100 Ways to Improve Your Writing (Mentor Series) by Gary Provost Page A

When Exclaiming and Question Marks Only when Asking Questions
    6. Know How to Use Quotation Marks

1. Use Orthodox Punctuation
     
    Writing is not a visual art, so don’t use punctuation as decoration. Be creative in your writing, not in your punctuation.
     
    After writing an exclamation, use only one exclamation point. No! is every bit as effective as No!!!
     
    Avoid using unnecessary quotation marks. Some writers insist on placing quotation marks around slang words: My “old man” is going to give me some “big bucks.” If you wish to use slang or idioms, do so, but do so without quotation marks.
     
    Avoid using unnecessary dashes and ellipses. Some writers use dashes (——) and ellipses ( ... ) to cover faulty sentence constructions and vague thoughts. Don’t.
     
    In the following letter, a young writer uses dashes and elipses the way drunks use whiskey.
     
     
     
    Dear Robert,
     
    Well ... How are you? I’m okay—I guess ... My mother came to visit last week—you can imagine how much fun that was ... All she did the whole time she was here was search around in my drawers. She was probably looking for drugs ... or something. Anyhow, you get the picture ... God!!! So—not much new to report. Take it easy ... but take it!!!!
     
    Love, Betsy
     

2. Know When to Use a Comma
     
    Commas are used to add clarity to a sentence. Consider the sentence below:
     
     
    She was frightened when he kissed her and fainted.
     
     
     
    Without a comma, we don’t know who fainted. Perhaps she fainted when he kissed her. On the other hand, perhaps she became frightened because he fainted during the kiss. Only a comma will give this sentence meaning for us:
     
     
     
    She was frightened when he kissed her, and fainted.
     
     
    Ah, she fainted.
     
    When deciding whether a sentence you have written needs a comma, read the sentence out loud. Is a pause needed for clarity? Read the sentence without the pause—quickly, if you’re still not certain. If the sentence makes perfect sense to you read at breakneck speed, banish that comma. In addition to being wrong, overpunctuation is deadly dull. A good piece of advice: When your ear fails you and you can’t decide whether to add that comma, DON’T.
     
    Many otherwise good writers use too many commas. I think one of the reasons is because we were half-asleep in grammar classes as children and never bothered to learn the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. Unfortunately, while we must have been sleeping when the terms were explained, we learned just enough to get ourselves in trouble.
     
    Read the sentences below and see which ones require commas:
    1. My friend Pat goes to law school.
    2. A dance like the limbo requires a broomstick or pole.
    3. Animals that have fur are fun to pet.
    4. Do not use a comma unless a pause is needed for clarity.
     
     
    The answer? None of the sentences needs a comma. If you read the sentences out loud, your ears should have told you that pauses were not needed. But if you were once one of those children who slept half the time during grammar classes, you might have decided to add commas because the sentences looked a lot like sentences that need commas.
     
    Restrictive clauses and words do not require commas. Nonrestrictive words and clauses do. Restrictive elements define and limit a sentence. They must be present for a sentence to retain its intended meaning. Nonrestrictive elements, which are parenthetical, do not.
     
    Look at the following sentences. Notice that in each of the sentences with nonrestrictive elements, the material contained in commas could be removed without changing the sentence’s meaning.
     

     
    Here are some other rules to help you with commas:
    1. Use a comma following introductory words like Yes, No, and But. Realize, though, that there are times when such words are not being used as introductions to a sentence.
    2. Clauses joined by but require a comma: He wanted to eat out, but he