 To divide a word at the end of a line  Do NOT divide a one-syllable word  Divide a word only between syllables  playing  Divide an already hyphenated word at the hyphen  Self-defense  Do NOT divide words so that only 1 letter stands alone

 Twenty-one to ninety-nine  Two-thirds majority (when used as modifier)  Prefixes and suffixes  All--- -elect-- mid-  Ex--- -free-- non-  Great--- mid--- pro-  Compound adjective preceding the noun  A well-rehearsed play

 Gives a sharp separation within a sentence  More definitive than commas or parentheses  To indicate an abrupt break in thought  The party—I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier—was moved to next week.  To mean namely, that is, or in other words to introduce an explanation  The weather has been unseasonable warm—in the mid-seventies—all October.

 To enclose informative or explanatory material of minor importance  Material in parentheses can be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence

 When a parenthetical sentence falls within another sentence  Do not use a capital letter (Ms. VanderMeer says, “Except for a proper noun.”)  Do not end with a period (but may end with a question mark or exclamation point!)

 When a parenthetical sentence stands alone  Begin with a capital letter. (I know I just told you not to do that!)  End with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. (Why is the English language so complicated?)

 Only information that can be omitted is considered parenthetical  Use commas when the information is CLOSELY related to the rest of the sentence  Use a dash to indicate an ABRUPT change in thought  Use parentheses to indicate the information is of minor importance  Do NOT overuse parenthetical material, or you may confuse your readers

 Exercise 6 page 769  Exercise 7 page 773