A lot of people bemoan what they perceive to be a disregard for basic grammar and punctuation rules as different forms of digital writing have emerged. For instance, research by the Pew Research Center found that the majority of AP (Advanced Placement) and NWP (National Writing Project) teachers have mixed feelings about digital media, feeling that on one hand, it promotes more opportunities for different types of writing and collaboration and a deeper awareness of audience and other rhetorical considerations (Purcell et al.). However, they also feel that the shift to reading and writing informal texts have “diminished” students’ ability to attend to the more precise aspects of their writing—word choice, grammar, punctuation. In a survey of AP and NWP teachers, 68% expressed concern that digital tools make it more likely that students will “take shortcuts and not put effort into their writing.” Respondents also noted concerns about “spelling and grammar” and writing that is “too fast” and “careless” (Purcell et al.).

Perhaps text messaging is one of the best examples. With the affordances of text messages, we can easily stay in touch with people all day long, quickly reading short messages and responding in kind as time allows. This is an incredibly informal form of writing. It’s not unusual to see a text message with no punctuation or capitalization at all. Instead it’s filled with SMS language (abbreviations), slang, emojis, and GIFs—all of which convey meaning and can go a long way to advance conversations, provide entertainment, and forge social connections. Text messaging and social media posts have significantly expanded the types of and the amount of writing that people do each day, which is a major benefit. However, the concern is that when tasked with a more formal type of writing—an academic essay, an email to a colleague or supervisor, or even a blog post or white paper—people will approach them in the same way, with little attention to prewriting, organization, or proofreading for accuracy and clarity.

The reality is that concerns about students’ ability to write “correctly” (i.e., according to grammar and punctuation rules for Standard American English) and the debate about which writing skills merit the most attention go back a long way. As early as 1874, Harvard added a writing component to its already rigorous entrance exam for potential applicants, and more than half of students taking the exam that year failed and were therefore required to take remedial writing courses before they were considered ready for college-level writing (Haswell). Grammar and punctuation drills were normal in English classes throughout the beginning of the twentieth century, and even still, in 1974, a Newsweek article titled “Why Johnny Can’t Write” decried the “appalling” literacy statistics and the growing number of surface-level errors that undermined basic writing proficiency. The article begins like this: “If your children are attending college, chances are that when they graduate, they will be unable to write ordinary, expository English with any real degree of structure and lucidity” (Sheils). It goes on to discuss the connection between low reading levels (as predicted by Marshall McLuhan with the growth of television culture) and poor writing skills and the deficit of professionals and “civil servants” who can write effectively (Sheils). Since then, more writing teachers have focused on other aspects of writing—depth of content and the underlying ideas and insights, rhetorical considerations, and writing processes that help students think about their writing in stages.

Certainly, there is much more to effective writing than correct grammar and punctuation. It has to catch readers’ attention, offer insights that help readers think about a topic in new ways, demonstrate logical thinking, and in some cases, spark an emotional response that prompts readers to take action. However, as this chapter will discuss, correctness matters too, adding clarity and credibility to your writing. While there are far too many grammar and punctuation rules to cover in one chapter, we’ll cover some of the most fundamental, paying particular attention to common mistakes. We’ll also discuss strategies for concise writing, which is especially important in digital writing.

Revising vs. Editing

Sometimes you might hear the words “revising” and “editing” used interchangeably, as if they are the same thing, but there are significant differences. Revision relates to “big picture” or “global” changes that you make to a draft to improve the content and organization. It might be that the process of writing the draft helped you think through your ideas more clearly, and you’ve changed your mind about the direction of your text. Maybe you’ve changed your mind about your argument or the way that you want to approach your argument. Revision might also relate to the way that you develop your content, providing more examples or reasoning or explanation in the text. In contrast, it might be that you got derailed from your original topic in some places, and you need to condense or eliminate sections that aren’t central to the point you want to make. Finally, revision could entail reorganization—moving around sentences or entire paragraphs so the flow of your text is more logical and easy to follow.

In contrast, the editing process takes a closer look at individual sentences, making more “local” changes that don’t relate as much to the content and organization. It’s more about making sure that sentences have correct grammar and punctuation, consistent usage, precise word choice, and a structure that is concise and enhances the flow. Once the overall structure of a text is set, the editing process is a way of polishing a text to make sure it is clear, easy to understand, and makes the right impression on the intended audience.

