THE ELEMENTS OF WRITING - Punctuation

Punctuation: Punctuation is one of the most basic elements of writing that helps in conveying the idea properly. It helps the readers to understand what the writer wants to communicate. The following are the important punctuations used in writing

 1. Comma(,): Commas are usually used to separate items in a list. Eg: she wanted to buy some rice, vegetables, milk and egg.

 • It is used: To separate two independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction such as ‘for’, ‘and’, ‘nor’, ‘but’, ‘or’, yet and ‘so’ (FANBOYS). Place to comma before the conjunction. Eg: I want to go out, and meet my friend. 

• After introductory words or phrases to set off the introductory word. Eg: Walking with his father, the boy thought about his school. 

• Before and after any non-restrictive word, phrase or clause which are not essential to the meaning of the sentence; Eg: My wife, Reema, is coming today. (The non-restrictive word ‘Reema’ is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. If it was restrictive, that is essential for the meaning of the sentence, do not use commas.)

 • Between adjectives that modify the same noun. Eg: She is a smart, intelligent girl.

 • To set off a noun of direct address from the rest of the sentence. Eg: Sheena, please open the window. 

• While using quotations, insert comma after the introductory words. Eg: He said, “ this is a strange thing.”

 • Do not use commas with short quoted words like, he called his brother a ‘genius’. 

• With dates and place names. Eg: January15, 2011

 2. Semicolons (;): This is used to 

• Separate two independent clauses that are closely related but are not joined by conjunctions. Eg: The weather was bad; it caused many inconveniences. 

• When items in a series have commas within them, semicolons are used to separate different items. Eg: you will have a reading test, based on a topic; a written test, which will be of one hour duration; and an oral test. 

• To separate independent clauses when the second one begins with adverbs like however, nevertheless and therefore. Eg: This task is very difficult to accomplish; therefore, you will have to work hard.

3. Colons (:): • To introduce a list. Eg: she called out the following names: Raji, Robert, Sreya and Nimmi. 

• Colon is not used with ‘to be’ verbs. Eg: The book’s defects are: its loose plot, its length and its improbable ending. (Do not put colon after ‘are’) 

• To introduce a direct quote when the introductory words form a complete statement. Eg: The product has the following warning on the bottle: “Harmful if inhaled.”

 • To introduce a word, phrase, or a clause that explains or summarizes the first part of the sentence. Eg: She went for the interview with a single thought in her mind: to get that job.

 4. End punctuation: A) Period/ full stop (.): this is used to end a sentence. It is also used with some abbreviations (B.Sc.). B) Question mark (?): this is used after a direct question. A question mark appears inside the quotation if it forms part of the quotation. Eg: what is your name? He asked, “what is your name?” C) Exclamation mark (!): it is used in case of highly emotional language to show surprise or extreme happiness. Eg: Watch out for the elephant!

 5. Apostrophes (’): • This is used in contractions, words in which letters have been omitted. Eg: can’t, don’t etc 

• Do not use it while showing possession. Eg: the cat licked its paw. (no apostrophe after t in ‘its’) 

• To form the possessive form of a noun use an apostrophe and ‘s’ to singular nouns whether or not they end in ‘s’. add only an apostrophe to plural nouns ending in ‘s’. Eg: Reena’s book. Men’s rest room. Waitress’s house Students’ day celebration. • It is not used with possessive pronouns. Eg: the new car is hers. 6. Quotation marks (“ ”) (‘’): • Single quotes are used to indicate to set off some ones exact words. Eg : He said, ‘please pass the butter.’ 

• Quotation marks around a word is used to indicate that the word is used in an unusual sense. 

• Names of articles, poems and chapters are included in quotation marks. • Double quotation, marks are used for quotes within quotes. Eg: Satish argues that ‘the very notion of “modular” western nationalism is thrown open to doubt.’

6. Hyphens (-): • Used to form compound adjectives that come before nouns. Eg: well-constructed • Used in spelled out numbers and fractions. Eg: twenty-three, one-third • Used to form compound words. Eg: non-violence • Used to divide a word at the end of a line to break the word. Never break a one syllabled word.

 7. Dashes: there are two types of dashes, em dash, which is longer and en dash which is shorter than an em dash but longer than a hyphen. Em dash is used • To show a sudden break in thought. • To set off information that is less important than the rest of the information but too important to enclose in brackets. • An en dash is used To indicate ‘to’ or through’ within a range of numbers.

 8. Parentheses ( ): this is used to • Set off comments that are less important than the rest of the sentence or that which provides additional information. Eg: Please call me (004672348) when you come back. • When a complete sentence is enclosed within the parantheses, full stop, question mark and exclamation mark go inside the parantheses.

  9. Brackets( [ ]): it is used • to enclose explanatory comments within a direct quote. Eg: the commentator reported, ‘He [the president] denied all charges.’ • Use brackets with the word ‘sic’ to indicate a spelling or grammatical mistake made by the speaker while using direct quote. Eg: he said, ‘I am very [sic] consentious.’ 

10. Ellipsis points (. . .): ellipses or three evenly spaced periods indicate that some part of the material has been left out. This is used within brackets. Eg: Wordsworth said, ‘Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings […] recollected in tranquility.’ • If words are omitted at the end of the quoted material use four instead of three ellipses points. • For non-quoted material, use ellipses marks without brackets to show a thought that is interrupted or incomplete.