INTRODUCTION
In order to punctuate your writing properly, you need to know several marks of punctuation. This Study Sheet will cover periods, question marks, exclamation points, hyphens, dashes, parentheses, underlining, and italics. For information on additional marks of punctuation which are NOT covered in this Study Sheet, see the following:
Quotation Marks
Colon/Semicolon
Apostrophe
Commas
Marks of Punctuation
I. END OF SENTENCE PUNCTUATION
A. Period (.)
1. Place a period at the end of all declarative sentences and commands.
Incorrect I am going to the store
Correct I am going to the store.
Incorrect Give me a dollar
Correct Give me a dollar.
2. Place a period before a closing quotation mark.
Incorrect John said, "I like your car".
Correct John said, "I like your car."
B. Question Mark (?)
1. Place a question mark at the end of all direct questions.
Incorrect What is your favorite color.
Correct What is your favorite color?
2. DO NOT place a question mark at the end of an indirect quotation, a sentence that describes a question but does not directly ask a question. Just use a period.
Incorrect He asked me if I would go out with him?
Correct He asked me if I would go out with him.
Incorrect Mrs. Jones told me that I passed the test?
Correct Mrs. Jones told me that I passed the test.
3. Place a question mark before a closing quotation mark if the words inside the quotation marks are a question.
Incorrect John asked, "What is your favorite color"?
Correct John asked, "What is your favorite color?"
4. Place a question mark after a closing quotation mark if the words inside the quotation marks are NOT a question.
Incorrect Was it John who said, "Orlando is my favorite vacation spot?"
Correct Was it John who said, "Orlando is my favorite vacation spot"?
C. Exclamation Point (!)
1. Place an exclamation point at the end of a sentence or after an interjection to show strong emotion or to emphasize a point.
Incorrect I won five million dollars in the lottery.
Correct I won five million dollars in the lottery!
2. Place an exclamation point before a closing quotation mark if the words inside the quotation marks indicate strong emotion or emphasis.
Incorrect Joan squealed, "Joe asked me to marry him"!
Correct Joan squealed, "Joe asked me to marry him!"
