Questions tagged [punctuation]
The correct and appropriate usage of punctuation.
200
questions
8
votes
6answers
3k views
Should you only use colons and periods in dialogues?
Should you only use colons and periods in dialogues? I thought about using a semi-colon in one of my dialogues, but I had second thought about it, because when we talk, we don't really differentiate ...
0
votes
0answers
16 views
What is the correct way to punctuate the words ‘worse even’? [migrated]
I’m unsure if this is written as:
‘Worse even, than...’
‘Worse, even, than...’
‘Worse, even than...’
Or without commas at all.
I tried looking it up, but all I can find are examples of the usage ...
2
votes
1answer
38 views
Specific MLA Question on In-Text Citation
How do I format an in-text citation in MLA format when the sentence ends as a parenthesis?
For example: Stuart Appleby won three races in his career (but lost all others) (Fredricks 23).
It looks ...
5
votes
1answer
43 views
Where should question marks be put in fragmented lines of poems?
For example, in the lines:
Say what good really is a life,
When so thoroughly deprived of joy
Is my restless mind,
Hurting constantly, in a dreadful strife?
When it needs so many lies,
...
10
votes
2answers
915 views
Ending a line of dialogue with “?!”: Allowed or obnoxious?
A dialogue of mine contains the following sentence:
"You fired all three of them?!"
Trouble is, I'm not sure I've ever seen a novel that used a question mark and an exclamation point together - it'...
2
votes
3answers
78 views
Use of punctuation in song lyrics?
https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/The_Edge_of_Dawn_(Seasons_of_Warfare)
The following is the short version of "The Edge of Dawn".
Reach for my hand,
I'll soar away
Into the dawn
Oh,...
5
votes
2answers
96 views
Is it acceptable to punctuate and capitalize a dialogue tag like a separate sentence?
When a piece of writing has a quoted sentence followed by a dialogue tag, the sentence is usually ended with a comma (inside the quotation marks) and the dialogue tag is in sentence case, like this:
...
9
votes
2answers
231 views
Using ”as” after dialogue tags
Should a comma be used after a dialogue tag and before the word ”as”.
For example:
”I don’t like this at all, ” he said, as the door closed behind them.
Or ”I don’t like this at all, ” he said ...
3
votes
1answer
114 views
Are there stylistic overlaps between novels and comic books? [closed]
I am going to quote from a novel that in my opinion shows many stylistic overlaps of novels and comic books: The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey. I am holding that novel in my hand now.
The use of a lot of ...
19
votes
3answers
4k views
Why am I getting a strange double quote (“) in Open Office instead of the ordinary one (")?
Why am I getting a strange double quote (“) in Open Office instead of the ordinary one (")?
Every time I type the double quote, I get the weird version instead of the ordinary one. How do I get the ...
1
vote
2answers
112 views
Grammar of, in dialogue, someone quickly negating a previous word?
For example, let's say that someone says a word, but then immediately "corrects" it to a different word. Do you use a comma, an em dash, or what?
In addition, if it's at the beginning of a ...
22
votes
5answers
4k views
When writing an error prompt, should we end the sentence with a exclamation mark or a dot?
When writing an error prompt, should we end the sentence with a exclamation mark or a dot?
I am writing an application for iPhone and I have some error prompt in my application like "Your password ...
2
votes
2answers
83 views
Are there specific rules about caesura that restrict us where we can place them?
A caesura is a slight pause that's important in poetry, because for example alexandrines require a caesura in the middle.
But the question is where can we put them. I know that we tend to put them ...
1
vote
1answer
34 views
End punctuation when using quotation marks [duplicate]
When do you put the end punctuation of a sentence inside or outside of quotation marks including the last word of the sentence?
0
votes
4answers
130 views
How would you write dialog in a 1st person story?
I'm a novice writer working on my first book. I've made the story 1st person from the perspective of the main character. The way I've been writing dialog goes as such:
C1: "So, where are you guys ...
-1
votes
1answer
35 views
Punctuating narration [closed]
In a passage of narration, how would one punctuate the following sentence?
Italics or quotation marks?
The boy walks across the living room as words like weapons, barricades
and deployments pass ...
