Proofreading Secrets
LESSON FOUR
Punctuation Answers
Did you take the little pretest I posted on Monday? How do you think you did? Come across any
stumpers … anything you needed to look up?
Here are the answers to Monday’s pretest, based on the book publishing industry’s standard
reference books: The Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition) and The Christian Writer’s Manual
of Style.
Apostrophes
To form the possessive of most singular nouns (proper or otherwise), add an apostrophe and an
s.
Charles’s manuscript
the marquis’s territory
Note: The 15th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style recommended dropping the s after the
apostrophe for words and names that end in an unpronounced s (like marquis) or with an eez
sound (like Xerxes). CMOS-16 does not make this exception.
To form the possessive of plural nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe only.
the Williamses’ house
the puppies’ tails
two weeks’ notice
authors’ rights
writers’ conference
The Chicago Manual of Style recommends adding apostrophe-s to all proper names. However,
The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style states that when a name has two s sounds in the last
syllable, or when the final s sounds like a z, an s should not be added after the apostrophe. Most
Christian publishers follow CWMS on this—especially when it comes to dropping the s after the
apostrophe in the possessive form of Jesus.
Jesus’s life (per CMOS)
Jesus’ life (per CWMS)
Moses’s law (per CMOS)
Moses’ law (per CWMS)
Achilles’ heel (per CWMS and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary)
Do not use an apostrophe for most plurals.
maybes
yeses and nos
thank-yous
Molly got three As and two Cs.
To avoid confusion, pluralize single lowercase letters by adding apostrophe-s.
x’s and y’s
“For … sake” expressions used with a singular noun that ends in s get only an apostrophe, no
additional s.
for righteousness’ sake
for goodness’ sake
If years are abbreviated to two numerals, they should be preceded by an apostrophe. But no
apostrophe before the s.
Phil’s first novel was published in the ’80s.
Note: If you’re using “curly quotes,” make sure the apostrophe is curled in the right direction
(’80s, not ‘80s).
Capitalization
The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style has a comprehensive list of which religious terms should
be capitalized and which should be lowercased. The ones I gave in the pretest are just a few
examples.
She loved reading biblical literature.
He preached a message about the messianic prophecies.
She praised the Almighty for sending such a godly man into her life.
He knew that almighty God was the one who had saved him.
She felt like the apostle Paul on one of his missionary journeys.
He believed that the church should help those in need.
She blamed the Enemy for putting those evil thoughts in her head. Only the Devil could
have prompted such satanic lies.
He thought about Adam and Eve in the garden, and how the fall led to the flood and
eventually to the events that occurred in the garden of Gethsemane.
She wanted to preach the gospel to people at the mall, using excerpts from the Gospels,
especially the gospel of John. If she didn’t start soon, she feared people would go to hell
instead of heaven. She wanted as many people to get into God’s kingdom as possible.
And sharing God’s Word was the best way she could imagine to do it.
If you’re working for a particular publisher, ask for their in-house style guide, as it may have
some rules that differ from the industry-standard reference books. If you don’t have a publisher
yet, your best bet is to follow The Chicago Manual of Style and The Christian Writer’s Manual
of Style. The publisher you end up working with will not mind making changes to fit their inhouse style.
If you’re indie publishing, you can make up your own rules, as long as you follow them
consistently throughout your manuscript. However, if you want to appeal to readers who are used
to traditionally published books, you may want to follow the industry standards, since readers
may view any discrepancies from that as mistakes.
Kathy Ide
Author of Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors