Choose from the list.
| The Dash | Ellipses Points | The Exclamation Point |
| Parentheses | The Quotation Mark |
The Dash: is used to indicate a sharp or sudden break in the normal or expected flow of sentence structure.
In typing, it is always represented by two hyphens.
I hoped that he --. But I can't talk about it.
He asked me -- what was he thinking of -- to make the phone call for him.
The dash is sometimes used in place of a comma, to draw attention to the statement or for dramatical purposes:
The sunset -- especially from the top of the mountain -- was spectacular.
The dash is also used to indicate an afterthought:
He skied down the hill with the speed of light -- or so it seemed to the spectators.
The dash is used in dialogue to indicated halting or hesitating speech:
"ER -- I mean -- well I think -- er," she began hesitantly. "I think I mean I can handle the job."
Ellipsis Points: To indicate the omission of words, phrases, or sentences from a direct quotation or a narrative paragraph. Three points show that one or more words have been deleted. Four points show that the last one is a period marking the end of a sentence. A single space occurs between each dot.
1. To indicate an interruption or an unfinished sentence, especially in spoken dialog:
"I wanted to tell you that, uh . . . ," but his voice was unable to form the words which would have spoken of his infidelity.
2. Stress can hurt you. Strenuous physical activity . . . can increase your need for certain vitamins that your body can't store . . . . That's why General Vitamin's STRESS FORMULA A PLUS E was developed.
A line of spaced ellipsis points, stretching the length of the paragraph or verse, indicates the omission of one or more lines or poetry or one or more paragraphs of prose. (NOTE: In the paragraphs below, after the line-length ellipsis, the middle paragraph begins with three ellipsis points, indicating part of that paragraph was omitted; the quote picks up again in the middle of the paragraph.)
1. One of the perennially unresolved questions of literary theory is whether tragedy and Christianity are compatible -- whether there can ever be
such a thing as Christian tragedy. The critical consensus is that tragedy is incompatible with the major tenets of Christianity. This is surely wrong, as demonstrated by the presence of literary tragedy in the Bible and by the presuppositions that Christianity and tragedy share.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . The material for tragedy lies everywhere. Biblical narrative is full of incidents that are potentially tragic and that a writer could use as the basis for a tragedy. But in most of these stories the tragedy is
averted through the protagonist's repentance and God's forgiveness. The story of David's repentance after his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah is the great paradigm.
The world of literary tragedy is usually a closed world. Once the hero has made the tragic choice, there is no escape. But the Bible is preoccupied with what is more than tragic -- with the redemptive potential in human tragedy. In the stories of the Bible, there is always a way out,
even after the tragic mistake has been made.
[excerpt from "WORDS OF DELIGHT," by Leland Ryken, pp. 155,156]
A note from the Web Mistress: Thank you to Mel for sending this to me for inclusion in our Help File!
Use the exclamation point to terminate a strong expression of emotion or feeling. Do not use it unless the feeling is strong:
Get out of here, right now!
Stop or I will shoot!
No! That can't be true.
Do not overuse exclamations. The effectiveness of exclamations is dulled by over use.
1. Parentheses are used to enclose explanations, digressions, and interruptions to words and/or main
thoughts of a sentence.
Examples:
The Smiths paid two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for the Arnold house.
Inflation is a constant, but last year it was held to 2.5% (see Table for 20-year comparison).
Most minimalist composers (notably Glass and Reich) emphasize rhythmic and textural layering
rather than melodic development.
The idea of sin and redemption (John Milton explores the theme exhaustively in Paradise Lost) is a
constant theme of the human condition throughout the ages.
2. To enclose numbers and letters identifying divisions within the body of the main text.
Examples:
The two singers may be compared in terms of (1) dynamic range, (2) tonal qualities, and (3) vocal phrasing.
Changes in climate may be observed in (a) China, (b) Russia, (c) Western Europe, and (d) North
America (see graphic on page 4).
Note:
Punctuation marks such as commas, semicolons, and colons follow a closed parenthesis as appropriate
in sentences even without parentheses.
Example:
We observed one main rule on the trip (with appropriate flexibility, of course): everyone had to get
seven hours of sleep.
Thank you to Mel for the article on Parenthses
Quotation Marks to Indicate Titles
Quotation marks are used to indicate titles of short works such as articles in magazines, short stories, one-act plays, essays, short poems, and chapter titles.
"Winter Blues" (short poem)
"Mixed Messages" (short story)
"Bound East for Cardiff" (one-act play)
Direct Quotations
Quoted materials, whether oral or written, are indicated by being enclosed in quotation marks. Only the exact words of the original speaker or writer should be so enclosed. An indirect quotation or a report of the substance of what was said or written should not be enclosed in quotation marks.