In terms of the writing process, the final editing typically comes last, but it’s a bit of a misnomer to think that the writing process is linear. You’ve probably seen diagrams of the writing process that seem to move sequentially from brainstorming to prewriting to drafting to revising and, finally, to editing. The reality, though, is that the writing process is messy, resisting predictable steps and a clear order. In fact, it’s often more recursive than linear, and you might find yourself doing more brainstorming while you are drafting, for instance, or rethinking some of your original ideas even as you are proofreading for errors. Also, many people have a pretty natural understanding of grammar and punctuation rules and tend to polish their sentences for accuracy and word choice in their initial draft. However, the final edit should always come last and, ideally, include a couple of different people focusing on the smaller details of a draft. While you might not feel that any text is ever really “perfect,” it’s amazing the errors you will catch and the tangible improvements you can make with just one more read through.

The bottom line is that proofreading, along with having a solid understanding of at least the most common grammar and punctuation rules, has significant rhetorical value. Remember rhetoric? It’s the purpose of your text. It’s the main idea that you are trying to convey in order to invoke some sort of change in your reader—to deepen their understanding of an issue, to make a personal connection, to challenge their thinking on a controversial issue, to provoke some sort of action. You might think that the final edit is more like the frosting on the cake than anything of real substance or consequence, but some proofreading errors create confusion for readers, making it more difficult for them to read and understand your work, which is a significant barrier to the success of your text. Also, proofreading errors can diminish your ethos—your credibility or authority in the minds of readers. A text with punctuation, spelling, or grammar errors creates the impression that the writer was either too lazy or careless to proofread or that they don’t understand what the rules are. Either way, these errors can have a profound impact on readers’ impression of a text and how they respond.

A Note about Dialect

The remainder of this chapter focuses on common rules related to grammar, punctuation, and conciseness, all stemming from the Standard American English dialect that is most often taught in English courses and advanced as “correct” in professional and technical writing. However, there are many legitimate English dialects, each one with its own pronunciation of words as well as unique vocabularies and grammar rules (Laperre). As we’ve discussed throughout this textbook, rhetoric is extremely contextual, so what is “correct” can vary significantly from one situation to the next. Like language itself, grammar and punctuation rules are socially constructed, created for the primary purpose of enhancing communication, and those rules evolve over time. The point of this chapter is not to promote Standard American English as more correct or legitimate than any other dialect. Rather, it is a starting point to cultivate greater awareness of how grammar and punctuation rules function so that you can apply them effectively to your own writing. It’s important to remember, too, that grammar and punctuation rules have historically been used as a means of exclusion, to separate those who are “educated” from those who are not and to create further barriers to socioeconomic advancement for minority groups (Wetherbee). At its best, however, attention to grammar and punctuation is a means of inclusion, making your text more accessible to readers who desire to be part of the conversation.

Basic Grammar Rules

This section will review a few grammar concepts, many of which are probably familiar and some that might be new or forgotten. Of course, you can always look up information about more complicated or nuanced grammar rules. Here we focus on common mistakes that can make it difficult for readers to understand the meaning of your writing and create a more negative impression of you and your message. Being able to consistently follow these rules will go a long way toward writing that is easy to read and more fluid.

Subject-Verb Agreement

This rule focuses on the subject of a sentence and whether it is in singular or plural form. A singular subject requires a singular verb just as a plural subject requires the plural form of the verb. Some examples:

The squirrel climbs the tree.

Those boys are on the same basketball team.

Sometimes, it’s a little more difficult to find the actual subject of the sentence. For instance:

A flock of geese is flying overhead.

In this example, “flock” is the actual subject, which is singular, while “geese” is the object of the preposition. Here’s another example:

Feeding the animals at the zoo is prohibited.

Here, the subject of the sentence is a gerund phrase. “Feeding the animals” works together to form the subject of the sentence, and even though “animals” is plural, the action that is implied in the gerund “feeding” is singular.

