Punctuation and Style Douglas Perret Starr Professor Texas A&M University

In typing news stories and news releases, you are not a typist ; you are a typesetter. Use your Keyboard Commands. Use Associated Press Style.

AP Style is arbitrary, and can seem contradictory. But consistency in style provide a uniform presentation of the story to make it understandable everywhere. AP Style dictates capitalization, abbreviation, use of numerals, and the like, not your personal writing style.

Em-dash … En-dash … Hyphen Note the difference in width. ― em-dash – en-dash - hyphen

(Em-) Dash ( ― ) Use Keyboard Commands―not two hyphens― to form the em-dash, the width of the capital M. The dash is a punctuation mark indicating a break in the thought of the sentence. I’m going to move to College Station—you can live in my house in El Paso—and study at Texas A&M University.

En-Dash ( - ) Use Keyboard Commands to form the en-dash, the width of the capital N. Joins numerals: $100-$200 Joins nouns of equal weight: Bryan-College Station Mrs. Carolyn Scanlon-McLendon

En-Dash ( - ) The en-dash substitutes for to in some instances—the vote was 7-6—but not when from is used. The trial lasted from 7 to 10 days, not from 7-10 days. She went to school from is confusing. Consider the school years. For clarity, make it from to

Hyphen ( - ) Joins words... Clarifies words... Partitions words. Joins multiple adjectives preceding a noun: 10-year-old girl Clarifies verbs: re-lease... release Partitions at end of line of type: Uni- versity

Suspensive Hyphenation Use in compounds. First- and second-place winners First-, second-, and third-grade students 12- to 18-month subscriptions

Ellipsis (... ) Three spaced periods with a space at each end. Indicates where words are omitted from quotations. Do not use Keyboard Command. Do not use at the beginning or ending of quoted matter ; use only in the middle.

Apostrophe ( ’ ) It ’ s a close single quotation mark. Indicates omission of letter or number, possession, plural of single letter, numeral. No apostrophe in any pronoun, except ’ tis. Two A ’ s, two DC-2 ’ s, the Joneses ’ house, Mary ’ s book, Chris ’ book, Class of ’ 09

Quotation Marks ( “ ” ‘ ’ ) Double quotation marks indicate what a person said or wrote. Always use in pairs. See Composition Titles in AP Stylebook for use. Single quotation marks for quote within quote. In a letter, he wrote, “ I like what you said about ‘ realizing your artistry. ’ ”

Quotation Marks ( “ ” ‘ ’ ) All periods, all commas go inside (to the left of) all close quotation marks. I have read “ Roots. ” I bought “ Roots,” but I have not read it. All colons, semicolons go outside (to the right of) all close quotation marks. She labeled “ the work ”: “ stellar ”; “ valuable, a contribution,” and “ well-positioned. ”

Quotation Marks ( “ ” ‘ ’ ) Question marks go inside (to the left of) or outside (to the right of) close quotation marks, as appropriate. Have you read “ Roots ” ? He asked, “ Have you read ‘ Roots ’ ? ”

Quotation Marks ( “ ” ‘ ’ ) Avoid putting quotation marks around one or two words ; it negates the meaning. He said that he “ never ” drank whisky. The sheriff said that two “ women ” were arrested. The assassin “ executed ” two senators.

Parentheses ( () ) Always used in pairs. Sets off clarifying information, listed numbers or letters. Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) (1) xxx ; (2) xxx ; (3) xxx (1) xxx (2) xxx (3) xxx

Period (. ) Indicates end of complete sentence, used with initials and abbreviations. No space between initials : D.P. Starr, U.N., U.S. Navy, the Rev. Mr., a.m., p.m. But, a deviation: CIA, FBI

Comma (, ) Separates thought units connected by conjunction (and, but, etc.), separates listed items, sets off nonessential information. He wrote several books and plays, and he acted in two plays. Hundreds of people (men, women, and children) attended. The lawnmower, which is broken, is in the garage.

Comma (, ) Sets off years in dates, states from cities, units in numbers. He was born July 3, 1878, and died Nov. 15, He was born in Dallas, Texas, and worked in Baton Roug e, La. 1,000 … 10,000 … 100,000 … 1 million

Colon ( : ) Introduces a list or a thought unit. She lived in four cities : New York, San Francisco, New Orleans and San Antonio. She owned four vehicles : a sedan, a pickup truck, a convertible and a motorcycle.

Semicolon ( ; ) Separates thought units not joined by a conjunction (and, but, etc.), separates items in series that contain commas. Respondents were from Chicago, Ill. ; Miami, Fla. ; Shreveport, La. ; College Station, Texas ; and Keokuk, Iowa.

Appositive A word or group of words that explains or describes a previous word or group of words. Barack Obama, president of the United States, received the Nobel Prize for Peace. My wife, my best friend, puts up with me.

Accent Marks Placed over a letter as part of the spelling of the word or name. Use Keyboard Commands to form accent marks. Résumé, ça va sans dire, cañon, à la carte, raison d ’ être, Hüber, René, Renée, fiancée, (note accent mark on penultimate “ e. ”

Other punctuation Use Keyboard Commands Spanish question mark: ¿ Shift Ctrl Alt ? Spanish exclamation point: ¡ Shift Ctrl Alt ! Copyright : © Ctrl Alt C Trademark: ™ Ctrl Alt T Registered: ® Ctrl Alt R

Books on Punctuation AP Stylebook Grammar book College dictionary

¿ Questions on Punctuation, on AP Style? If not, some lagniappe.

Former Officials Former officials have no official duties or authority. Former President Truman did not drop the atomic bombs. Former A&M President Murano did not resign the office. Former President Clinton was not impeached.

Former Officials This is correct. President Truman dropped the atomic bombs. President Clinton was impeached. A&M President Murano resigned the office.

Bulleted Lists Use the (em-) Dash, not numerals. Paragraphs always wrap to left margin. In other action, the City Council: —Set Nov. 15 for a special election on a $25 million bond issue for street repair. —Approved hiring two police officers. —Postponed action on accepting a bid for constructing sidewalks along Main Street.

Some Rules of Writing Do not change the sentence format or words because you think that it prevents boredom in readers. It does not. Repetition enhances communication. One space after periods, other end marks. Do not underline ; underline is a copyediting mark.

Nominals A nominal is a thought unit (at least subject and predicate). It is most often introduced by “ that.” John feels Mary is a fun date. John feels that Mary is a fun date. Read the sentence to be certain that “ that ” is necessary