PROOFREADING
Punctuation
Use your handbook and reliable sources like Purdue OWL to help you make correct punctuation choices. The following are rules of special concern.
Apostrophes are used to show possession (except for its) and contractions (as in the case of it's).
Brackets are used to
Correct: Please see the inventory [Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)] . . .
Colons are used in references between the publisher's location and name, in ratios and proportions, and at the end of independent clauses to introduce an explanation that is not an independent clause. See a handbook or the Purdue OWL for examples.
Commas are used according to standard English punctuation rules as found in handbooks and on the Purdue OWL Web site. Pay particular attention to the following four comma rules:
Dashes are used, like parenthesis, in pairs to set off text. For class assignments, dashes will not be used because they tend to represent informal, thought-process-writing rather than polished writing. If you think you need dashes to make a sentence clear when it contains many commas for dependent clauses and nonessential phrases, then you need to rewrite the sentence so that it is not so complicated. Do not use dashes without providing your reasoning in your assignment transmittal.
Hyphens are used to join words so that they represent a single idea. Follow Webster's Collegiate Dictionary for spelling with hyphens.
It's vs its (it's means it is ) (its shows possession).
Parenthesis are used for in-text citations and explanatory information when commas would complicate or confuse the reader. Avoid back to back parentheses (APA, p. 85, 3.07) as in the example, below.
Wrong: (e.g. defensive pessimism) (Norem & Cantor, 1986)
Correct: (e.g. defensive pessimism; Norem & Cantor, 1986)
When ending a sentence and a quotation followed by an in-text citation, place the parenthetical citation after the quotation marks and before the period.
Example: "Blah blah blah blah" (Smith, 2011, p. 3).
Periods are used to end sentences and are followed by a single space.The old rule was two spaces. That changed in the 1980s. The rule may have changed back to two, but for consistency and to save space, use a single space. Set MS Word Grammar & Style to signal a spacing error. Periods are also used following a person's initials, abbreviation for United States when used as an adjective (e.g. U.S. Army), most Latin abbreviations, (e.g. i.e. and a.m.), and reference abbreviations (e.g. p. 7). Do not use periods in abbreviations used as words (e.g. ESP) or names (e.g. APA for American Psychological Association or CA for California).
Question marks are used to conclude sentences that are direct questions. Rhetorical questions (see, also, Register) exhibit bad style when used to make points and good style when used to establish structure as headings in some documents such as instructions. Even when used to establish structure, rhetorical questions are easily overdone and irritating to readers. Always use a question mark with rhetorical questions.
Quotation marks are used to begin and end direct quotations. Quotation marks may be used sparingly to indicate slang or ironic comment on the first use of the expression (e.g. she is not quite “normal”; APA, 5th, p. 82, 3.06), but do not use quotation marks for emphasis (use italics).
Semi-colons are used (a) to join independent clauses in a compound sentence or (b) to separate list elements that contain commas. See a handbook or the Purdue OWL for examples.
Slashes (/) should not be used when the intent is to offer two choices. Spell out the two choices. (APA, 5th, pp. 87-88, 3.09)
Apostrophes are used to show possession (except for its) and contractions (as in the case of it's).
Brackets are used to
- set off statistics already enclosed in parentheses (APA, 5th, pp. 86-87, 3.08);
- include author comments in quotations, such as [sic] (p. 118); and
- nest parenthetical material such as enclosing material within parenthesis (see examples, below, but use a single correct format consistently throughout the document).
Correct: Please see the inventory [Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)] . . .
Colons are used in references between the publisher's location and name, in ratios and proportions, and at the end of independent clauses to introduce an explanation that is not an independent clause. See a handbook or the Purdue OWL for examples.
Commas are used according to standard English punctuation rules as found in handbooks and on the Purdue OWL Web site. Pay particular attention to the following four comma rules:
- Use a comma with a coordinating conjunction to join independent clauses in compound sentences (for a more detailed and illustrated explanation, click here).
- Use a comma with a coordinating conjunction at the end of a series of three or more items in a list (for a more detailed explanation, click here and scroll to #5)
- Use a comma following an introductory clause or phrase (for a more detailed explanation, click here)
- Use a set of commas to bracket explanatory but non-essential (to the sentence) text (for a more detailed explanation, click here)
Dashes are used, like parenthesis, in pairs to set off text. For class assignments, dashes will not be used because they tend to represent informal, thought-process-writing rather than polished writing. If you think you need dashes to make a sentence clear when it contains many commas for dependent clauses and nonessential phrases, then you need to rewrite the sentence so that it is not so complicated. Do not use dashes without providing your reasoning in your assignment transmittal.
Hyphens are used to join words so that they represent a single idea. Follow Webster's Collegiate Dictionary for spelling with hyphens.
- Exception: email Treat email as a mass noun. Do not add an -s to make it plural.
- Do not use hyphens to break words at the end of a line in normal texts.
- Hyphens are used to break words at the end of a line when a document uses columns and to use word-wrap would make a line too short.
It's vs its (it's means it is ) (its shows possession).
Parenthesis are used for in-text citations and explanatory information when commas would complicate or confuse the reader. Avoid back to back parentheses (APA, p. 85, 3.07) as in the example, below.
Wrong: (e.g. defensive pessimism) (Norem & Cantor, 1986)
Correct: (e.g. defensive pessimism; Norem & Cantor, 1986)
When ending a sentence and a quotation followed by an in-text citation, place the parenthetical citation after the quotation marks and before the period.
Example: "Blah blah blah blah" (Smith, 2011, p. 3).
Periods are used to end sentences and are followed by a single space.The old rule was two spaces. That changed in the 1980s. The rule may have changed back to two, but for consistency and to save space, use a single space. Set MS Word Grammar & Style to signal a spacing error. Periods are also used following a person's initials, abbreviation for United States when used as an adjective (e.g. U.S. Army), most Latin abbreviations, (e.g. i.e. and a.m.), and reference abbreviations (e.g. p. 7). Do not use periods in abbreviations used as words (e.g. ESP) or names (e.g. APA for American Psychological Association or CA for California).
Question marks are used to conclude sentences that are direct questions. Rhetorical questions (see, also, Register) exhibit bad style when used to make points and good style when used to establish structure as headings in some documents such as instructions. Even when used to establish structure, rhetorical questions are easily overdone and irritating to readers. Always use a question mark with rhetorical questions.
Quotation marks are used to begin and end direct quotations. Quotation marks may be used sparingly to indicate slang or ironic comment on the first use of the expression (e.g. she is not quite “normal”; APA, 5th, p. 82, 3.06), but do not use quotation marks for emphasis (use italics).
Semi-colons are used (a) to join independent clauses in a compound sentence or (b) to separate list elements that contain commas. See a handbook or the Purdue OWL for examples.
Slashes (/) should not be used when the intent is to offer two choices. Spell out the two choices. (APA, 5th, pp. 87-88, 3.09)
For Discussion
Question=TBA
Copyright 2012
Ida L. Rodgers, See terms on Course Style Guide Home page.
Copyright 2012
Ida L. Rodgers, See terms on Course Style Guide Home page.