The web's most comprehensive guide to American punctuation.

The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons ⁠—in each case to slightly different effect.

There are two schools of thought on how best to lighten the punctuation of such a sentence. The traditional approach, advocated by William Strunk Jr. in The Elements of Style, removes the comma …

Terminal punctuation chart Use of the question mark with other punctuation, including quotation marks, is explained in the section on terminal punctuation.

The easiest way to solve a vexing punctuation problem is to avoid it. If you aren’t sure how to properly punctuate a sentence⁠—or if the proper punctuation results in a convoluted, confusing, or inelegant …

After searching the web for a comprehensive guide to American punctuation and not finding one, I decided to create my own. In the early years of written English, punctuation served to mark pauses …

Example Punctuation Quarterly 4:86–89 Explanation: This reads as “pages 86 through 89 of volume four.”

Though not necessarily logical, the American rules for multiple punctuation with quotation marks are firmly established. (See here for a brief explanation of the British style.)

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Slash The slash ( / ), also known as the virgule, has several uses, most of which should be avoided in formal writing. Never use a backslash ( \ ) in place of a slash. Poetry The one inarguably acceptable …