Up Your Business Writing Game. Punctuate.
Business communicators I’ve worked with either care a lot about punctuating or feel indifferent. I sit within the first camp. Why? Because strong (and correct) punctuation builds clarity, variety, and avoids confusing, or losing, your reader. Well-punctuated slides look more elegant and accessible, too. Help move your writing from very good to great by following these simple steps.
Reconsider the Debated Serial Comma
Many dispute the use of the Serial comma, otherwise known as the Oxford comma, Series comma, or even the Harvard comma. Advocates of the Serial comma ask us to insert the punctuation just before the coordinating conjunction (typically ‘and’ or ‘or’) in a series of three or more. A quick refresher follows:
Within a list of three grocery items like “carrots, almonds, and milk,” the Serial comma goes after the last item.
Critics of the Serial comma contend the device looks stuffy and academic. But one high profile legal case highlighted in the New York Times showed the folly in omitting this punctuation device. The absent Serial comma in an important contract allowed employees at a shipping company to sue their employer millions in an overtime dispute.
One more often-cited example to show how Serial commas help clarify our intent: “I love my parents, God and Oprah.”
Without the Serial comma after “God” the reader/listener assumes your parents are God and Oprah. This blog on Grammar Girl provides more depth on Serial commas.
Play with the Semicolon
Another contentious device, the semicolon, becomes a powerful tool for breaking up long ideas and sentences. (To me, the semicolon looks pretty, too.) Feel confident using the semicolon with these short rules:
Use a semicolon to relate two closely related independent clauses — meaning, a complete sentence. E.G. “I asked my mother-in-law to buy me cheese; she came back with Velveeta.”
Apply this rule when connecting ideas with conjunctive adverbs such as moreover, therefore or otherwise. For example, “Wisconsin experienced record snow fall in February; however, May’s brought record sunny days.”
Use semicolons to separate a long series of list items. E.G. He is survived by a son, John Smith, of Chicago; three daughters, Jane Smith, of Kansas, Mary Smith, of Denver, and Susan, of Boston; and a sister of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Employ The Parentheses
Quoting the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University, parentheses help set off important ideas not central to your topic, as an aside, or to complete a clarifying idea. But where to punctuate these guys? Three small rules follow:
The sentence should remain valid (and correct) even if you removed the parentheses. E.G. “I’d love to return to New Zealand (even for a week) but strict and expensive quarantine rules prevent me.”
When a fragment in parentheses ends a sentence, put the period, question mark or exclamation mark outside the last parentheses. For example, could that product disappear (really)?
If the inserted idea is a complete sentence, the punctuation remains inside. For instance, your venture stands to win a large market share. (It really does!)
Use Quotation Marks Carefully
Whether to place commas or periods inside or outside quotation marks depends on whether you live in the UK or the states. Within the US, commas and periods always go within quotation marks.
Punctuate Any Emphasis Techniques
If the emphasis becomes part of the person’s quote, then that punctuation remains within the quotation marks. If you quote someone who says, “I won’t ever buy that junky brand. Are you kidding me?” the question mark remains within. And a question mark and exclamation mark replaces a period at the end of a sentence.
One more concluding tip and I’ll leave you be! Keep a cheat sheet. (I have one.) So many style and punctuation rules exist. A cheat sheet with the rules consistent to the organization/group/client you write for saves you time and makes you look like a pro. Happy writing and punctuating!
For more blogs on business communication, click here. Text me at (1-919) 345-2196 and type “free session” if you’d like a complimentary communications coaching session on a struggle/topic of your choice.
