Using Punctuations Correctly in Academic Writing: A Complete Guide

Punctuation marks appear simple — like a full stop (.), which is just a dot, and a colon (:), which is just two dots — but they trip a lot of students.

If you want to learn about punctuation and avoid misusing them in your assignments, this article will help you out.

Below, we explain punctuation in detail; what is punctuation, different punctuation marks, which ones to use, where to use — with examples. So, keep reading.

What is Punctuation?

Punctuation is a set of symbols used to indicate how a sentence and its grammatical components are to be read and understood.

Punctuation clarifies the meaning of a sentence. For example, the double quotation marks (“ ”) indicate that the quoted part of a sentence is borrowed from someone else.

Most punctuation marks don’t use spaces before them.

The 14 Punctuation Marks in English

There are up to 14-16 most common punctuation marks in English, which are as follows:

• Period

• Comma

• Question Mark

• Exclamation Mark

• Colon

• Semicolon

• Apostrophe

• Double Quotation Marks

• Single Quotation Marks

• Hyphen

• EN Dash

• EM Dash

• Ellipsis

• Parentheses

• Brackets

• Braces

Let’s understand each of these down below:

1. Period (.)

The dot (.) symbol is called a period. Periods are most commonly used to end sentences, just like this sentence.

However, not all sentences end with a period, such as interrogative sentences: they end with a question mark instead. But declarative sentences always end with a period.

Uses & examples:

Periods have two uses:

• To end a sentence: She asked if she could borrow the camera for a week.

• To abbreviate a term: Sep. 27, 2001.

Abbreviations (such as U.S. and J. K. Rowling) use periods. But not all abbreviations use periods, including social media acronyms like ISTG and LOL.

2. Comma (,)

The symbol (,) is known as the comma. It appears as a tiny extension of the period mark, as if that were stretched downwards with a curve, giving a tail shape.

Commas function as separators for sentences, ideas, a list of things, and more.

Uses & examples:

Commas have a variety of uses with respect to English Grammar, including:

• To separate two independent clauses: First he questioned, then I answered.

• To separate items in a list: A shawarma, two pizzas, a sandwich, and a burger.

• To separate nonrestrictive clauses: Belle broke mom’s vase, which costs $100.

• To end an introductory phrase: Yesterday, when mom was outside, my sister Belle broke a vase.

• To separate appositives: Mr. Danial, the new manager, is on leave today.

• To separate direct speech: Sara looked upset when she said, “My mom is very sick,” and demanded a week off. “Otherwise I need to quit,” she added.

• When addressing someone or an audience directly: Abdullah, where have you been?

• To separate the year in dates: July 4th, 2024.

• In addresses to separate the place names: Apartment A12, 123 Main Street, City ABC.

• In titles of people: John Doe, Ph.D.

• As convention In numerals: 50,000 people used to live here.

3. Question Mark (?)

A question mark (the ? symbol) is used to ask questions about someone or something. They are used to inquire information, express certainty, surprise, & even disbelief.

Uses & examples:

• Ask a direct question: Is this pen yours?

• Express uncertainty: We are heading home?

• Ask a series of questions: Seriously? You don’t like winters? Why not? Is it not comfier? Cozier? Compared to summer?

• Form a question tag: So, you prefer summer, don’t you?

• Convey a sense of shock or disbelief: You saw a shark??

4. Exclamation Mark (!)

The (!) symbol is known as the exclamation mark or exclamation point.

Exclamation marks mainly help emphasize emotions in a sentence. It can be used to express a sudden reaction, anger, surprise, excitement. Exclamation marks are also used in imperative sentences to express forcefulness in a command or order and emphasize it.

Uses & examples:

• Express a sudden reaction: Oh my God! I forgot my wallet.

• Express a sudden burst of emotion: I won the lottery!

• Emphasize a command: I said turn the music down!

5. Colon (:)

The (:) symbol is known as colon. Colons are used at the end of complete sentences to connect them with other sentences giving additional information, such as: an explanation, a series of items, a quotation, or an example.

