{"id":910,"date":"2012-09-26T20:44:07","date_gmt":"2012-09-27T01:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/styleguide\/?page_id=12"},"modified":"2016-05-03T11:43:36","modified_gmt":"2016-05-03T16:43:36","slug":"punctuation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/communications\/editorial-guide\/punctuation\/","title":{"rendered":"Punctuation"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Apostrophes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Use an apostrophe to indicate where letters are omitted in a contraction.\n<ul>\n<li>It\u2019s so easy if you\u2019re familiar with the rules.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Do not use an apostrophe to indicate a plural; use the apostrophe only to indicate possession.\n<ul>\n<li>Southern Arkansas University reached its highest enrollment last year.<\/li>\n<li>The University\u2019s baseball team is one of the best in the nation.<\/li>\n<li>The Joneses and the Johnsons were among those in attendance.<\/li>\n<li>The 1980s were good for the University.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Colons<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Use a colon after an independent clause to list, restate, clarify, or illustrate. Do not use a colon where a semicolon is appropriate.\n<ul>\n<li>Illustrate the correct usage of the following<br \/>\npunctuation marks: commas, semicolons and colons.<\/li>\n<li>Quality is a concern; our reputation is based on it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Commas<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>In a series use commas to separate items but no comma before a conjunction. Example: We bought eggs, milk and cheese at the store.\n<ul>\n<li>The flag is red, white and blue.<\/li>\n<li>The University offers classes in nursing, sociology, social work and history.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Use a comma to separate adjectives equal in rank and the word \u201cand\u201d could be inserted without changing the intent of the statement.\n<ul>\n<li>He considered the situation in a thoughtful, precise manner.<\/li>\n<li>The tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Introductory phrases such as \u201cLast year\u201d and \u201cIn 1966\u201d do not require commas. When in doubt, <strong>leave it out<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>In 1966 the board was established.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>When a conjunction such as \u201cand,\u201d \u201cbut\u201d or \u201cfor\u201d links two clauses that could stand alone as separate sentences, use a comma before the conjunction.\n<ul>\n<li>He teaches English, and she teaches history.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Hyphens<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Hyphenate compound words that are used as adjectives.\n<ul>\n<li>full-time job, on-campus housing, triple-option offense, so-called neurosis, 12-year-old boy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Do not hyphenate compound words that have an \u201c-ly\u201d ending or those that are used as nouns.\n<ul>\n<li>widely known speaker, sensibly tailored suit, firmly held opinion, sharply reduced prices<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Whenever self is used as a prefix, it must be followed by a hyphen.\n<ul>\n<li>self-confidence, self-esteem, self-denial, self-taught<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\u201cSuspension\u201d hyphens are always used when parts of the compound words are separated from each other.\n<ul>\n<li>In second-and third-down situations, the coach usually sends in a pass-option play.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Do not hyphenate \u201cvice president.\u201d\n<ul>\n<li>Roger Giles is the vice president for administration and general counsel.<\/li>\n<li>Vice President Roger Giles will give the report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Hyphenate part-time and full-time when using it as a compound modifier (adjective).\n<ul>\n<li>She works part time.<\/li>\n<li>He has a full-time job.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Do not hyphenate African American.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Quotation marks<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Quotation marks appear in pairs with one exception. If an individual\u2019s dialogue extends more than a paragraph, put quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph but at the end of only the final paragraph.<\/li>\n<li>In general, quotations within quotations require single marks.\n<ul>\n<li>She asked, \u201cHave you read the poem \u2018To Autumn\u2019 by Keats?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Commas and periods should be placed inside the closing quotation marks in all circumstances.\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019ll let you know in the morning,\u201d he replied.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Colons and semicolons appearing at the end of a quote should always be placed outside the closing quotation marks.\n<ul>\n<li>The bird said \u201cNevermore\u201d; I said, \u201cWhy do you always take such a negative attitude?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Question marks, exclamation points, and dashes go either inside or outside the closing quotation marks depending on their function. If they are punctuating the quoted material itself, they go inside.\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cIs it healthy to sit around all day and watch television?\u201d he asked.<\/li>\n<li>Do you think the bird could be taught to say \u201cI\u2019ll think it over and get back with you later\u201d?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Semicolons<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Semicolons may be used to connect closely related independent clauses not joined by coordinating conjunctions.\n<ul>\n<li>I have ordered the book you requested; we no longer have it in stock.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Semicolons may be used to separate a series of items that require internal commas.\n<ul>\n<li>He traveled to Austin, Texas; Baltimore, Md.; Norman, Okla.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and South Bend, Ind.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Apostrophes Use an apostrophe to indicate where letters are omitted in a contraction. It\u2019s so easy if you\u2019re familiar with the rules. Do not use an apostrophe to indicate a plural; use the apostrophe only to indicate possession. Southern Arkansas University reached its highest enrollment last year. The University\u2019s baseball team is one of the&#8230; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/communications\/editorial-guide\/punctuation\/\"> Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":0,"parent":912,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-910","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/910\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}