Punctuation Resources
Jenna Pagel
Overview
This is a list of punctuation resources for students of professional writing. It includes several scholarly sites that cover correct usage of punctuation and provide useful examples. Some give a detailed analysis of each punctuation mark while others merely give a quick description. Many of the sites contain practice exercises and quizzes that are useful for testing your new (or old) knowledge of punctuation. Also included are a few articles on different topics of punctuation. These articles present interesting and useful discussion of punctuation today in different mediums. While any writer would find this resource list helpful, I think it will be especially useful for students in the Editing and Style class at MSU, as students in this class undoubtedly could use some quick references for the editing of punctuation.
Punctuation References and Examples
Correct PunctuationA quick, easy-to-use guide of correct usage for several of the most common punctuation marks. It covers all of the basics of punctuation, but look elsewhere if you seek an in-depth guide with explanation and examples. This site keeps to the basics – great if you’re just looking for a quick reminder about correct usage.
Punctuation Made SimpleA resource from Illinois State that provides in-depth descriptions and examples of proper usage for the colon, semicolon, comma, dash, and apostrophe. This site is very organized and incredibly easy to navigate. It includes a simple introduction about punctuating prose writing, and has great explanations the aforementioned punctuation marks.
Purdue's OWL *Printer-Friendly*An easy-to-print handout from Purdue’s Online Writing Lab covering proper usage and examples of the colon, semicolon, parenthesis, dash, quotation marks, underlining, and italics. This is a perfect page to print out and keep with you at all times for quick reference. It contains easy to read and understand explanations of when to use certain marks of punctuation, followed by an example of that use.
New York University's Thorough Punctuation DescriptionsThis is New York University’s one-stop-shop for punctuation guidance. The site begins with a brief history of punctuation, and includes descriptions of when to and when not to use everything from the period to the em-dash and brackets. Complete with several useful examples. While the site design isn’t too pleasant (everything is on one long, monotonous page) this is one of the more thorough resources listed here when it comes to punctuation guidance.
Library OnlineYet another simple, easy-to-use guide for the most common punctuation marks. Complete with examples. This is a useful site for quick reference, but it lacks extensive explanation or examples. However, it does include quite an array of punctuation marks including ellipses, brackets, dashes, and hyphens.
Answers.comA unique source that defines punctuation as a whole rather than by the individual elements. There are several in-depth definitions from dictionaries and encyclopedias, covering the uses and meanings of punctuation and the concept as a whole. It discusses the uses of punctuation, meanings, and definitions. It also includes lists of outside references and resources.
Punctuation Activities and Practice
Purdue's OWL: Extensive Descriptions and PracticeFrom the very useful Purdue University Online Writing Lab, this extensive resource includes descriptions of proper usage as well as exercise activities with answers. This is a great place to go for thorough discussion and practice with apostrophes, commas, hyphens, quotation marks, and others. The OWL site is also great to browse for all kinds of resources if you’ve got the time.
University of Ottawa: Quick Reference and PracticeA very useful source from the University of Ottawa encompassing correct usage and practice activities for punctuation. The site is easy to use and navigate and includes description, examples, and practice for the comma, semicolon, colon, end punctuation, quotation marks, apostrophe, and dash. The descriptions are quite in-depth for the comma and quotation marks, but this is a useful quick reference for several marks of punctuation.
Punctuation Instruction and Quizzes: Tutorial and PracticeScroll down to “Punctuation and Basic Mechanics” (numbers 80-93) and you will find a series of lessons with complementary quizzes covering several aspects of punctuation. This is very useful if you’re looking for a tutorial and practice exercises in one spot. The site also gets into sentence construction and more complex matters of punctuation. The site contains some of the most thorough descriptions of punctuation use of all those listed here, and is further valuable by providing quizzes. Its only downfall is that I’m not quite sure who sponsors the site, but appears to be a good, valid source for punctuation.
Virginia Tech: Find the Punctuation ErrorsI know what you're thinking... it says Writing Exercises for Engineers and Scientists! But regardless, the exercises are quite useful. The site from Virginia Tech includes three useful exercises covering commas, colons, semicolons, and more. The exercises are unique in that they are long paragraphs with several possible punctuation errors. The user is to pick which parts are actually incorrect.
University of Oregon: Multiple-Choice QuizA professor’s site from the University of Oregon which provides punctuation practice exercises for his students. It includes twenty multiple-choice questions with their answers on a separate page. This site is good for a quick practice of basic punctuation, but there’s not a whole lot to it.
University of Southampton: Practice ExercisesThis site from the University of Southampton provides a series of practice sentences for punctuation including the answers. Also there are “Punctuation Games” (poems) with possible repunctuation. This is not the place to go for instruction on punctuation usage, but if you’re looking for a few practice exercises, this site could prove useful.
Punctuation Articles
Anne Caborn on Creative LatitudeThis is a great article for those who may want to write for the web. This is an author’s view on the use of bullets and other punctuation, as well as other aspects of typography, on the web. The article is interesting and helpful; it would be a great read for all writing students, but especially those focusing on technical writing.
The Philosophy of PunctuationAn author’s interesting and amusing opinions regarding the use of punctuation today. Included in his discussion are the overuse of semicolons, under use of question and exclamation marks, and his distaste for parenthesis and dashes. This is an interesting read if you’ve got the time and interest, and one would reflect and learn quite a bit about their own punctuation habits as well as those prominent today.
Punctuation is DyingAn interesting article on nostrich.net about the decline in correct use of punctuation, especially on the web. This is a good article for those interested in writing for the web, as well as those who are just as frustrated with the lack of punctuation as the author. You may also read responses and comments made by others, as well as leave your own.
© 2006 Jenna Pagel