Some other things to consider when it comes to subject-verb agreement are the following:

• Two singular nouns linked with “and” are considered a plural subject.
  • Sarah and Maggie are on their way.
• Two singular nouns linked with “or” are considered a singular subject.
  • Either Mom or Dad is coming to my game this afternoon.
• Indefinite pronouns are typically considered singular (anybody, one, everyone, nobody, etc.).
  • Nobody likes getting a speeding ticket.
  • Everyone is getting ready for the final exam.
• Sentences that begin with “there is” and “there are” agree with the noun that follows, which is the true subject of the sentence.
  • There are only four cookies left in the box.
  • There is rain moving into the area.
  • One common rule of thumb is to try to avoid sentence constructions that begin with “there is” or “there are” to be more concise and put emphasis on the true subject. For instance: Rain is moving into the area. Only four cookies are left in the box.
• A subject that is joined by the correlative conjunctions “not only…but also,” “neither…nor,” “either…or” will have a verb that agrees with the subject closest to it.
  • Not only the students but also the teacher is looking forward to summer break.
  • Either my dog or the squirrels in the backyard are responsible for this mess.

Subject-Pronoun Agreement

Similar to subject-verb agreement, subject-pronoun agreement focuses on whether the subject of the sentence is singular or plural. In order to avoid the redundancy of naming the subject over and over, writers will use pronouns to refer back to the subject. Once again, a plural subject requires a plural pronoun and a singular subject requires a singular pronoun.

The doctor was running late and asked the nurse practitioner to fill in for her.

Motorcyclists have a special connection. They always wave when they pass each other.

Of course, pronouns can sometimes be tricky in a sentence with more than one subject. Consider the following example:

My mom and sister were in an accident. She got a minor concussion.

Here the pronoun “she” is confusing. It’s unclear which antecedent (the noun that the pronoun refers to) “she” corresponds to, the mother or the sister. Consider another example:

I accidentally drove your car into the garage door and badly damaged it.

Again, it’s unclear whether “it” refers to the car or the garage door. Another similar problem with pronouns is if they occur in a sentence that is separated from the antecedent by several sentences, which might make it difficult for readers to remember who or what the pronoun refers to. In that case, you’d want to be sure to explicitly name the noun to aid readers’ understanding. Similarly, if the ideas presented in the text are somewhat complex, instead of saying “this idea,” it would probably be more helpful for readers if you rearticulated the idea for them.

Some other important subject-pronoun guidelines to keep in mind include the following:

• Recently, “they” has become increasingly accepted as a singular pronoun for a singular subject, which helps eliminate gendered pronouns as well as the clunky “he or she” or “his or her” construction for an indefinite subject. For instance, instead of saying
  • One must pay close attention to his or her surroundings.

It has become acceptable to say

• • One must pay close attention to their surroundings.

Here’s another example:

• • An anonymous donor funded our entire trip. They are so generous!
• If possible, it’s sometimes easier to simply make the subject plural to avoid disagreement. Instead of saying, A teacher should work hard to engage their students, it would be simpler to make the subject and pronoun plural: Teachers should work hard to engage their students.
• Two singular nouns connected with “and” become a plural antecedent and require a plural pronoun. Mary and Gregg walked to their car.
• Two singular nouns connected with “or” are a singular antecedent and require a singular pronoun. Either Sarah or Esther left her book on the table.
• A subject that is joined by the correlative conjunctions “not only…but also,” “neither…nor,” “either…or” will have a pronoun that agrees with the subject closest to it.
  • Either my aunt or my sisters will let me share their hotel room.

Sentence Boundaries

One of the most common writing mistakes involves a misunderstanding of sentence boundaries—where one sentence should end and another one should begin. Here is where an understanding of an “independent clause” as discussed above will be helpful. As a reminder, an independent clause can stand alone as a sentence because it has a subject and a verb, and it doesn’t begin with a subordinating conjunction.

There are two common mistakes associated with sentence boundaries:

1. A fragment sentence can’t stand alone as a sentence because it is missing a complete subject or predicate.
   • For instance “going to the store to get lemons” is a fragment sentence because it’s missing the subject. Who is going to the store to get lemons?
   • Similarly, “the vendor at the kiosk who took my credit card” is also a fragment sentence because it doesn’t have a predicate that indicates what this person did. The relative clause “who took my credit card” provides more information about which vendor is being discussed, but it’s part of the subject. It needs a predicate to be complete: The vendor at the kiosk who took my credit card is gone.
   • The most common fragment sentence is one that begins with a subordinating conjunction, which makes the sentence a dependent clause. For instance, “I love ice cream” is an independent clause with a subject and a verb that can stand alone as a sentence. However, if you put a subordinating conjunction in the beginning, it becomes a dependent clause: “Because I love ice cream.” Now it’s no longer a complete thought; it’s a fragment sentence. It needs an independent clause to be complete: “Because I love ice cream, I always have a carton in the freezer.”
2. Run-on sentences put more than one independent clause together in the same sentence without using a conjunction to connect them. Instead of not having enough information to be a complete thought, a run-on sentence has two complete thoughts that should either be two separate sentences or be connected with a coordinating conjunction. Here are some examples:

“I paid for my ticket to the movie I didn’t have enough money for popcorn.” This is an example of a run-on sentence because there are really two independent clauses here that could stand alone as a sentence: “I paid for my ticket to the movie” and “I didn’t have enough money for popcorn.”

