Punctuation (and Usage)
In many ways the following is a truncated style guide. As such, it does not replace a real style guide, such as that put out by the MLA. Face it—grammar is no longer stressed in our educational system. Often the reader wouldn’t recognize a grammatical error, not matter how blatant. With that in mind, it’s even more important to NOT have such errors.
There are some simple habits to gain which will make your text look and read better. Of course, they won’t do anything for lack of content, but that is another (ahem) story. Here they are, in no particular order.
1. Proof It
This has been mentioned before, and here it is again. It is most disturbing to come across simple errors in grammar and spelling. Run spell check. Proof for grammar. Have someone else (who hopefully is qualified) proof the piece. If you do your own proofing, look it over once, then leave it alone for a while (an hour, overnight, a couple of days if you can), then proof it again.
2. One Space After a Period
Traditionally, when typing one uses two spaces after a period. That is correct, for a typewriter. When working with text in a digital format (word processor, text editor, layout application, etc.), one only needs a single space after a period. This is because a typewriter is monospaced, where each letter takes up the same amount of space. This requires the second space between sentences. Digital type is proportional, adjusting letter spacing as you go long, which makes that extra space between sentences look too wide.
The difference between monospaced (top) and proportional text.
3. The Standard Indent
There are as multitudinous methods for signifying a paragraph, indents, outdents drop caps, etc. The most common is the indent, which on a typewriter is three or five spaces (I can never remember). Digitally, the standard indent should be at least one en-space, or en, (half an em, or the width of the uppercase m of the typeface you are using). In common practice, start with half the point size of the text. This is usually pretty thin, so move to the full point size (14pt for text set at 14pt). Where? Use the first line indent control. This is found in the paragraph formatting section of your favorite application.
4. Use Printer’s Quotes
This is usually on by default in most applications, but it means to use “ ” instead of " ". If they don’t automatically appear, the secret code is to use option [ for a right double quote, and option shift ] for the left (see special characters). The single quote versions are option ] and option shift ] respectively. There’s really no excuse to use straight quotes.
5. Apostrophes
Apostrophes (option shift ]) are used for possessives and contractions. That is, Junior’s dog, and we’ve for we have. An exception is in the case of its and it’s. Its is the possessive of ‘it’, and it’s is the contraction of ‘it is’. If you are omitting letters, as in Makin’ It, the apostrophe replaces the omitted letter. For contracted dates (years), the apostrophe again replaces the missing part, as in ‘the ’70s’. remember, possessives use an apostrophe, plurals do not.
6. Hyphens and Dashes
Ah, the hyphen. Probably the most misused character there is. Use a hyphen ONLY for hyphenating words. The hyphen is that key next to the 0 (zero) at the top of the keyboard
The en dash. The en dash (option hyphen) is a bit longer than a hyphen, and is used to indicate a duration: 5–7 p.m., or 1812–1814. No space is required before or after the en dash. The en dash is also used for compound adjectives, such as high–volume sales.
The em dash. The em dash (option shift hyphen) is used to indicate an abrupt change of thought—where’s my car? This is where the hyphen shows up a lot, and incorrectly.
7. Fashion Don’ts
Two things that get used a lot, and are definite signs of poor typography, are using ALL CAPS, and underlining. On rare occasions, both of these have their place, but they are best avoided if possible. If you need to use caps, use a proper small cap version of the typeface. All caps look like you are screaming. Small caps look elegant. Underlining is most often used for emphasis, but try italic or bold versions instead.
