Little marks make a big difference in the readability and meaning of a story.
A missing or misplaced apostrophe, comma, period, quotation mark, etc. may disrupt and confuse readers—and no author wants that.
When proofreading, I watch for the following:
Apostrophes
• Contractions
An apostrophe takes the place of missing letters or numbers.
Examples: don’t, who’s, you’re, I’m, ’80s
• Possessives
An apostrophe may be used to show ownership.
Examples:
girl’s doll
boys’ room
children’s toys
Tom and Sarah’s house (shows joint ownership)
Tom’s and Sarah’s shoes (shows individual ownership)
• Plurals
Contrary to popular belief, most plurals are not formed by using apostrophes.
Examples:
cats
ifs, ands, or buts
dos and don’ts
the Smiths
the Williamses
the 1990s
VIPs
As, Bs, and Cs
Apostrophes are used to form plurals of single lowercase letters.
Example: p’s and q’s
• In Place of Letters
An apostrophe takes the place of missing letters (use this technique to reflect the way people speak).
Examples:
them becomes ’em
about becomes ’bout
reading becomes readin’
• “Sake” Expressions
Example:
for goodness’ sake
for conscience’ sake
Commas
• Adjectives
Adjectives in a row should be separated by commas if the adjectives are of equal importance, can swap position, and make sense with an and between them.
Example: A fresh, fruity, tropical scent filled the air.
Incorrect: I ate the most delicious, hot, fudge, sundae.
Correct: I ate the most delicious hot fudge sundae.
• Introductory Elements
Use a comma after most introductory elements.
Examples:
Before bedtime, brush your teeth.
Annoyed, he walked out of the room.
• Conjunctions
Use a comma before a conjunction that joins two independent clauses (clauses that can stand alone as sentences).
Example: I bought groceries at the new supermarket, and I had to wait in the checkout line for ten minutes.
• Clauses
Use commas to set off nonessential clauses (extra information).
Example: When you buy bread, which we’ll use to make sandwiches, be sure to choose whole wheat.
• Serial Commas
Serial commas, also known as Oxford commas, separate each element in a series.
Example: I’m going to buy socks, shoes, and sandals.
• Comma Splices
A comma splice occurs when a comma separates two independent clauses. (In most cases, comma splices should be avoided.)
Example: The church service was beautiful, the potluck lunch was delicious.
• Cities and States
Use a comma between a city and state. Most writers are familiar with this rule. The comma they more often forget is the one that goes after the state.
Example: Our trip to Eagle River, Wisconsin, was a delight.
• Direct Address
When used in direct address, a name is set off by a comma or commas.
Examples:
Hello, Cheryl.
Cheryl, nice to meet you.
Thank you, Cheryl, for your support.
• Dates
In running text, one comma follows the month and date and precedes the year.
Example: The wedding is on January 5, 2019.
When the date is written before the month, no comma is used.
Example: They were married on 19 May 2007.
Colons
• Introduction
A colon introduces something.
Example: I need to buy three items: toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss.
• Time
A colon separates hours from minutes (do not use a space before or after the colon).
Example: I will proofread until 4:30 this afternoon.
• Bible Verses
In Bible references, a colon separates a chapter from a verse (do not use a space before or after the colon).
Example: Romans 8:28 is her favorite verse.
Semicolons
• Clauses
A semicolon may be used between two independent clauses.
Example: She ran up the hill; he followed her slowly.
Note: Be careful not to overuse semicolons, particularly in fiction and dialogue. Semicolons tend to have a formal quality. Often, a sentence may be better served by using a comma and conjunction, or by breaking the sentence into two.
Examples:
She ran up the hill, and he followed her slowly.
She ran up the hill. He followed her slowly.
• Series
Semicolons add clarity to a series that already uses commas.
Example: Margaret likes apples, bananas, and pears; Billy likes watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe; and Sue likes oranges, kiwi, and strawberries.
Dashes
Don’t confuse dashes with hyphens. Also, dashes are another mark you want to be careful not to overuse.
• Em Dash
An em dash conveys an abrupt change, break in thought, or emphatic pause.
Example: I don’t—I mean, I won’t—
Em dashes may enclose, with emphasis, parenthetical information.
