
breaks and shifts
in thought.
Dashes mark
words that should
deserve attention.
The Dash
Use a dash to set off parenthetical
material that deserves emphasis:
Everything that went wrong—from the
peeping Tom at her window last night to my
head-on collision today—we blamed on our
move (Hacker and Sommers 331).
Set off appositives that contain
commas to be clearer for readers:
In my hometown the basic needs of
people—food, clothing, and shelter—are
less costly than in a big city like Los
Angeles (331).
A list, a rewording, or a dramatic shift in
tone or thought
Consider the amount of sugar in the
average person’s diet—104 pounds per year,
90 percent more than that consumed by our
ancestors (Hacker 291).*
Kiere took a few steps back, came running
full speed, kicked a mighty kick—and missed
the ball (Hacker and Sommers 332).
*Could have used colon for more formality
A dash is a mark of separation
stronger than a comma, less
formal than a colon, and more
dramatic than parentheses.
His first thought on getting out of bed—if he
had any thought at all—was to get back in
again (Strunk and White 9).
The rear axle began to make a noise—a
grinding, chattering, teeth-gritting rasp (9).
Unlike the usual soundbite, he was a really
friendly guy—until he snapped.
Use a dash only when a more
common mark of punctuation
seems inadequate.
The Ellipsis: The Fade-out
Nothing says
you’ve left
something unsaid
like an ellipsis—
unless you’ve just
lost your train of
thought. . . .
The Ellipsis (plural: ellipses)
• Three spaced periods.
• For omissions from a direct quotation.
• What remains must still be grammatical
and make sense.
Reuben reports that “when the amount of
cholesterol circulating in the blood rises
over . . . 300 milligrams per 100, the
chances of a heart attack increase
dramatically” (Hacker and Sommers 333).
The Ellipsis
If a whole sentence (or more) is left out,
put a period BEFORE the ellipsis.
“Most of our efforts,” writes Dave
Erickson, “are directed toward saving the
bald eagle’s wintering habitat along the
Mississippi River. . . . It’s important that the
wintering birds have a place to roost, where
they can get out of the cold wind” (292).
No need to start a quote with an
ellipsis, but if the end of a quote
is left out, finish with an ellipsis.
“To be or not to be . . .” begins one
of the most famous soliloquies in
the canon of Shakespeare.
Controversial 2: Italics
Why controversial?
Italics are considered by many to be an
element of mechanics, rather than
punctuation.
Italics are used for
• Titles of long works:  The Immortal Life of
books, movies,
Henrietta Lacks, The
newspapers
Matrix, The Seattle Times
• Names of web sites,  The Oatmeal, Call of
video games,
Duty, EBSCOhost
electronic databases
• Emphasis
 You’re not going out
wearing that are you?
Italics are used for
• Names of
spacecraft,
aircraft, ships
Challenger,
Hindenberg,
Marie Celeste
• Foreign words We strolled the
Hauptbahnhof
before catching
the train.
• Words as things
• Internal
monologue of
characters in
fiction
The words affect
and effect are
often misused.
She stared at the
phone in her
hand. Why hasn’t
he texted? Where
is he? she
wondered.
If unable to underline or italicize, use
underscores before and after titles:
I’m reading a critical analysis of _Some Like
It Hot_ for my film studies class.
Mini Quiz: The Advanced Marks
1. In a quoted passage of text, these
show you are inserting a change for
clarity or grammar. Square brackets
Add, delete, or no error:
2. In her essay,“Beans on Toast,” Marjorie
Butterworth discusses tracking our
food supply from soil to table.
Add, delete, or no error:
3. It’s the current BC Reads! book, but
not everyone has read The Immortal
Life of Henrietta Lacks. Italicize book title
4. Accepting the check for her lottery
winnings, Juanita said that “she would
give half the money to charity” (Hacker
and Sommers 328). Delete quotes
or revise
Character Recap 3
Quotation Marks: The Gossips
Square Brackets: The Bodyguards
Dash: The Drama Queen
Ellipsis: The Fade-out
Italics: The Signal for Titles, Thoughts,
and Special Words
Cast of Characters
The Advanced:
• quotation marks
• square brackets
The Intermediates:
• dash
• colon
• ellipsis
• semicolon
Controversial: italics
• hyphen
• parentheses
The Basics:
• period
• apostrophe
• question mark
• exclamation point
Controversial: capitals
Works Cited
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference, 6th ed. New York:
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009.
Hacker, Diana and Nancy Sommers. A Writer’s Reference
with Exercises, 7th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2011.
McQuain, Jeffery and Stanley Malless. Coined by
Shakespeare: Words and Meanings First Penned by the
Bard. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1998.
Strunk, William and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th
ed. San Francisco: Longman, 2000.