Part 8 (1/2)

GENERAL REMARKS

Book t.i.tles are now set without points. This fas.h.i.+on was introduced by Pickering of London about 1850. This method is generally to the advantage of the t.i.tle page thus treated. It is possible, however, to carry it too far and so to obscure the sense. Commas should not be omitted from firm names, such as Longmans, Green & Co., as in case of such omission there is no way of knowing whether one or more persons are indicated. Punctuation should not be omitted from the t.i.tles which may accompany an author's name, nor from the date if day and month are given as well as year.

Avoid the doubling of points wherever possible. When an abbreviation precedes a colon, omit the period. When an abbreviation precedes a comma, the period is often inserted, but in many cases one or the other can be dropped to advantage. The dash is not generally preceded by a comma, semicolon, or colon in current printing usage. A comma should rarely go before the first parenthesis. If used at all with the parentheses, it should follow the closing parenthesis. When a complete sentence is enclosed in parentheses, the period falls within the parentheses. When the enclosure is a brief pa.s.sage at the end of a sentence, the period falls outside the parentheses.

Do not put a period before the apostrophe and the possessive _s_ as in _Co.'s_. The word _Company_ may be abbreviated to _Co._ although it is not desirable to do so if it can be avoided. The possessive of _Co._ is _Co's_.

SUMMARY

1. A comma separates clauses, phrases, and particles.

2. A semicolon separates different statements.

3. A colon is the transition point of the sentence.

4. A period marks the end of a sentence.

5. A dash marks abruptness or irregularity.

6. Parentheses enclose interpolations in the sentence.

7. Brackets enclose irregularities in the sentence.

8. An interrogation asks a question for an answer.

9. An exclamation marks surprise.

10. An apostrophe marks elisions and the possessive case.

11. Quotation marks define quoted words.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Correct Composition. By DeVinne. Oswald Publis.h.i.+ng Company, New York.

The Writer's Desk Book. By William Dana Orcutt. Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York.

A Manual for Writers. By Manly and Powell. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Composition and Rhetoric. By Lockwood and Emerson. Ginn & Co., Boston.

The Art of Writing and Speaking the English Language. By Sherwin Cody.