Style Guide - Punctuation

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Style Guide - Punctuation

Utica University Style Guide

Punctuation

Serial Comma

Use a comma before "and" or "or" in a series of three or more items:

The flag is red, white, and blue.
Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral?

Note: When items in a series contain internal punctuation (e.g. commas), use semicolons in the same manner as described for the serial comma:

The final tally of participants was Utica, 17; Becker College, 12; and Notre Dame, 7.

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Hyphen

Use a hyphen whenever it will help to avoid ambiguity:

He re-covered his leaky roof.
He recovered his health.

When a compound modifier (two or more words that express a single concept) precedes a noun, use hyphens to link all the words in the compound except "very" and all adverbs that end in "ly":

a first-quarter touchdown
a bluish-green dress
a full-time job
a well-known man
an on-ground program
a very good time
an easily remembered song

Many combinations that are hyphenated before a noun are not hyphenated when they occur after a noun:

The team scored in the first quarter.
The dress appeared to be a bluish green.
She works full time.

Use a hyphen in the word "e-mail"; however, do not use a hyphen in the word "online":

You can check your e-mail online at http://webmail.utica.edu.

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Ampersand

Use the ampersand (&) in place of "and" only in corporate names. (Ex: Pratt & Whitney)

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Quotation Rules

The comma is always placed inside the quotation mark:

"Gerald," he said, "let's organize."

The period is always placed inside the quotation mark:

"Pro football is like nuclear warfare. There are no winners, only survivors." (Frank Gifford)

Place the colon, semicolon, exclamation point, and question mark inside the quotation mark when it is part of the quoted material; otherwise, it should be placed outside.

Pilate asked, "What's truth?"
What is the meaning of the term "half truth"?

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Brackets and Parentheses

Place the period inside the parentheses or brackets when the enclosed material is an independent sentence constituting no part of the preceding sentence. Otherwise, it should be placed outside the parentheses or brackets.