Periods, Exclamation Points, and Question Marks
Oh my!
Use a period to
- signal the end of an idea; just make sure it is a complete idea
- punctuate sentences and bulleted/numbered lists; just make sure they are complete sentences and bulleted/numbered lists
- end abbreviated words (Dr. for Doctor, St. for Street)
- separate lowercase abbreviated letters (e.g., p., pp., et al.)
- ensure you are correctly applying a citation style鈥檚 format
Periods relative to quotation marks:
- Periods appear within quotation marks: He heard her sing 鈥淪omewhere over the Rainbow.鈥�
Question marks relative to other punctuation:
- Question marks appear inside quotation marks, parentheses, or brackets only when part of the quoted or parenthetical material:
- He asked, 鈥淒o you believe in ghosts?鈥�
- That dog (or is it a wolf?) is gonna be huge!
- Question marks appear outside quotation marks when the question is not part of the sentence: Did he really ask me if 鈥�I believed in ghosts鈥�?
- Why didn鈥檛 he ask for the time off until today (Tuesday)?
- 鈥淲hat do you suppose he had in mind,鈥� inquired Newman, 鈥渨hen he said, 鈥榊ou are all greater fools than I thought鈥�?鈥�
Use an exclamation point
- sparingly. Do not use an exclamation point in academic writing unless it already exists in a quotation.
Exclamation points relative to other punctuation
- Exclamation points appear inside quotation marks, parentheses, or brackets when part of the quoted material:
- He sang the Beatles鈥� 鈥淗elp!鈥� more than any other song.
- The article 鈥淢idway!鈥� posed some thoughtful points.
Periods, Exclamation Points, and Question Marks Links
- Short video (2:51): "," Khan Academy
- Exercises: "," Khan Academy
- Video (17:71): "," TED, Dan Moulthrop