DIRECT She said, "I am finished."
INDIRECT She said that she was finished.
DIRECT He said, "I am hungry. I am going home for lunch.
INDIRECT He said that he was hungry and that he was going home for lunch.
COMBINED She said that she had "no idea" what he meant.
In direct quotations, indications of the speaker (she said, he asked) are separated from the quotation by a comma or marked off by tow commas if reference to the speaker is placed within a sentence.
"Please let me go to bed," he whined.
His mother replied, "That is exactly where you should be."
"Well at least," he muttered, "you could tuck me in."
If the quotation is longer than one paragraph, no end quotation marks are placed at the conclusion of the first paragraph. All succeeding paragraphs are prefaced by quotation marks, but only the final paragraph is concluded with end quotation marks.
Long quotations (more than ten lines) from writings are not enclosed in quotation marks. They are set off from the original text by indentation. Smaller typeface is customary for printed matter sand single spacing for typewritten material.
In quotations other than dialogue, the punctuation and capitalization of quoted matter is reproduced exactly as it was originally written.
The author believes that "Love will conquer the world."
Quotations Within Quotations
Single quotation marks are used to indicate a quotation within a quotation.
"I've just read Grisham's 'The Pelican Brief,'" Janet said.
Quotation Marks Used with Other Punctuation
The placing of quotation marks in connection with other punctuation follows some simple rules. Instituted by printers for the sake of the appearance of the page, these rules have become standard.
1. Periods and commas are always placed inside end quotation marks."I need your help with this exercise," she said, "and I need it now."
2. Colons and semicolons are always placed outside end quotation marks. Other marks are placed where they logically belong -- within the quotation if they punctuate the quotation, outside the quotation if they punctuate the sentence of which the quotation is a part.
Some thought his assignment "excellent," while others thought it only "fair."
Read the comments in the following reference section, "Common Mistakes in Punctuation,": comma, ellipsis points, quotation marks, and period.
He called his friend "old man"; he didn't mean it as an insult.
How are you feeling?" she asked.
What is meant by "it's toast"?
"I knew it!" he said to the reporter with much satisfaction.
Beware of "a woman scorned"!
The Punctuation of Dialogue
Standard practice in the punctuation of dialogue calls for a new paragraph for each change of speaker. Descriptive or other materials related to the speaker are contained in the same paragraph as the quotation.
"I knew it!" said the toper to the shepherd with much satisfaction. "When I walked up your garden before
coming in, and saw the hives all of a row, I said to myself,
'Where there's bees, there's honey, and where there's
honey, there's mead.' But mead of such a truly comfortable
sort as this I really didn't expect to meet in my older
days." He took yet another pull at the mug, till it
amused an ominous elevation.
"Glad you enjoy it!" said the shepherd, warmly.
"It is a goodish mead." assented Mrs. Fennel, with an
absence of enthusiasm which seemed to say that it was
possible to buy praise for one's cellar at too heavy a price.
"It is trouble enough to make, and really I hardly think we
shall make any more. For honey sells well, and we ourselves
can make shift with a drop o' small mead and metheglin for
common use from the comb-washings."
"Oh, but you'll never have the heart!" reproachfully cried
the stranger in cinder-gray, after taking up the mug a third
time and setting it down empty.
"I love mead when 'tis old like this, as I love to go to
church o' Sundays, or to relieve the needy any day of the
week."
"Ha, ha, ha!" said the man in the chimney-corner, who,
in spite of the taciturnity induced by the pipe of tobacco,
could not or would not refrain from this slight testimony
to his comrade's humor.
--Thomas Hardy, "The Three Strangers"
"Everybody believed the story, didn't they?" said the
dirty-faced man, refilling his pipe.
"Except Tom's enemies." replied the bagman. "Some
of 'em said Tom invented it altogether; and others said he
was drunk, and fancied it, and got hold of the wrong
trousers by mistake before he went to bed. But nobody
ever minded what they said."
"Tom said it was all true?"
"Every word."
"And your uncle?"
"Every letter"
"They must have been very nice men, both of 'em,"
said the dirty-faced man.
"Yes, they were," replied the bagman; "very nice men
indeed!"
--Charles Dickens, "The Bagman's Story
A particular advantage of this convention is that when only two speakers are involved, the alternation of paragraphs makes it unnecessary to identify each speaker in turn and allows the dialogue to be be paced more rapidly and without interruptions. (NOTE: The only exception to this is if you are writing for young children. In order for young children to follow the story properly, each speaker should be identified)
Excerpts of "The Quotation Mark" from Baron's "Essentials of English," Fourth Edition; by Vincent F. Hopper, Cedric Gale, Ronald C. Foote; Revised by Benjamin W. Griffith