Colons can also be used to put emphasis on a phrase. They also occur in titles, headings, and in number, such as in ratios.

The word that comes after a colon is never capitalized except the ones that are always capitalized such as proper nouns (i.e. John).

Uses & examples:

• Introduce a series of items (a list) to a sentence: The grocery list includes: Eggs, bread, peanut butter, milk, and tea leaves.

• Introduce a direct quotation: Then I remembered what Lao Tzu had once said: \"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.\"

• Add an example: If you find work overwhelming, take a break and do something that distracts you: go for a walk.

• Emphasize a phrase or word: Only one thing remained of his house: ashes.

• Add an explanation: There’s little you can do about the exam: study or fail.

6. Semicolon (;)

The (;) symbol is known as the semicolon. Semicolons are used between closely related independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction (words like and, but, or, etc.).

The coming word after a colon is never capitalized except the words that are always capitalized (like  proper nouns). Apart from connecting two independent clauses, semicolons can also separate items in a list that already uses commas.

Uses:

• Join two independent clauses: I have traveled abroad a little bit; I love traveling.

• Separate items in a list that already uses commas: Now, I wish to travel to Venice, Rome, Italy; Istanbul, Ankara, Turkey; Baghdad, Erbil, Iraq; and many more.

7. Apostrophe (’) 

The (’) symbol is known as the apostrophe. An apostrophe can help you describe a possession of a thing by someone, help you form plurals of digits, letters, & symbols, allow you to contract words & numbers by omitting letters and digits, respectively.

Uses & examples:

• Show a possession: Trevor’s dog went missing.

• Contract words & numbers: Good ol’ times of ‘20

• Form plurals of letters, digits, & symbols: The designer replaced all the E’s with 3’s, and the &’s with and’s.

8. Double Quotation Marks (“ ”)

The Double quotation marks (“ ”) are mostly used to directly quote someone’s speech or dialogue, titles of books, movies, or similar, or to use a word sarcastically.

Uses & examples:

• Direct quoting: “If you want to know what a man\'s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

• Naming titles: Hey Ema, have you read “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by J.K. Rowling?

• Using words sarcastically: The weather forecasting app said it’ll be rainy today. 49° degrees Celsius, skin-scorching sunlight, and no sign of clouds. Yeah, that’s definitely “rainy.”

9. Single Quotation Marks (‘’)

Single quotation marks (‘ ’) are used to directly quote someone’s speech or dialogue within a direct quote. So, single quotation marks perform the same function as double quotation marks. The only difference is that a single quotation occurs within a double quotation: when you directly quote something in a direct quote.

News headlines use single quotation marks to direct-quote something instead of double quotation marks.

Uses & examples:

• Direct quoting within a direct quote: Addressing the class, our English teacher said, “The principal has announced a weekly activity day, saying, ‘Students should be given the opportunity to relax and engage in fun, extracurricular activities so that they can learn and explore what interests them the most.’”

• Direct quoting in news headlines: Local school announced a weekly extracurricular activities day. ‘Our kids\' future is our utmost concern,’ says the Principal.

10. Hyphen (-)

Hyphen (-) is the shortest kind of dash compared to the other commonly used dashes — em and en dashes — and are used to combine two or more words to form compound words: compound nouns, adjectives, and numbers.

Uses & examples:

• To form a compound noun: The post-office is open.

• To form a compound adjective: I don\'t like her if-you-can’t-bear-my-sarcasm-you-are-not-my-friend mentality.

• To form a compound number: All eighty-five students took part in the activity day.

11. En Dash (–)

The symbol (–) is called en dash. It is longer than a hyphen (-) and shorter than an em dash (—). An en dash is roughly the size of a capital N.

En dashes are used to show a range between numbers. En dashes are also used to form compound adjectives when: one of the elements of the compound adjective is already a compound adjective with a space in between, and both elements of the compound adjective contain a hyphen.

Uses & examples:

• Show a range between numbers: The activity day lasted 4–5 hours.

