If you’re having trouble with grammar, punctuation, or formatting and documentation, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll address questions like: What about that comma, should it go there? How do I cite sources in the text? Is that a grammatically-sound sentence? But remember, “the details” are just that—merely details. Don’t focus on them so much that you forget content, organization, and other large-order concerns.
To help get your point across clearly, or just to settle once and for all what “passive voice” means, check out these grammar handouts from the UWC and the OWL.
Which types of punctuation are throwing you off?
For a brief overview of punctuation I don’t cover here, visit these useful pages:
1. For singular and plural nouns that don’t end in “s,” you can form the possessive by adding an apostrophe and an “s.”
2. For singular nouns that end in “s” or “z,” you can put an apostrophe at the end or add the apostrophe “s.”
The key to this rule is consistency. You can either tack on an apostrophe every time or add the apostrophe “s,” but avoid switching back and forth.
3. For plural nouns that end in “s,” all you need is a final apostrophe to indicate the possessive.
Another use for apostrophes is when you’re writing contractions—a combination of two separate words. Here are a few examples:
Note: Contractions appear frequently in informal writing, but they’re gradually inching into academic writing, too. Some professors don’t mind the occasional contraction; others are adamantly opposed to them. So before throwing them around, you might want to figure out which type of professor you have.
1. It’s doesn't equal Its; Who’s doesn't equal Whose
It can be easy to confuse contractions and possessives. The first two words of each line (“It’s” and “Who’s”) are contractions that mean “It is” and “Who is,” respectively. Their meaning is different from the second words (“Its” and “Whose”); these are possessive pronouns.
(Examples taken from The Scott Foresman Handbook for Writers, 6th ed.)
Personal pronouns, like hers, his, theirs, and ours, don’t need apostrophes.
2. When two nouns share something, only the second noun needs to be possessive. But if the nouns own separate things, both nouns must be possessive.
To get a grasp on comma usage, it’s helpful to learn the rules. Some types of sentences demand commas; other times it’s up to you. Below are some examples of situations where commas are necessary.
A compound sentence has two independent clauses and can be separated into two separate sentences.
Clause #1: Molly enjoys running.
These clauses are connected by a comma and the coordinating conjunction “but.” Other coordinating conjunctions include “and,” “or,” “yet,” and “so.”
See where the comma is? It’s right between the first clause and the conjunction.
You can also make a compound sentence without a conjunction, in which case you use a semicolon—not a comma.
One common error writers make is leaving out the comma:
Or, they leave out the conjunction:
This error is called a comma splice. Some professionals write this way for stylistic reasons, but generally, it’s best to avoid comma splices.
Great—now you’ve mastered the compound sentences. But don’t get these confused with complex sentences.
A complex sentence has an independent clause connected to a dependent clause. To put it another way, a complex sentence has two parts: one phrase that can stand alone as a sentence (it has both a subject and a verb), and another phrase that depends on the first (this phrase cannot stand alone as a sentence).
When you connect these clauses and put the dependent clause first, use a comma to separate the clauses. But if you connect the two parts with the dependent clause at the end, you don’t need a comma. See the difference:
—or—
Likewise, you don’t necessarily need commas just because your sentence has a compound subject (more than one subject) or a compound verb (more than one verb). In these cases, you shouldn’t separate the subjects or verbs by commas.
Right: Veronica and Bronwyn despise algebra.
Wrong: Veronica, and Bronwyn despise algrebra.
Right: The chairman needed to organize the next shindig and write thank you notes to the donors.
Wrong: The chairman needed to organize the next shindig, and write thank you notes to the donors.
Commas are also important when you’re talking to someone and call him or her by name. We call this direct address.
Without the comma to set off the name, the words all run together. See?
Sometimes leaving out the comma miscues the reader. A single comma can change a sentence’s meaning.
The first sentence reads as "I know who Cristina is," but the second says something different: "Cristina, I understand."
Transition words, like "however" and “though,” also require commas to set them off.
Adverbial and prepositional phrases require commas to set them off only if they are placed at the start of a sentence.
When writing a series (a list of three or more things), commas are important to separate the parts of the list.
A series can also be written with the comma ommitted before the conjunction (in this example, "and").
Either option is allowed, but be consistent. Choose one option and stick to it. Journalists usually opt for the second option since one less comma saves print space. But other writers prefer the first option; occasionally, leaving out the comma before the conjunction confuses readers if they don’t know whether the last two items of the series are connected.
Here’s a colorful example from John Trimble’s Writing With Style:
This sentence is ambiguous. Readers don’t know whether the ex-cop craves doughnuts and women or whether the women are prisoners in the cell.
An appositive is a phrase that describes a noun and is separated from its sentence by one or two commas.
