CAPITALIZATION

Capitalization is used when beginning a sentence or it is a name of something or a place. The first letter will be capitalized. 

FULL STOP/PERIOD

This is the dot (.) used at the end of a sentence or statement. This shows the completion of the sentence. 

QUESTION MARK

This is the mark [?] used at the end of a question.

Example:

How are you? 

EXCLAMATION MARK

Use an exclamation mark [!] at the end of an emphatic declaration, interjection, or command.

Example:

"Stop!" he yelled. "Look ahead!" 

COMMA

Use a comma [,] to set off parenthetical elements and nonrestrictive modifiers in the sentence. Examples:

The aim of culture is, if I may borrow from Arnold, our complete perfection.

Harry, who is a scholar, was at the seminar on Technology of today.

Use a comma to set off introductory phrases, clauses, and transitional expressions. Examples:

Seeing that the weather had turned for the worse, he rode even faster than before. 

While greeting her victorious husband, Clytemnestra was plotting his murder.

Unfortunately, she was too late for the train.

Use a comma together with a coordinating conjunction to link two independent clauses. Example:

The pirates passed beyond the mountains, and the ship was swallowed by the sea.

Use commas to set off three or more items in a series. Example:

Some of my favorite fruits are apples, oranges, pears and grapes. 

APOSTROPHE

Use an apostrophe [‘] for the following:

1. to form the possessive of a singular noun (e.g., "the boy’s hat") 
2. to form the possessive of a plural noun ending in s (e.g., "the boys’ hats’") 
3. to form the possessive of an irregular plural noun not ending in s (e.g., "women's studies") 
4. to form the possessive of nouns in a series (e.g., "Janine and Michael's house"), unless ownership is separate (e.g., "Janine's and Michael's houses") 
5. to form the possessive of any singular proper noun (e.g., "James's book”)
6. to form the possessive of any plural proper noun (e.g., "the Joneses' summer home and the Smiths' winter home") 

QUOTATION MARKS

Quotation marks ["] are used when certain parts of a piece of writing are quoted from another place.  It can be a pair of punctuation marks used to mark the beginning and end of a passage attributed to another and repeated word for word.

COLON

Use a colon [:] at the end of an independent clause to introduce a list or series. Example:

The reading list for this semester consists of three British novels: Jane Eyre, Sons and Lovers, and Pride and Prejudice.

Use a colon at the end of an independent clause to introduce explanatory material. Example:

She was a brilliant author: her work was unique and explicit.

Use a colon at the end of an independent clause to introduce the formal expression of a rule or principle. Example:

Many colon errors would be avoided if only writers would remember this one rule: Colons are almost never used except at the end of an independent clause. 

SEMICOLON

Use a semicolon [;] between two independent clauses that are closely related in meaning and are not linked by a conjunction. Example:

Of all the students, Dennis had the clearest vision; the rest were nothing compared to him.

Use a semicolon between two independent clauses when the second clause begins with a conjunctive adverb or transitional expression.   Example:

Bunyan writes with a highly homiletic style; thus, he frequently comments on the pilgrim's experience by giving a series of three arguments. 

DASH

Use a dash [-] to introduce a summary.

 

Use dashes to set off a parenthetical element that contains a comma and might result in misinterpretation if set off with commas.

 

Use dashes to enclose a phrase or clause that interrupts the train of thought. Example:

Back in those days--these were the days before television--we all used to be producers and directors of the imagination. 

PARENTHESES

Use parentheses [( )] to include material that you want to de-emphasize or that wouldn't normally fit into the flow of your text but you want to include nonetheless. If the material within parentheses appears within a sentence, do not use a capital letter or period to punctuate that material, even if the material is itself a complete sentence. 

SLASH

A slash or slant [/] is used to indicate a choice between the words it separates. 

ELLIPSES

 Ellipses are used to indicate an omission in a quotation. It is not correct to begin a quoted passage with ellipses. An ellipsis […] proves to be a helpful device when you're quoting material and you want to omit some words. The ellipses consists of three evenly spaced dots (periods) with spaces between the ellipsis and surrounding letters or other marks. For example, "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant scholars from Europe who were visiting Japan." and leave out "from Europe who were":

The ceremony honored twelve brilliant scholars … visiting Japan.

HERE ARE SOME RULES FOR TYPING

The traditional rule, and one especially suited to the mono spaced common in typescripts (as opposed to desktop publishing): put one space after a comma or semicolon; put two spaces after a (sentence-ending) period, exclamation point, or question mark. Colons have been known to go either way. For spaces after quotation marks, base your choice on the punctuation inside the quotation.