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Version 1.1.2 - July, 2008
Punctuation
Apostrophe
Class names
Always use an apostrophe (or right-hand single quote) in class abbreviations. Do not use a second apostrophe to refer to plural decades.
- Class of '67
- Jane Doe '09
- Classes of the '80s
Colon
Use a colon to introduce long lists. If the colon is followed by a list of complete sentences, capitalize the first word following the colon. If the statement following the colon is a complete sentence itself, lowercase the first word after the colon. If it is a list or a sentence fragment, lowercase.
- Three things he remembered: Spring arrives eventually. Summer is brief. Winter seems eternal.
- John followed the plan: he put the dog outside.
- Ice cream is always welcome: yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Comma
Use a comma before the words and and or in a series. Although AP calls for the omission of serial commas in simple series, to reduce confusion over what is a simple versus complex series, use serial commas throughout.
- The flag's colors are red, white, and blue.
- She had waffles, juice, and toast and jam for brunch.
- We must consider whether the athletes are skillful enough to compete, whether they have all the equipment they need, and whether they have the right attitude.
Commas and periods are always placed inside quotation marks. Other punctuation marks should be outside the ending quotation marks unless they are part of the material being quoted.
- He said, "Dartmouth is the greatest."
- Did she really say, "I can't wait for winter"?
Titles following a name should be set off with commas, unless they are part of the name.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Ann Marshall, M.D.
- Philip II of Spain
Use commas to set off nonrestrictive clauses or phrases. Use the word that to introduce a restrictive clause and which to introduce a nonrestrictive clause. An easy way to distinguish which word to use is whether or not the construction demands a comma to set it apart from the main clause. A comma always takes which.
- She was glad that she bought a Toyota.
- I'm glad you have a new car, which is why I parked next to you.
Hyphens
Compounds
A hyphen should be used with a compound modifier composed of an adjective and a noun, or an adverb and an adjective.
- She has no long-term plans.
- John has heat-sensitive toes.
- The College has a long-standing commitment.
Hyphenate compounds in which one word is a cardinal number and the other is a noun or adjective.
- six-string guitar
- three-headed cow
Hyphens are unnecessary in compounds that are composed of proper nouns or that are commonly read as a unit.
- Wait in the airport departure lounge.
- Sharon is a North Dakota native.
Do not use hyphens in compounds in which the first word (typically an adverb) ends in -ly (except for family).
- Oaks are rapidly growing trees.
- This is a fairly open discussion.
Do not place a hyphen between the prefixes pre, semi, anti, sub, non, etc., and nouns or adjectives unless it would duplicate vowel or consonants or the noun is a proper noun.
- Tom is an antiwar protester.
- Margot lives in a semidetached house.
- You can pre-enroll by filling out this form.
- This charity is a nonprofit institution.
Hyphenate part- and full-time only when used as adjectives.
Nationalities
Do not hyphenate compound nationalities even when used either as nouns or adjectives. Although AP hyphenates some dual heritage groups but not others avoid this practice because it can cause offense.
- There are seven Latin American students in our study group.
- I'm planning to major in African American history.
Hyphens and readability
Use a hyphen to help avoid ambiguity.
- He recovered his health.
- He re-covered his leaky roof.
Use a hyphen to avoid duplicated vowels or tripled consonants.
- anti-intellectual, pre-emptive
- Shell-like
See also AP page 332-333 or CMS 7.82-7.90 for further information.
Em dash
The longer of the two types of dashes, em dashes indicate a strong break in the structure of a sentence. There is no space before or after the em dash. To type an em dash in Mac use the keyboard strokes option-shift-hyphen. For PC, the command is ALT + 0151 typed on the number pad.
- Tad left work yesterday—much later than he wanted to—to pick up his mother.
Use an em dash before an author's name at the end of a quotation or in a byline.
En dash
The en dash represents a range, usually of time, distance, or number. In running text, use from and to or between and and instead. To type an en dash in Mac, use the keyboard strokes option-hyphen. For PC, the command is ALT + 0150 typed on the number pad.
- The exhibition runs from June 2 to July 1.
- May 7–9, 2005
- pp. 8–99
Use an en dash to join prefixes to compound terms when one or both terms is a compound.
- post–Civil War period
- New Hampshire–based firm
- grade–point average
For scores or numbers not in a sequence use a hyphen.
- The Red Sox beat the Yankees 12–4.
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