P: Punctuation and Mechanics
P
Punctuation and Mechanics
P
Punctuation and Mechanics
P1
The comma
a
Clauses with
and, but
, etc.
b
Introductory elements
c
Items in a series
d
Coordinate adjectives
e
Nonrestrictive elements
f
Transitions, parenthetical expressions, etc.
g
Direct address,
yes/no
, interrogative tags, interjections
h
He said
etc.
i
Dates, addresses, titles, numbers
P2
Unnecessary commas
a
Compound elements
b
Between verb and subject or object
c
Before or after a series
d
Cumulative adjectives
e
Restrictive elements
f
Concluding clauses
g
Inverted sentence
h
Other misuses
P3
The semicolon and the colon
a
Semicolon with independent clauses
b
Semicolon with series
c
Misuses of the semicolon
d
Colon with list, appositive, quotation, summary
e
Conventional uses of the colon
f
Misuses of the colon
P4
The apostrophe
a
Possessive nouns, indefinite pronouns
b
Contractions
c
Plurals of numbers, letters, etc.
d
Misuses
P5
Quotation marks
a
Direct quotations
b
Quotation within quotation
c
Titles
d
Words as words
e
With other punctuation
f
Misuses
P6
Other punctuation marks
a
End punctuation
b
Dash, parentheses, brackets
c
Ellipsis mark
d
Slash
P7
Spelling and hyphenation
a
Spelling rules
b
Words that sound alike
c
Common misspellings
d
Compound words
e
Hyphenated adjectives
f
Fractions and numbers
g
Prefixes and suffixes
h
To avoid ambiguity
i
Word division
P8
Capitalization
a
Proper versus common nouns
b
Titles with names
c
Titles of works
d
First word of sentence
e
First word of a quoted sentence
f
After colon
P9
Abbreviations and numbers
a
Titles with names
b
Familiar abbreviations
c
Conventional abbreviations
d
Units of measurement
e
Latin abbreviations
f
Plural of abbreviations
g
Inappropriate abbreviations
h
Spelling out numbers
i
Using numerals
P10
Italics
a
Titles of works
b
Other terms