A few thoughts on National Punctuation Day
On the occasion of National Punctuation Day, I offer a few tips on the use of this part of our language:
- Commas have many uses, but they are especially handy in making sure compound sentences don’t run on and on.
- I’m fine with semicolons; they can be useful on occasion.
- Ellipses can … wonder what … left out. Use … sparingly.
- Inserting brackets into direct quotes can make you look ridiculous and lead to errors.
- You get one exclamation mark per year. Use it wisely!
- The period is powerful. The end.
Dick Elam, a now-revered, then-reviled professor in the RTVMP department at UNC, taught me that the exclamation mark should be saved for only one occasion: the second coming of Jesus Christ. And then, only if you are writing about in the past tense.
Jeff Perkinson
September 24, 2009 at 2:08 pm