There are three ways to fix the above run-on sentence:

• • First, it could simply be broken into two separate sentences: “I paid for my ticket to the movie. I didn’t have enough money for popcorn.”
  • Second, and probably most common, it could be combined into a single sentence with a coordinating conjunction (i.e., for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). A coordinating conjunction can be used to connect two independent clauses into a single sentence: “I paid for my ticket to the movie, but I didn’t have enough money for popcorn.”
  • Third, two independent clauses can be combined with a semicolon. We’ll discuss punctuation rules in more detail below. For now, it’s helpful to point out that a semicolon can combine two independent clauses, but there wouldn’t be a coordinating conjunction. “I paid for my ticket to the movie; I didn’t have enough money for popcorn.”
  • Here are a few more examples of sentences with two independent clauses that use a coordinating conjunction to combine them into one sentence:
    • My daughter cleaned the house today, and she managed to mow the lawn, too.
    • You can go to the restaurant with us, or you’re welcome to drive yourself.
    • I don’t like exercising, nor do I watch what I eat.
    • Tyler studies very hard, for he’s trying to get into med school.
    • They worked together to rake the leaves, so they finished their chores more quickly.
    • I’ve been getting up early for the past month, yet it’s still difficult to get out of bed.

Parallel Structure

Sentences with two or more ideas with equal weight should be parallel, meaning that they have the same grammatical pattern of words, usually beginning with the same part of speech. Verbs match up with verbs, nouns match up with nouns, and so on. Not only does this show that the ideas are equal, but it helps with clarity and readability. Let’s look at a few examples:

• On any given weekend, you’ll find her reading, napping, and trying to catch up on laundry. This is an example of parallel structure. All of the items in the list are gerunds.
• The men’s room is down that walkway and to your left. Here the two items connected by the coordinating conjunction begin with prepositions.
• Most people would describe that class as challenging but also interesting and fun. Here all of the elements, combined with the use of two coordinating conjunctions, are adjectives.
• To lose weight, one should exercise regularly, eat reasonable portions, and drink plenty of water. All of the elements in this list begin with a verb.

A sentence that isn’t parallel fails to follow the same pattern for similar items, which could create confusion, but more often than not, it just sounds strange. For instance:

• I like baking, jogging, and to relax on the couch. Do you see the problem? “To relax” isn’t a gerund like the other elements in the list. It should say, “relaxing on the couch.”
• The financial advisor emphasized the importance of open communication, intentionality, and to think critically about how to reduce spending. In this example, “communication” and “intentionality” are both nouns, but “to think” is an infinitive. To be parallel, that last item needs to become a noun. “Resourcefulness” could work.

There are several key instances when parallel structure is necessary:

• When similar items are joined by a coordinating conjunction.
  • She takes her coffee with cream and sugar.
  • I don’t want to go to the movies or get ice cream.
• With elements in a list.
  • The goalkeeper was attentive, aggressive, and quick.
• With items that are being compared.
  • I like eating sushi more than I like making it.
• With items joined by a correlative conjunction (both/and, either/or, neither/nor, not only / but also, whether/or, as/so).
  • At the restaurant, we not only got appetizers, but we also ordered dessert.
  • Just as the body needs exercise, so too does it need rest.
  • More tests are needed to diagnose your illness and treat it effectively.

Active Voice

Active voice simply means that the subject of the sentence is doing the action of the sentence and not being acted upon. This makes sentences more interesting and usually more concise. In contrast, a sentence in passive voice has a subject that is acted upon. Some examples:

• Passive voice: The exam was failed by more than half the students in class.
• Active voice: More than half the students in the class failed the exam.
• Passive voice: The window was broken by the kids playing baseball across the street.
• Active voice: The kids playing baseball across the street broke the window.
• Passive voice: The new puppy was given a bath by our neighbors.
• Active voice: Our neighbors gave the new puppy a bath.