Example: We climbed the mountain—the highest in the range—with determination and courage.
• En Dash
The en dash (longer than a hyphen but shorter than an em dash) connects a range of numbers, such as in dates or Bible verses.
Examples:
1983–1999
Genesis 9:1–17
En dashes are used to form multiple-word compound adjectives.
Examples:
She is the ex–vice president of the company.
The Audrey Hepburn–like dress caught my eye.
Ellipses
• Trailing or Faltering Speech
Examples:
“I asked him, but . . .” She shook her head sadly.
“I can’t even . . . I . . . I don’t even know how to do that.”
• Omissions
Ellipses are used to show omissions within quotations.
Example: “Take my yoke upon you . . . and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29)
Beware of overusing ellipses.
Exclamation Points
Some writers “over season” their writing with too many exclamation points. That’s not to say there isn’t a time and place for such punctuation. However, like a potent spice, these points are best used tastefully and sparingly. Strong writing and word choice should do most of the “exclaiming.” Too many exclamation points may come off as humorous, cluttered, or ineffective. Worse, they may annoy the reader. This may make it hard to take the writing seriously! See what I mean?!!!
Hyphens
Hyphens are used to join items such as words, prefixes, suffixes, or numbers. In dialogue, they may represent stuttering.
• Compound Modifiers
Example: We drove down a dead-end street.
• Adverb Phrases
Example: She is a well-loved person.
• Ages
Example: We gave the toy to a five-year-old boy.
• Colors
Example: Blue-gold sequins adorned her dress.
• Numbers
Example: My mother owns twenty-one pairs of shoes.
• Prefixes and Suffixes
Examples:
She is a self-confident student.
That skirt looks very balloon-like.
• Stuttering
Example: “I-I’m sorry. It w-won’t happen again.”
Periods
• Sentences
A standard sentence should be punctuated with a period, followed by one space (not two).
• Abbreviations
Use periods with lowercase abbreviations, but not with uppercase abbreviations (even if they contain some lowercase letters).
Examples: i.e., ETA, PhD
• Initials
A person’s initials should be followed by a period and a space.
Example: L. M. Montgomery
• Indirect Questions
Example: I wonder why she didn’t want to go.
Parentheses
Parentheses enclose extra information (this information may be in the form of a complete or incomplete sentence).
• Complete Sentences
Parenthetical information that makes a complete sentence may be placed in another sentence or stand on its own.
Examples:
He said he read the entire book in one hour (we believe him), and we’re amazed.
Mary’s parents surprised her with a kitten for her birthday. (Mary can’t stop smiling.)
• Incomplete Sentences
Parenthetical information that does not make a complete sentence cannot stand on its own.
Example: When transporting the new furniture (particularly the bookshelf), please be careful.
Quotation Marks
• Double
Double quotation marks enclose exact words of a speaker or writer.
Example: She said, “I enjoy proofreading.”
• Single
Single quotation marks enclose exact words of a speaker or writer when used inside another quotation.
Example: “Her grandmother said, ‘The years go by faster and faster the older you get.'”
• Placement with Other Punctuation
A period and comma always go inside the quotation marks.
Example: “I’ll be praying for you,” she said. “Remember, Jesus loves you.”
A colon, semicolon, dash, and exclamation point go inside when they apply to the quoted material, but they go outside when they apply to the entire sentence.
Examples:
“Are you serious?”
Who first said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”?
• Titles of Short Works
Example: “Dragonfly” is a short story about a big bug.
• Irony
Quotation marks may be used to indicate irony.
Example: The “business meeting” quickly turned into a party.
Slashes
• Abbreviations
Some abbreviations are formed with a slash.
Examples:
c/o means care of
n/a means not available or not applicable
A slash may stand for per.
Example: I charge $0.004/word.
A slash may also stand for or or and.
Examples:
When an editor reads my story, I hope he/she likes it.
We bought a pair of his/her towels.
• Fractions
A slash separates the numerator from the denominator.
Example: 2/3
• Poetry
When poetry is written in running text, a slash represents a line break. In this case, a space goes on each side of the slash.
Example: In the wispy wind that stirs the leaves, / Before flittering away.
Used correctly, punctuation should aid a reader’s comprehension and never hinder it.
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