ABSTRACT
Punctuation refers to a set of marks or symbols that guide the reader in understanding the intended meaning of a sentence. These marks serve as cues for how to correctly read a sentence or, in other words, how to interpret what the writer is trying to say. English punctuation comprises fourteen marks: period, question mark, exclamation point, comma, semicolon, colon, dash, parentheses, brackets, apostrophe, double quotation marks, single quotation marks, ellipsis, and slash.
Although the most prominent academic style manuals—notably The Chicago Manual of Style, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association—generally agree on the basic conventions of punctuation, they sometimes differ on when to use and/or how to position certain marks; these variances, when relevant, will be identified throughout the text. The more frequent and significant differences that occur between academic style manuals and The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, which informs the punctuation practices of most newspapers and many popular periodicals, will similarly be referenced. Key distinctions between British usage of certain marks, as delineated in the New Oxford Style Manual, and American usage of those marks will be explained as well.