An exception to the rule is when the agent doing the action is unknown or unimportant. In that case, putting the person or thing being acted upon at the beginning of the sentence is useful for emphasis. For example:

• I was notified today that I got the scholarship.
• The car was stolen yesterday.

Other Common Mistakes

• Dangling modifiers: A word or phrase that is being modified isn’t clearly stated in the sentence. Here’s an example:
  • Having finished the assignment, the television was turned on. In this sentence, the phrase “having finished the assignment” is a modifying phrase, and as such, it should be followed up by the noun that is being modified. In other words, who or what finished the assignment? That person is missing from the sentence. A corrected version would look like this:
  • Having finished the assignment, Sarah turned on the television.
• Misplaced modifiers: A modifying word or phrase seems to be modifying the wrong word. Modifiers should always go close to the work they are describing, and when that doesn’t happen it can create problems. For instance:
  • I turned a gold man’s watch in to the lost and found. Here the word “gold” is misplaced. It should be next to the word “watch” to indicate that the watch was gold, but since it’s next to man, it makes it seem like there is a gold man. A fixed version would put the modifier right next to the word being described:
  • I turned a man’s gold watch in to the lost and found.

Here are some other examples:

• • I put my dirty clothes in the hamper that I had worn. (The modifying phrase “that I had worn” should go next to “clothes” instead of “hamper.” It should read, “I put my dirty clothes that I had worn in the hamper.”)
  • She arrived at the office out of breath. (“Out of breath” should go near “she” instead of “the office.” It should read, “She arrived out of breath at the office.”)
• Who vs. whom: Use the word “who” when it is the subject of the sentence and “whom” when it is the object (receiving the action of the verb). For instance:
  • Who knows the answer to this question? (Here “who” is the subject completing the action of the verb.)
  • To whom should I address the envelope? (“Whom” is receiving the addressed envelope while “I” is doing the action.)
  • When in doubt, see if you can replace he or she with the word who or whom. If you can, then it should be “who”—the subject. If him or her makes more sense, then the word should be “whom”—the object. For instance: He knows the answer to the question. Also: I will address the envelope to her.

Punctuation

This section reviews punctuation rules. Again, we’ll focus on some of the more common mistakes and the rules that will help you avoid those mistakes. While we won’t discuss the most basic punctuation marks—periods, question marks, and exclamation marks, we will discuss the importance of several other punctuation marks and how they should be used to add clarity to a sentence.

Commas

Commas separate elements in a sentence to provide clarity. There are several instances when a comma is necessary:

• Transition words, such as however, thus, therefore, nevertheless, and so on.
  • I don’t, however, have the right tools to fix the washing machine myself.
  • Therefore, we need to call the repair specialist.
• Descriptive phrases (sometimes called appositives) that help describe another element in the sentence. If the descriptive phrase provides additional information but isn’t necessary to understand the meaning of the sentence or the referent, then commas are necessary to surround the information.
  • Professor Snow, a longtime psychology professor on campus, will receive the award.
  • We’re going to the sand dunes in August, the hottest month of the year.
  • Toni Morrison’s book Beloved is my favorite. (There wouldn’t be commas in this sentence because the title of the book, Beloved, is essential to understanding which book is being discussed, since she has published more than one.)
• Descriptive clauses (i.e., relative clauses) that describe a noun in the independent clause. These require commas if they aren’t necessary to understanding the meaning of the sentence or the identity of the referent. (This is also called a nonrestrictive relative clause.)
  • The news report was published in Science, which is a leading academic journal. (The relative clause at the end isn’t necessary to understand which journal is being discussed. It simply provides additional information.)
  • Our mail person, who has been on our route for the last 25 years, is retiring this spring. (The relative clause gives additional information about the mail person, but it isn’t necessary for understanding who the sentence is about.)
  • College students who suffer from dyslexia should register with a counselor to get the help they need. (In this example, the relative clause “who suffer from dyslexia” is restrictive. It’s necessary to help readers understand which college students the sentence is about.)
• Adjacent items like dates and locations. Many people don’t know that when you give a city and a state in a sentence, the state should be surrounded by commas. The same is true for a full date with the month, day, and year; the year should be surrounded by commas.
  • The championship will take place in Madison, Wisconsin, this year.
  • He was born on July 2, 1902, at the local hospital.
• Coordinating conjunctions that connect two independent clauses.
  • I want to take that new history class, but it doesn’t fit into my schedule.
  • I went to the theme park in the afternoon, and I couldn’t believe how long the lines were.
  • Note: There shouldn’t be a comma if the conjunction doesn’t separate two independent clauses. For instance: I went to the theme park this afternoon and couldn’t believe how long the lines were. Since “couldn’t believe how long the lines were” is a dependent clause, a comma isn’t correct.
• Lists of similar items. Rules vary, but typically you’d want to include the Oxford (or serial) comma, which is the last comma in the series, right before the word “and” or “or.”
  • I will buy cereal, milk, and coffee at the store.
• Separated quotes that are complete sentences. A comma provides separation from the dialogue tag.
  • According to the American Cancer Society, “1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.”
  • “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
• Subordinate clauses at the beginning of sentences. Remember that a subordinate or dependent clause begins with a subordinating conjunction and can’t stand alone as a sentence. It needs an independent clause. If the dependent clause comes at the beginning of the sentence, then a comma should come afterward. However, if it is attached to the end of the sentence, a comma isn’t needed.
  • When we get home, you need to get right to bed. (Dependent clause in the beginning.)
  • You need to get right to bed when we get home. (Dependent clause at the end.)
  • Because of the snow, school has been delayed.
  • School has been delayed because of the snow.