• To form a compound word: This unique feature is only an iPhone 15–thing.

12. Em Dash (—)

Em dash (—) is larger compared to an en dash (–), and roughly the size of a capital M. Em dashes have a variety of uses.

A pair of em dashes can be used in place of commas, parentheses, or even colons. It can set off two clauses, introduce a list of items, examples, and add an explanation in a sentence.

Uses & examples:

• To replace a comma: Mark felt desperate for help — even though Hina did everything she could — he still felt entitled to being helped, and it was this entitlement that proved to be the end of their relationship.

• To replace a pair of parentheses: Sally bought a few groceries items — eggs, bread, peanut butter — but forgot the grocery bag at the store.

• To replace a colon (give explanation): I went looking for the forgotten grocery bag at the store, and to my surprise, it was still there — we were lucky.

13. Ellipsis (…)

Ellipsis (…) is a combination of three periods. It is used to indicate missing speech or words. Ellipsis at the beginning of a speech means that the preceding part of the speech is missing, and ellipsis at the end of a speech means the next part of the speech is missing—needless information is cut-out using ellipsis.

Ellipsis can also occur in the middle of a speech to cut-out the middle part.

Uses & examples:

• At the beginning of a speech: At first, her speech was irregular on the telephone. All I remember her saying is, “...have been learning Arabic since Tuesday.” Then the line cut-off.

• In the middle of a speech: Her speech was irregular on the telephone. All I remember her saying is “...have started learning Arabic … Tuesday.”

• At the end of a speech: After settling into a new house, Zayn counted all the furniture items: “Sofa, bed, side table,…” until he finally confirmed that nothing was missing.

14. Parentheses ()

The symbols () are called parentheses.

Parentheses are used for an addition of non-essential information or thoughts in a sentence. The symbol helps us keep a smooth flow of sentences by allowing us to add bits of additional information, without disrupting the actual statement.

A pair of parentheses can add information — such as context, a thought, a comment, an example, or a small clarification — to a sentence.

Uses & examples:

1. To add a thought.

My aunt made us some tea. It smelled nice (except the taste was awful) and also gave us some cookies.

2. To add context.

Mom wasn’t home and dad was busy with his work (and I was sleeping) when a stray cat made it into the house.

3. To add an example.

It is not just the media — social media platforms (like Facebook and Instagram) are also rumored to be biased.

4. To add a clarification.

Maria was upset when we arrived at the party (we were late.)

15. Brackets []

Brackets [] are used to add information or the word “sic,” to a direct quote to clarify its meaning. Brackets are also used as parentheses within parentheses.

If you see something written within brackets within a direct quote, it is not a part of the actual quote — rather, it is an addition of information only for clarification of the quote.

Uses & examples:

• To add information to a direct quote: My aunt said, “These [biscuits] are home-made.”

• Used as parentheses within parentheses: I used to struggle learning certain words back then, (when I was learning Arabic at school, for example the word “mi’taf” [which means a coat] boggled me a lot) but now I’m fluent.

16. Braces {}

This {} symbol is called braces, curly braces, and also curly brackets. Braces are mostly used in math to pair numbers, variables, or similar elements, and formulate mathematical expressions. 

Braces also occur in programming languages, usually as a starting and ending point for blocks of code.

Uses & examples:

• Grouping mathematical elements together: The next question uses two sets of numbers: {1, 6, 4}, {4, 5}, and two sets of variables: {a, b, c}, {x, y}.

• Formulating mathematical expressions: {2+[3×(4−1)]}.

Avoid Punctuation Mistakes with Paraphraser.us

While self-practicing is an essential part of mastering a language, correcting your punctuation might come as a tough challenge in academic writing.

If you are a slow learner, or if you hit the inevitable learning curve, Paraphraser can help.

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Conclusion

Learning punctuation for clear and effective academic writing is essential for all students. Proper punctuation ensures your writing flows well and ideas are communicated accurately with greater readability. 

This article highlights the 16 common English punctuation marks that every student should learn and master.