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The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

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Use of Brackets

Brackets are used for a number of purposes: Use #1: Sometimes, you may wish to clarify or add to an original quote. Put words that are being added to an original quote within brackets. Always put the changes in brackets, not parentheses. This tells your readers exactly how you have altered the original. Example: Original: …

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Rules Do Change

Spacing after periods, colons, question marks, and exclamation marks Originally, typewriters had monospaced fonts (skinny letters and fat letters took up the same amount of space), so two spaces after ending punctuation marks such as the period were used to make the text more legible. However, most computer fonts present no difficulty with proportion or …

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The Most Common Punctuation Error of All

When asked what the most common punctuation error of all is in American English, I don’t have to think hard. The "winning" mistake is the misuse of the apostrophe, especially with its/it’s. First, let’s get rid of a myth: There is no such thing as its’. Why? Because its’ would be meaningless. If its' existed, …

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Using Commas, Semicolons, and Colons Within Sentences

Punctuation within sentences can be tricky; however, if you know just a few of the following rules, you will be well on your way to becoming a polished writer and proofreader. Rule: Use a comma between two long independent clauses when conjunctions such as and, or, but, for, nor connect them. Example: I have painted …

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Become a Better Writer Instantly, Part 1

Here are some tricks of the editing trade that will make your writing look more polished instantly. Trick #1: Use concrete rather than vague language. Example of vague language: The weather was of an extreme nature. Example of concrete language: Thunderstorms tore open the sky, bringing a deluge of rain. Which sentence would make you …

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