The two exceptions to this rule are the subordinating conjunctions “whereas” and “although,” which still require a comma if they come in the middle of a sentence:

• • The doctor’s appointment went well, although her blood pressure seemed a little high.

Semicolons

Semicolons also separate items in a sentence, but there are far fewer instances in which a semicolon is necessary:

• To separate two independent clauses in the same sentence. Remember that you can use a comma and a coordinating conjunction to link two or more independent clauses in a sentence. Another option is to link them together with a semicolon, which is a cue to readers that the two clauses are connected. When you use a semicolon, avoid using a coordinating conjunction.
  • I didn’t sleep very well last night; going to work today will be difficult.
  • I don’t eat strawberries because I’m allergic; they always give me a rash.
• To separate items in a list that have internal commas. Lists are typically separated with commas, but if one or more items in that list has an appositive phrase or relative clause that requires a comma, then semicolons are used to distinguish between the modifying information and the larger items in the list.
  • In attendance at the meeting were Mr. Morrison, the university president; Ms. Smith, the CEO; and Mr. Collins, our financial advisor. Here, the semicolons show separation between the three main items in the list. If only commas were used, it would look like there were six people at this meeting instead of only three.
  • On my schedule for next semester, I’m taking history, which I love; math, which I can tolerate; and archery, which I hope will be fun.

Colons

A colon signals that something important is about to follow. It’s used in the following instances:

• To introduce a list. When used this way, the information leading up to the colon should be an independent clause. A colon shouldn’t be used in between a verb and its object.
  • Correct: At the market today, we bought the following items: bread, jam, pie, and homemade soap.
  • Incorrect: At the market today, we bought: bread, jam, pie, and homemade soap. (The colon isn’t needed here.)
• To further define or explain a word or phrase that came before it.
  • The intended readers are managers: people who are concerned with planning, budgeting, and allocation of resources and personnel.
• To introduce a quote with an independent clause.
  • In his debate speech, Mr. Reidy was clearly against tax increases: “I will do whatever is necessary to reduce spending.”
• To show typographical distinctions or divisions.
  • Dear Ms. Wong:
  • 7:30 a.m.
  • “Ethics Case Study: The Boundaries of Marketing Integrity”

Hyphens

Hyphens are used to join two or more words to make compound words and adjectives.

• In some instances, hyphens are used to connect compound words that are nouns—for instance, decision-maker, twenty-four, mother-in-law, self-care. Usually, you can look up these types of words to see if they should be hyphenated or not.
• Hyphens also connect words (often nouns) that act as adjectives in a sentence.
  • Martha is a twenty-one-year-old girl. (“Twenty-one-year-old” works together to modify “girl.”)
  • We went to an all-you-can-eat buffet.
  • My doctor wants me to switch to low-impact exercises.
• Note: Hyphens aren’t needed for many compound words (e.g., playground), common prefixes and suffixes (e.g., prelaw, joyful), or -ly adverbs that are used with adjectives (e.g., a highly esteemed position, a barely worn sweater).