3
votes
1answer
81 views
Can you use a semicolon to connect fragments that are one item in a vertical list?
I'm trying to write a numbered vertical list. The items are not complete sentences.
Can you use a semicolon to connect two fragments that are one item?
Receive guests; entertain guests
Or, should ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
Correct punctuation for showing a character's confusion
I'm trying to show that the narration (third person limited) is being interrupted by the character's thought process, and I'm not sure what punctuation is best for this situation.
So far, I've tried ...
5
votes
5answers
107 views
Elongated vowel sounds
When we speak sometimes we draw out certain sounds for emphasis. We also see this technique in song, for both emphasis as well as expanding the meter to make the words fit a certain rhythm.
One way ...
8
votes
10answers
3k views
The difference between dialogue marks
Most authors use dialogue in writing, especially when writing fiction. Now, if I remember my first grade primary school correctly, dialogue can be directly separated from narration in a number of ways....
3
votes
1answer
57 views
Punctuating text messages with speaker tags in running copy
Punctuation (and spelling and capitalization) in text messages is different from punctuation in other forms of written communication (emails, memos, standard prose).
In particular, punctuation, or ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
What punctuation would you invent to solve your issues? [closed]
What punctuation is missing from English that might solve your writing issues?
People may be able to come up with established ones that meet your criteria, such as the /s to indicate "that last ...
1
vote
1answer
115 views
How to write a sentence with the '=' symbol in it?
Does the following line sound okay when read out?
We choose the index n=5.
If not, how can I restructure it to make it a good readable sentence still with the '=' symbol?
I am trying to follow ...
2
votes
2answers
115 views
Ellipses in the middle of a paragraph?
Words words words. ...Words words words words.
Would having an ellipses right after a period like this be correct? If not, how would I incorporate them in? Would it be more like this?:
Words words ...
2
votes
1answer
40 views
What are the rules for beginning a block quotation halfway into a quoted sentence?
I'm interested in the rules set by the Chicago Manual of Style.
If I take a block quotation that starts with the following sentence:
"To simplify: math and geometry are such and such"
And if I ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
When quoting, must I also copy hyphens used to divide words that continue on the next line?
I want to quote a text in which re of the word relationships is on one line while lationships is on the next, and a hyphen follows re (re-) to indicate that the word continues on the next line. When I ...
3
votes
1answer
55 views
Is it good formatting to bookend quotations with a comma when they occur in the middle of narration?
Consider the sample sentence below from a novel.
As he stared at it, Emma announced “Its blackberry cake! It’s the best cake you’ll ever taste. Honest!” And with that, she stuffed in another big ...
5
votes
1answer
56 views
en dash with space for non-integer?
I have a simple question. What's the correct writing style?
1.1–8.4%
or
1.1 – 8.4%
Without space around an en dash looks much better for my eyes. But I read somewhere that if it is a decimal number (...
6
votes
4answers
188 views
'Ellipsis' - what do they convey and how to use them aptly in a Novel?
In the writing practises guides, it is usually mentioned that use of ellipsis is a bad practice.
But I have come across certain usages in professional writing.
To give an example;
In the novel Eat ...
1
vote
3answers
154 views
End-of-line hyphenation - how should it be used?
End-of-line hyphenation is the process of breaking words between lines to create more consistency across a text block. (source) A long word is broken across a line-break by means of a hyphen. It helps ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
Quick punctuation request on a sentence containing a list with a colon per listed item
This is being used within a blog article, however, I want to primp it up for use in a more public and professional platform. My intrigue pertains to grammar and punctuation of the listed items in the ...
2
votes
1answer
49 views
When should we use an ellipsis in a poem instead of a comma or a dot?
The quote come from the poem Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley:
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near ...
4
votes
1answer
98 views
Semicolon or better prose?
Word's grammar check tells me the second sentence below requires a semicolon rather than a comma
“If you don’t accept your physical limitations, you will burn out.” Elena was analytical again, the ...
5
votes
5answers
197 views
Are too many exclamations wrong?
Exclamations, I feel, are a good way to describe tone without actually writing the tone. But most of the time I end up (as per reviewers) with too many of exclamations.
