8 ComicsTo Help You Avoid

Unfortunate Punctuation Errors

Introduction

Ah, punctuation errors. Once a missed keystroke on a

typewriter, now the fodder of Internet memes, viral

screenshots, and endless Tumblr feeds. We’ve all seen the

public restrooms reserved for elderly pregnant disabled

children, the unsettling connotations of a restaurant that

serves “fresh” sushi, and the PR disasters that could have

been averted with critical commas. In an online world

where every little mistake is photographed and shared,

understanding punctuation is more important than ever

to maintain a credible reputation.

#1: Obey the

Terminator(Periods and Terminal Punctuation)

Terminal punctuation can seem like a no-brainer, and it’s for

this very reason that many mistakes occur. Sometimes, we

overlook glaring errors simply because they’re so obvious. We

assume we haven’t made them and don’t think to check. There

are, of course, guidelines to keep in mind: Sequential

exclamation points are the written equivalent of shouting (right

up there with all caps). Some indirect questions actually end in

periods, not question marks, and different styles of writing use

different rules for terminal punctuation in quotes, parentheses,

or abbreviations. The bottom line? Proofread!

Periods

#2: A comma, a comma. My

kingdom for a comma!

This little devil is the culprit in the most infamous punctuation

blunders. Commas can be tricky things, what with the many,

many rules that apply to their usage. Some of the more common

gaffes are forgetting to include a comma between items in a list,

after introductory phrases, or between independent clauses

joined by a coordinating conjunction. If you’re thinking those

mistakes sound innocent enough, take a look at the magazine

cover that declares that Rachael Ray finds happiness in cooking

her family and her dog. Although the cover was found to have

been Photoshopped, this punctuation error is easy to make, so be

vigilant!

Commas

#3: Say “no” to sketchy

quotation marks

I’ll say this once: Never use quotation marks for

emphasis. Inappropriate use of these teeny little marks

creates the written implication that something is, well,

questionable. If the text at hand isn’t actually a

quotation or the title of a work, using quotation marks

brings to mind the image of someone saying the word

or phrase while employing air quotes and waggling

their eyebrows. Would you eat at a grill serving “beef”

steaks?

Quotation marks

#4: Hyphens and en dashes and em dashes—oh my!

Finding errors in the length of horizontal lines may seem like

nitpicking. Many won’t even realize these little dashes are

different! However, ignoring the circumstances that call for

hyphens, en dashes, or em dashes can lead to embarrassing

changes in the meaning of a written phrase. As a cheat sheet: Em

dashes (the longest of the three, equal in length to the typed

letter “m”) are used in place of commas or parentheses to create

emphasis. En dashes (equal in length to the letter “n”) connect

values or ranges (e.g., 2002–2008), and hyphens join words that

are logically connected (e.g., state-of-the-art, anti-war, long-term

relationship).

Hyphens

#5: Don’t eclipse the

ellipsis

(For those of you who don’t get the reference, check

out this YouTube clip, and go watch The Rocky Horror

Picture Show as soon as you finish this article!)

Ellipses, consisting of three periods in succession, are

useful tools that allow writers to indicate an omission

(usually in quoted text), the trailing-off of a thought, or

a hesitation. As with exclamation points, the rule of

less is more applies. A page overzealously spotted and

dotted with ellipses will only look messy.

Ellipses

#6: Apostrophe catastrophe

A pet peeve of editors, proofreaders, and grammar gurus

worldwide is the misguided use of apostrophes to form

plural nouns. Let’s take a moment to be absolutely clear:

Apostrophes denote ownership or conjoined words. Never

should an -s at the end of a plural noun be preceded by an

apostrophe. So please, noble writer, apostrophize the

teacher’s office, the dog’s bowl, and let’s get out of here,

but stay your hand when telling us about the 1980s or

dinner with the Andersons.

Apostrophes

#7: Serious about

semicolons

(This is another reference for film buffs; if you don’t get the above

reference, you’ll enjoy it more after checking out this YouTube clip

from the 1976 movie Network.)

Semicolons represent a pause longer than that of a comma but

shorter than the full stop of a period. Before you start applying

semicolons willy-nilly, however, remember some simple rules: Use a

semicolon to join two sentences without a conjunction; before

transitional phrases, such as “meanwhile,” “however,” and “for

example,” when they connect independent clauses into a single

sentence; and in lists of this sort that include commas within list

elements.

Semicolons

#8: The dreaded grammatical colonoscopy

The colon means serious business. Mild toilet humor aside,

the use of a colon in writing is a signal that something

important is about to follow. Use a colon to introduce a list,

to lead into a second sentence that explains or adds to the

first without using a conjunction, or simply to add

emphasis to whatever follows. To make sure your colon is

clean (ew), you may wish to consult your style guide about

whether the sentence following the colon requires

capitalization.

Colons

Still worried about succumbing to punctuation errors? Here’s a cheat sheet

from Scribendi.com’s GrammarCamp course to make things easy.

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