Note:When none of these rules applies to your sentence, but you feel a natural pause and want to insert a comma, go ahead. But try to avoid this use, if possible, or your paper may become too cluttered with commas.
The main rule about using quotation marks is to always (but only) use them to indicate the exact words of your source. Students sometimes put quotes around their paraphrase (rewording) of the original source or forget to put quotation marks around a cited passage. Even if it’s a short quotation, give credit where it’s due.
Punctuation Before Quotation Marks
If it’s a short quote and you introduce the speaker, use a comma before the opening quotes.
If you’ve just written a complete sentence and your quote explains, illustrates, or proves the idea, use a colon. A colon should also be used for quotations longer than one sentence and for indented block quotes (always four un-indented lines or longer). Block quotes have no quotation marks and the parenthetical citation falls outside both the block quote and the period at the end of the quote.
Example 1: Vince Lombardi always had a way to rationalize his failures: “We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.”
Example 2: Woody Allen joked: “It seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones slept better... while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more.”
Example 3: Jack Kerouac often mixed prose and poetry together, resulting in a style that was informal but exciting:
Punctuation At The End of Quotation Marks
Periods and commas go inside quotation marks. This seems a little counter-intuitive. We’re always told we should quote exactly, and now here we are putting commas and periods all over the place. That’s why the British always print commas and periods outside the quotation marks, but unless you’re planning on sending your essay overseas, you ought to follow our rules.
Wrong: Shakespeare explains that foolery “doth walk about the orb like the sun—it shines everywhere”. This puts the ending in the writer’s quote not Shakespeare’s.
Right: Shakespeare explains that foolery “doth walk about the orb like the sun—it shines everywhere.”
Wrong: Shakespeare says that the fool “doth walk about the orb like the sun”, “doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool”, and that it is better to have “a witty fool than a foolish wit.”
Right: Shakespeare says that the fool “doth walk about the orb like the sun,” “doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool,” and that it is better to have “a witty fool than a foolish wit.”
Semicolons and colons go outside quotation marks.
I know, I know, I just gave you a whole spiel about putting punctuation inside the quotation marks. The rules are weird. You just have to memorize them. I remember this rule by thinking that colons and semicolons join two thoughts together. If they were inside the quotation mark, then the speaker being quoted would be doing that work. When you put them outside the quotation marks, you’re showing that the mental connection is all yours.
Wrong: Groucho Marx once remarked that “A clown is like aspirin, only he works twice as fast;” modern doctors still prefer to recommend aspirin for your heart.
Right: Groucho Marx once remarked that “A clown is like aspirin, only he works twice as fast”; aspirin still might be better for your heart.
Wrong: Groucho Marx once remarked that “A clown is like aspirin:” he can make your headache go away.
Right: Groucho Marx once remarked that “A clown is like aspirin”: he can make your headache go away.
Question marks and exclamation points also go outside quotation marks unless they are part of the original quote.
This mostly comes up when you are writing or quoting dialogue.
Is much different from:
In the first example, the speaker is questioning the validity of the statement. In the second example, the speaker is quoting someone who is questioning his future attempted murder.
This shows the excitement of the speaker doing the quoting.
This reflects the excitement of the woman being quoted.
Whew! That's enough about quotation marks. Take me back to Punctuation.
Remember: What goes on either side of a semicolon must be a complete sentence, meaning that each phrase contains both a subject and a verb.
Like this:
Not like this:
And not like this:
Exception: Occasionally, semicolons serve to give readers a break in their reading. Sometimes semicolons are needed to break up long phrases in a long sentence; in this case, the phrase may not be a complete sentence. Below, semicolons set off extra-long phrases in a series.
Like this:
Each part of the series includes an appositive designated by a comma. With a comma within each series, it’s helpful to have something else—like semicolons—to separate the three items in the series.
Different disciplines call for different documentation styles. Usually, MLA and CMS are the preferred styles in the humanities, APA is favored for the social sciences, and CBE is favored for the natural sciences. COS—the Columbia Guide to Online Style—is a special style for online citation designed to use with one of the other formatting styles. Typically, your professor will indicate which style he or she prefers. When professors forget to mention their preference, just ask.
The best places for answers to your formatting questions are the style manuals themselves, which you can find at the UWC, in the library or at a bookstore. These manuals are often updated, so if you decide to consult one, be sure to select the latest edition. For answers to some frequently asked formatting questions, you can also consult the associations’ websites or handouts made at UT’s Undergraduate Writing Center.
MLA—Modern Language Association
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
APA—American Psychological Association
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
CMS—Chicago Manual of Style
The Chicago Manual of Style
For more details about the above documentation styles and others, including APSA and CBE, consult the online writing handbook of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. A google search may also yield additional resources.