{ National Punctuation Day }

In celebration of National Punctuation Day on the 24th of September, dAgraphik specially dedicate this blog space for everyone out there who loves typography. Remember to include these little info into your life-long Book of Knowledge! :D

' - Apostrophe
To indicate the omission of one or more letters in a word, whether unpronounced, as in o’er for over, or pronounced, as in gov’t for government; to indicate the possessive case, as in woman’s; or to indicate plurals of abbreviations and symbols, as in several M.D.’s, p’s. But do NOT use apostrophes for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals.

[ ] - Brackets
Provide an explanation if the author uses something your audience isn’t likely to understand — “The first words of Joyce’s ‘Stately, plump Buck Mulligan’ are Introibo ad altare dei [‘I will go to the altar of God’].” You might need to supply a detail not in the original quotation, especially if your reader is likely to be confused: “As Fairbanks notes, ‘The death of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia [Mississippi] marked a turning point.’” You might also provide a first name: “It was [George] Eliot’s most successful work.” Always the question is whether the clarification will help your audience.

If you’re changing a single word or a short phrase, especially a pronoun, and the word isn’t especially interesting in its own right, it’s okay to omit the original and replace it with the bracketed interpolation: you can change “In that year, after much deliberation, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation” to “In [1862], after much deliberation, [Lincoln] issued the Emancipation Proclamation.”

... - Ellipsis
The omission from a sentence or other construction of one or more words understandable from the context that would complete or clarify the construction. A mark to indicate the omission of letters or words.

! - Exclamation Point
The sign used in writing after an exclamation or interjections, expressing strong emotion or astonishment, or to indicate a command. AVOID OVERUSE!

: - Colon
The sign used to mark a major division in a sentence to indicate that what follows is an elaboration, summation, interpretation, etc., of what precedes; and to separate groups of numbers, as hours from minutes (5:30) or the elements of a ratio or proportion (1:2).

, - Comma
A mark of punctuation used to indicate a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, to separate items in a list, to mark off thousands in numerals, to separate types or levels of information in bibliographic and other data.

– - Dash
A mark or sign used variously in printed or written matter, especially to note a break, pause, or hesitation; to begin and end parenthetic text; to indicate omission of letters or words; to substitute for certain uses of the colon; and to separate elements of a sentence or a series of sentences, as a question from its answer.

- - Hypen
A short line used to connect the parts of compound words or the parts of a word divided for any purpose. Hyphens are joiners. Use them to avoid ambiguity or to form a single idea from two or more words.

( ) - Parentheses
Either or both of a pair of signs used in writing to mark off an interjected explanatory or qualifying remark. Use parentheses ( ) to include material that you want to de-emphasize or that wouldn't normally fit into the flow of your text but you want to include nonetheless.

? - Question Mark
A mark indicating a question. Seriously.

" - Quotation Mark
One of the marks used to indicate the beginning and end of a quotation. Direct quotations are another person’s exact words — either spoken or in print — incorporated into your own writing.

. - Period
A full pause, as is made at the end of a complete sentence. The point or character used to mark the end of a declarative sentence or to indicate an abbreviation.

; - Semicolon
The punctuation mark used to indicate a major division in a sentence where a more distinct separation is felt between clauses or items on a list than is indicated by a comma, as between two clauses of a compound sentence.

More read-up on punctuations? Click here.

*credits to Les Kerning and National Punctuation Day's website