Many also say that too many ...
1
vote
2answers
44 views
What are good guidelines and practices for word emphasis? [closed]
I struggle on what to highlight, and when to use quote marks. I also exaggerate specific words.
Example:
Please Sign-out and Click "Delete my sign-in info" before logging back in.
Please provide ...
1
vote
3answers
136 views
Why don't writers add commas to lengthy sentences, to make them far more readable?
Prof. Brooks Landon, U. Iowa, Ph.D. U. Texas at Austin. Building Great Sentences: How to Write the Kinds of Sentences You Love to Read (Great Courses) (2013). p. 124.
...
3
votes
1answer
112 views
Writing a dialogue with a lot of ellipses
Is there a way to do this properly?
Roxas... I need you... to do me a favor. All those hearts that I've
captured... Kingdom Hearts... Set them free.
This is from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and I ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Confused about when to treat something as a dialogue tag
Background: I'm helping a friend edit their fiction. I'm frequently left confused on anything related to dialogue tags.
“Yes, but I mean no,” Steve stumbles over his words. “Not the come
home ...
7
votes
2answers
107 views
How to punctuate dialogue tags with action descriptions
Someone told me that it's incorrect or outdated punctuation to put a comma after "said" in dialogue tags such as the following (from an old book we're reprinting):
“I shouldn’t wonder if you could ...
1
vote
1answer
33 views
Dots in lists with mixed-width items
It is common to omit end-dots in lists with very short items:
Shop list:
* Milk
* Bread
* Probably eggs
It is common to use end-dots in lists with long descriptive items:
Things which should be ...
3
votes
1answer
64 views
How to refer to complex job titles in cover letters?
Sometimes job listings use slashes and hyphens in the title of the job to specify specialties or other job characteristics. For instance, here are two listings on stack exchange: Data Scientist - ...
0
votes
1answer
126 views
Punctuating dialogue that is interrupted by thoughts/internal monologue rather than action?
So I've got a bit:
Alta blinked. She pushed on, smiling, “—the argument. When the argument succeeds, which I still don’t fully deem, even after that—it looks to me like you’ve still got to do all ...
6
votes
7answers
3k views
Is it okay to use a lot of exclamation marks?
I've noticed that I use a lot of exclamation marks when my characters are talking. They appear a lot in action scenes.
Is there any rule of thumb when using exclamation marks?
5
votes
2answers
110 views
Parentheses in scientific writing
I occasionally use parentheses in scientific writing when a piece of information is related to a previous statement but not to the central story.
Is it bad style in scientific writing to use ...
3
votes
1answer
125 views
Punctuation when using inline dialogue
I am a bit crazy about punctuation and I have a question that I'm struggling to find a consensus on.
For dialogue (especially in fiction), I always use the standard format:
"I told you I wanted ...
2
votes
1answer
86 views
Should 'Oz' be in Quotation Marks if not Quoting Him? APA Format
I am mentioning "Oz" from the "Wizard of Oz" in my APA formatted paper. I'm not quoting him but just making a reference to his all knowingness. Do I put Oz in quotation marks or just leave it ...
17
votes
5answers
2k views
Eliminating the Dash in Prose Writing
I have been accused — shock, horror — of using the dash (the one that indicates a three-quarters pause) too much in my fiction. Thing is — I quite like the effect (the space inserted in sentences by ...
9
votes
1answer
162 views
What is the name of the technique where quotation marks are not closed but reopened to indicate a break in speech
The wizard slid the application over to the goblin.
"I'm afraid, Mister Barnes, we cannot accept your letter of resignation at present. You are simply too ugly to qualify for an exit scheme, and ...
2
votes
0answers
335 views
Clarifying English Writing Conventions [closed]
I need example and usage of the following.
"but" - I seen it used but without comma, but after comma, and new sentence with But. What's the proper way to use it.
"However" - I seen it used start of a ...
3
votes
4answers
134 views
Trying to figure out the correct type punctuation for dialogues
I'm currently writing a story which so far is going well, but I reached a point in the story where I don't know how to proceed. When a character is talking, I write their dialogue just like this:
"...