Dashes

There are two different kinds of dashes:

1. An em dash (—) is used to separate additional information, similar to the way that commas are used for this purpose, except that em dashes are used to emphasize the additional information.
   • The meeting took two hours—much longer than anticipated—but we got a lot done.
2. An en dash (–) is shorter than an em dash but longer than a hyphen. It’s used to mark a range of dates, times, page numbers, or other measurements. It can also be used with compound adjectives.
   • The Christmas party is scheduled for Friday evening, 6–8 p.m.
   • For tomorrow’s assignment, please read chapter 5, pages 140–168.

• • I still have my grandmother’s World War I–era dress.

Note: There aren’t any spaces before and after em or en dashes.

Apostrophes

Apostrophes are used in two instances:

1. To show possession. For instance:
   1. Single possessive: Kelly’s book or My neighbor’s new car
   2. Plural possessive: Students’ grades are higher this semester. The studies’ results show a correlation between sleep and cognitive performance. Note that for plural possessive, the apostrophe goes after the “s.”
   3. Note: To make a word that already ends in “s” possessive, add an apostrophe and s.
      1. The Prius’s tire is flat.
      2. Chris’s wallet is still in the car.
   4. Another note: There is a difference between joint possession, where more than one noun has ownership of the same item, and separate possession, where each noun has ownership of its own item.
      1. Joint ownership: We’re having dinner at mom and dad’s house. To show joint ownership, the apostrophe and s go after the last person or thing. Here, the home belongs to both mom and dad.
      2. Separate ownership: Income is split evenly into mom’s and dad’s bank accounts. To show separate ownership, the apostrophe and s go after each person or thing that has ownership. In this instance, mom and dad each have their own, separate bank accounts.
2. For contractions. Can’t, won’t, shouldn’t, don’t, and so on.

Ellipses

The main use of ellipses is to show that information has been extracted from a quote. Perhaps it’s a long quote, and there is more information or detail given in certain parts than necessary for your own purposes. An ellipse can be used in place of that information, indicating to readers that words were removed from the original quote. Importantly, the quoted information must still be grammatically correct. It’s also important not to remove words that are important to the original meaning of the quote. You don’t want to distort the original meaning or take words out of context.

• According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, “Just as with other languages, specific ways of expressing ideas in ASL vary as much as ASL users themselves. In addition to individual differences in expression…ASL has regional variations in the rhythm of signing, pronunciation, slang, and signs used.”
• Note: Use a fourth period if it’s at the end of a sentence to mark the period.

Brackets

Similar to ellipses, brackets are used primarily with quoted information, but instead of being used to remove information, brackets are used to add information that would help readers understand the quote. Bracketed information often clarifies a word or phrase.

• Sometimes the bracketed information is in addition to the word or phrase it clarifies: He [Trent] was a lot taller than expected. In this example, “Trent” clarifies the pronoun “he,” in case readers don’t know who the referent is.
• The bracketed information can also replace the unclear word or phrase: [Trent] was a lot taller than expected.
• The word “sic” is sometimes put in brackets in the middle of a quote to show there is an error in the original quote. Their [sic] are instructions inside the box.
• Additionally, ellipses are often put in brackets to indicate that the author inserted them when a quote also includes ellipses as part of the original text.

Quotation Marks

Quotation marks have three primary uses:

1. To emphasize particular words: To be marked “present” in class, you must not only be physically present but also pay attention and participate.
2. To indicate that information is being quoted verbatim from another source. If you paraphrase information, putting the key ideas into your own words, then quotation marks aren’t necessary.
   • According to the Mayo Clinic, “In heart valve disease, one or more of the valves in your heart doesn’t work properly.”
   • Note: If there is a quote within a quote, that internal quote should be set off by single quote marks: Gary said, “I don’t understand what the professor meant when she said, ‘The essay must be at least five pages of content.’” In this example, Gary is being quoted, but he quotes the professor.
   • Another note: In American English, the endmark will usually go inside the quotation marks, especially periods and commas. For questions, it depends on whether the original quote was a question. If so, the question mark should go inside the quotation marks. If not, it should go outside. A colon, semicolon, or em dash should also go outside.
3. To mark the title of a short work. Short stories, poems, newspaper articles, chapter titles, and web page titles are put in quotation marks. For instance, “The Yellow Wallpaper” or “The Road Not Taken” are titles of short works that require quotation marks. Longer works, such as books, journals, newspapers, movies, television shows, and so on are italicized.

