Punctuation
Punctuation following ital., bold face, etc., should be the same. [italicize and boldface to show them, with punctuation, too.]
Accent
a là
(accent under ~, upper left-hand corner of keyboard) use for résumé (option-E)
Apostrophe
In words showing joint possession or in compound (hyphenated) words, only the last word takes the possessive form.
secretary-treasurer's report;
Jones and Company's product;
John and Becky's child
When two or more persons possess something individually, each of their names takes the possessive form.
the buyer's and the seller's signatures;
the dean's and the professors' offices
Use an apostrophe to denote a contraction or omission of letters.
it is becomes it's;
1978 becomes (the Class of) '78
Use the apostrophe to form the plural of lower-case letters and symbols. It’s not necessary for capital letters and numbers, including years.
p's and q's; but As and Bs (grades);
IOUs; during the 1990s
campus’s architecture
Contd.
No apostrophe.
Articles and Chapters
Use quotation marks.
"In the Warmth of the Dome."
Colon
Lists:
- Use a colon if the introductory statement is an independent clause, but
- “The fellows are
- experts in their fields
- in demand across the nation
- full of important information”
- In this example, you could also use commas, “and,” and a period at the end.
For more on lists, see Chicago, pp. 344–348.
Comma
Include the comma before "including" and "as well as"
But, do not use "as well as" when "and" would suffice.
Macomb, Mich., (comma as an appositive)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010, (same)
Acme Co. Inc. (no comma)
et al (no periods, no comma if after one word)
In 1979, the world continued to spin on it axis.
Case by case basis on how to use this comma in introductory phrases (length, need for a pause, etc.)
no comma before Inc.
but , PC , MD , PhD
Double Spaces
Avoid double spaces after the period.
Ellipses
Use three after a period and in the middle of a sentence with spaces before and after:
We had to show the way. . . . That was the end of the conversation.
or:
The meeting was just okay . . . the bitterness faded slowly.
The beginning . . . is the end.
. . . or at the end of a sentence. . . . (spaces in between)
En dash
Use an en dash (–), when possible, or hyphen (-) for inclusive page references (unless preceded by the word from, in which case to must be used).
pp. 1–21; but: from page 1 to 21
Use an en dash, when possible, or hyphen in dates extending over two successive calendar years. Do not use spaces on either side of the en dash.
1998–99; 2002–04, but: 1999–2000
Use an en dash between inclusive numbers.
3–11; 85–6; 113–6, 100–5, 1,002–8; 321–5; 455–501; note the 0 remains in years: 1905–06 and for clarity in page numbers (above).
Use an en dash to link cities to universities with more than one campus.
University of Wisconsin–Madison;
University of Minnesota–Duluth
Em dash
Use an em dash, also referred to as the dash, to precede a reference to an author following a direct quotation. Do not use spaces on either side of the em dash.
"I am simply a human being, more or less."—Saul Bellow, Herzog (1964)
Use em dashes to set off clauses that are logically and structurally independent, also for amplifying or explaining.
Tonight's program—a program that has won national acclaim—is underwritten…
He had a plan to win the game—a plan he hoped would work.
et al
et al no period
Hyphen
Hyphenated compounds in titles—
Capitalize only the first element in hyphenated titles of works unless the second element is a proper noun or adjective.
Death-defying Feats by Nineteenth-century Tightrope Walkers
An All-American Girl: How a Non-English-speaking Immigrant Made Good
Do not capitalize second element if modifying the first element or both elements constitute a single word.
twentieth-century literature;
English-speaking people;
first-year student
When used as an adjective in a title, the number following the hyphen is lowercase.
Twenty-third Conference on Sludge;
Twenty-first Century Literature
Note—Although modern practice tends toward deleting traditional hyphens (reestablish, toolmaker), they should be retained where they are used in the original title. Only capitalization and punctuation may be altered in a title.
Do not hyphenate vice president.
Do not hyphenate cross country.
Hyphenate adjectival phrases formed of two or more words preceding the nouns modified where ambiguity might result.
- well-known woman; first-class act;
- joint-stock company;
- matter-of-course attitude; solid-state circuit;
- land-use legislation;
- cross-cultural education;
- steady-state research; decision-making body
- full-semester course
Use a hyphen when the meaning varies with the absence of a hyphen.
Re-cover and recover;
re-create and recreation, etc.
Hyphenate when the first vowel of the added word would suggest mispronunciation.
pro-ally; demi-equitant; ante-urban
Do not hyphenate adjectives formed of two proper names having their own fixed meaning.
Old Testament times; New York subways
5 percent solution, $122 million contract: no hyphens
more effective plan: no hyphen. Only use when necessary for clarity: more-rigorous academics (tougher) vs. more rigorous academics (more of them).
90 percent refund
No hyphen.
Biofuel
One word.
Birth date
Two words.
Campuswide
No hyphen needed. University-wide is one of the few -wide compounds that needs a hyphen.
Center for Pre-College Outreach, but precollege programs
class work
Coedited, Coauthor
No hyphen.
Co-rec
usage: men’s, women’s and co-rec softball rules (instead of co-recreation)
Cross-cultural
Hyphenated.
Database
No hyphen.
Decision-making
Hyphenate as an adjective. Open as a noun.
Similarly: critical-thinking pattern and cutting-edge design; but It required critical thinking and his design was cutting edge.
e-newsletters
e-learning
ever-changing
Fieldwork
One word, no hyphen.
firsthand one word
Full time (n)
Full-time (adj. or adv.)
Job Site
Two words.
longtime
but long-term
-ly words, other adverb/adjective combinations
Do not hyphenate combinations of adverb and adjective or adverb and participle unless ambiguity would result.
highly developed areas;
the fallen tree blocked the road.
man-made (adj.)
MEEM
No hyphen.
Non words
Compounds of non ordinarily do not require a hyphen, except when used with a proper noun. Consult Merriam-Webster's; if the compound does not appear there, use a hyphen.
non-alumni
non-civil engineering;
but: nondegree-seeking student;
nonmajor; noncredit; Nonemergency
Online
No hyphen.
On-site (hyphen, adj. or adv.)
Places
Minnesota Duluth
Alaska Anchorage
Alaska Fairbanks
but, Nebraska-Omaha
Wisconsin-Madison
Michigan-Ann Arbor
Michigan-Flint
Michigan-Dearborn
pre-cruise
Prefixes
Do not hyphenate prefixes when joined to roots except in a combination with words beginning with their terminal vowel or sometimes when used with a w or a y.
Biweekly; coauthor; coeducation; cocurricular
preprofessional; prelegal;
but: postwar; coworker
When in doubt, consult Merriam-Webster's latest edition.
postdoc
powertrain
Problem-solving
Hyphenate as an adjective. Leave open as a noun.
Reenroll
No hyphen.
Résumé
Two accents (option-e) on the vita-like document; none on resuming the chase.
safe house
Self- words
Hyphenate when self forms the first element of a compound.
self-conscious; self-denial
Semiconductor
Not hyphenated.
sing-along
spring break, no caps
start-up as a noun or modifier
start up as a verb
Ultrahigh-performance editors, but Their achievement scores were ultrahigh.
Serial Comma
Michigan Tech uses the serial comma, the second comma in this example:
The Huskies defeated Northern, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
take out (v)
takeout (n)
take-out (adj.)
Weeklong (one word)
Year-end, year-round, but yearlong
Period
PO Box in forms; PO box in text
Slash
no / at the end of URLs