Punctuation at Work: Simple Principles for Achieving Clarity and Good Style

Book description

Proper punctuation isn't just for school teachers?it's for anyone in the workplace who wants to communicate professionally...and clearly!

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. Introduction (1/2)
  3. Introduction (2/2)
  4. Author’s Note
  5. Definitions (1/2)
  6. Definitions (2/2)
  7. What You Need to Know First: 19 Principles
    1. 1. Punctuation can’t rescue sense from nonsense.
    2. 2. The main reason to punctuate is to clarify your intent.
    3. 3. One of punctuation’s tasks is to supply the various signals given by the voice.
    4. 4. In workplace writing, a sentence should yield its meaning instantly.
    5. 5. Punctuation should be invisible.
    6. 6. Punctuation follows the arrangement of words.
    7. 7. Punctuation indicates how ideas relate.
    8. 8. Punctuation suggests how much emphasis an idea deserves.
    9. 9. Punctuation slows the reading.
    10. 10. Don’t count too much on context to make your meaning plain.
    11. 11. Know the difference between restrictive and non-restrictive expressions.
    12. 12. Respect the distinction between that and which. (1/2)
    13. 12. Respect the distinction between that and which. (2/2)
    14. 13. When is punctuation optional? (1/2)
    15. 13. When is punctuation optional? (2/2)
    16. 14. Use the serial comma.
    17. 15. When do I separate adjectives with a comma?
    18. 16. Use the hyphen to clarify “improvised usage.” (1/2)
    19. 16. Use the hyphen to clarify “improvised usage.” (2/2)
    20. 17. Sometimes, no matter how you punctuate, a reader is going to think it’s wrong.
    21. 18. Feed your head.
    22. 19. When you see an odd usage, consider the source.
  8. The Marks
    1. Apostrophe
    2. Brackets (1/2)
    3. Brackets (2/2)
    4. Colon
    5. Comma (1/4)
    6. Comma (2/4)
    7. Comma (3/4)
    8. Comma (4/4)
    9. Dash
    10. Ellipsis
    11. Hyphen (1/2)
    12. Hyphen (2/2)
    13. Parentheses (1/2)
    14. Parentheses (2/2)
    15. Period (1/2)
    16. Period (2/2)
    17. Question Mark
    18. Quotation Marks (1/2)
    19. Quotation Marks (2/2)
    20. Semicolon (1/2)
    21. Semicolon (2/2)
    22. Slash
    23. Punctuating Common Sentence Structures (1/4)
    24. Punctuating Common Sentence Structures (2/4)
    25. Punctuating Common Sentence Structures (3/4)
    26. Punctuating Common Sentence Structures (4/4)
  9. Appendix: How to List Ideas (1/3)
  10. Appendix: How to List Ideas (2/3)
  11. Appendix: How to List Ideas (3/3)
  12. Notes (1/2)
  13. Notes (2/2)
  14. Index
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    5. E
    6. F
    7. G
    8. H
    9. I
    10. J
    11. L
    12. M
    13. N
    14. O
    15. P
    16. Q
    17. R
    18. S
    19. T
    20. U
    21. V
    22. W
    23. Y
    24. Z

Product information

  • Title: Punctuation at Work: Simple Principles for Achieving Clarity and Good Style
  • Author(s): Richard Lauchman
  • Release date: February 2010
  • Publisher(s): AMACOM
  • ISBN: 9780814414941