Parentheses

Parentheses are typically used to identify information that is an aside to the information in the original sentence. As opposed to information enclosed in em dashes (for emphasis) or commas (of equal importance), parentheses show information that is of lesser importance in the sentence.

• Example: We always have Easter with my grandma (my dad’s mom).
  • Note: If the parenthetical is only part of a full sentence, the period should go on the outside. If the parenthetical is a full sentence by itself, then the period goes inside. For example: Conferences will be held in the biology lab. (The lab is located on the third floor of Blaine Hall.)
  • Another note: Parentheses are also used in academic writing to indicate source information. Different citation styles have different formats, but the period always goes after the parentheses.

Conciseness

Digital writing is known for being concise. While academic writing is often a little more developed, social media posts, blog articles, and emails should be more to the point to engage readers and enhance readability. This is different from the grammar and punctuation rules that we noted above because being wordy isn’t exactly an “error.” What’s more, there are some instances in which a few extra words will enhance the meaning or develop the tone of a piece in a positive way. Being as concise as possible isn’t a rule, but it will often make your writing clearer and more effective. Below are some basic guidelines for concise writing.

• Avoid redundancies and unnecessary information.
  • Instead of: I will be out on vacation beginning on April 7, which is the day I leave. I’ll be returning back to the office on April 15.
  • Revised: I will be out on vacation from April 7–April 14.
• Use language that is straightforward and to the point, eliminating language that is flowery or pretentious.
  • Instead of: It has been made known to me by my students that they will be away from campus for a period of several days due to a planned excursion with the business school.
  • Revised: My students told me they will be on a field trip with the business school for several days.
• Write in an active instead of passive voice. As demonstrated in the grammar section above, active voice is not only more straightforward, but it’s also more concise.
  • Instead of: The entire plate of spaghetti was eaten by me.
  • Revised: I ate the entire plate of spaghetti.
• Eliminate wordy phrases and unnecessary prepositional phrases.
  • Instead of: We are taking the dog for a walk in the park near the center of town later this afternoon, around 4 p.m.
  • Revised: We will take the dog for a walk in the park this afternoon.
• Avoid sentences that begin with “there is,” “there are,” or “it is.”
  • Instead of: There are many different species of birds in Indiana.
  • Revised: Many different species of birds dwell in Indiana.
• Replace phrases with more precise words.
  • Instead of: When he walked, he scuffed his heels along the surface of the ground.
  • Revised: He shuffled his feet as he walked.
• Turn double negatives into positive phrases.
  • Instead of: Our office won’t see patients who don’t have an appointment.
  • Revised: Our office only sees patients with an appointment.
• Replace “to be” verbs + a gerund with a simple verb.
  • Instead of: I am looking for a car with low mileage.
  • Revised: I want a car with low mileage.
  • Instead of: Residents shouldn’t be parking their cars in the street.
  • Revised: Residents shouldn’t park in the street.

A Helpful Use of Generative AI

You’re probably familiar with the limitations of generative AI. It’s often inaccurate, providing hallucinated content that is false or misleading (Nah et al.), and there are concerns that because the data sets that are used to train AI machines are biased, the generated content will be biased as well, perpetuating stereotypes related to race, gender, class, sexuality, and so on (Knapton). What’s more, AI-generated text doesn’t always flow very naturally, nor does it always attend to the rhetorical situation and the more “human” aspects of dialogue. All of that is to say that you probably shouldn’t use generative AI to complete writing tasks for you, especially if it’s a writing project that you’ve been assigned by a boss or a client. The expectation is that you will be the one creating the content, and it would make you and potentially your company look bad if there are problems with the content.

However, there are other ways that you can use generative AI in ethical and helpful ways. For instance, it can help with topic brainstorming. If you’re given a topic or an assignment, but you’re not sure how to focus that topic, putting a prompt into a program like ChatGPT can be useful in coming up with ideas that you could pursue. It can also be used to help you organize your ideas into an outline or provide example templates of a particular genre that you’re not familiar with so you can get a sense of how you might format your own text.

It can also be used for revising and editing your work. For instance, you can input a sentence or a paragraph that you have created, and ask ChatGPT how you can make it better. It might give you suggestions regarding organization or clarifying vague words. Or it might help you identify grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes that you missed. This article gives more suggestions for ways that generative AI can be used to improve your writing by attending to things like tone, sentence structure, organization, creativity, and more (DeAlmeida).