Punctuation

Use an apostrophe to indicate that a noun or an indefinite pronoun is possessive. Luck often propels a rock musician’s career.

If the noun is singular and ends in –s or an s sound, add ‘s

Lois’s sister spent last year in India. If the noun is plural and ends in –s, add only an

apostrophe Both diplomats’ briefcases were searched by guards.

To mark omissions in contractions and numbers It’s for it is They’re for they are Shouldn’t for should not

Use quotation marks to enclose direct quotations of another person’s spoken or written words. See page 281

Quotations within quotations (single marks ‘ ’) Megan Marshall notes that what Elizabeth Peabody

“hoped to accomplish in her school was not merely ‘teaching’ but ‘educating children morally and spiritually as well as intellectually from the first’” (107).

Titles of short works Articles Poems Short stories Songs Television/radio episodes/programs Chapters or subdivisions of books

Words used as words The words “accept” and “except” are frequently

confused. You can also use italics for this rule.

The words accept and except are frequently confused.

Use brackets to enclose any words or phrases that you have inserted into an otherwise word-for-word quotation. Audubon reports that “if there are not enough young

to balance deaths, the end of the species [California condor] is inevitable” (4).

[sic] is used when an error in a quoted sentence appears in the original source. According to the review, Nelly Furtado’s

performance was brilliant, “exceding [sic]the expectations of even her most loyal fans.”

Are used to enclose supplemental material, minor digressions, and afterthoughts. Nurses record patients’ vital signs (temperature,

pulse, and blood pressure) several times a day.

Are also used to enclose letters or numbers labeling items in a series.

Do not use italics to emphasize words or ideas, especially in academic writing.

Do not use italics when referring to the Bible, titles of books in the Bible or titles of legal documents. Genesis, not Genesis the Constitution, not Constitution

Do not italicize the titles of computer software Keynote, Photoshop

Do not italicize the title of your own paper. Do not italicize foreign words that have become a

standard part of the English language. You can use quotation marks instead. laissez-faire Per diem

Use this to indicate that you have deleted words from an otherwise word-for-word quotation Reuben reports that “when the amount of

cholesterol circulating in the blood rises over…300 milligrams per 100, the chances of a heart attack increase dramatically.”

Use four periods if you delete a full sentence or more in the middle of a quoted passage. “Most of our efforts,” writes Dave Erikson,

“are directed toward saving the bald eagle’s wintering habitat along the Mississippi River….It’s important that the wintering birds have a place to roost, where they can get out of the cold wind.”

Use a full line of ellipsis dots to indicate that you have dropped a line or more from the poem or song.

Had we but world enough, and time,

This coyness, lady, were no crime

…………………………………………But at my back I always hear

You must make sure omissions and ellipsis marks do not distort the meaning of your source.