Punctuation, Part 2

In this post, I will discuss three more topics from the “Punctuation” section of Rules for Writers. I will also share what I have learned about this topics through revising my own draft of Project 2.

D0ktorz. "Interrobang." 10/21/15 via wikimedia. Public Domain.

The Comma

Nonrestrictive (nonessential) elements are set off by commas. These are parts of a sentence that do not change the meaning very much if removed. Sometimes determining whether or not a piece is restrictive or nonrestrictive requires context and knowledge of a writer's meaning. Cumulative adjectives should not have commas in between them. 

The Apostrophe

When there is joint possession, an apostrophe ( 's or s') is included on the last noun only; when there is individual possession (like the same noun but different versions for each subject), all nouns are possessive. Also, apostrophes are not used for the plurals of numbers (i.e. perfect figure 8s or the 1920s).

The Dash

Two hyphens, not one, create a dash. This punctuation is often used to set off parenthetical material that deserves emphasis. It is also appropriate to use the dash to set off appositives that contain commas to help the reader see the relative importance of the pauses.

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Reading my draft, I found that my writing is very comma-heavy. Every comma is used correctly, but it can be a little grammatically boring if the same technique is used over and over again. Here, I have a sentence from my draft that could benefit from a new form of punctuation.

Favorite movies are things that nearly all people, film buffs especially, get fairly defensive over.

• Commas could be used here to set off the non-essential material, but dashes could also be used instead to provide some contrast and create a more emphatic pause.

I think that I effectively used the semicolon in my draft. Here is a sentence in which this form of punctuation is used.

But Shone is not against progress; he merely doesn’t agree with its use to cover up weak acting.

• The semicolon provides an adequate pause and connects two related ideas skillfully.