Punctuation

Punctuation makes your message clear and easy to read. It helps a reader better understand a piece of text when the writer provides signals (punctuation) in his/her phrases and sentences.
**Guide to common punctuation from the** ** OWL Punctuation **

**The following are goals to strive for regarding punctuation:** > ===(If a direct quotation is interrupted mid-sentence, do not capitalize the second part of the quotation. === > ==="I didn't see an actual alien being," Mr. Johnson said, "but I sure wish I had.") ===
 * === Notice effective or unusual use of punctation marks by authors ===
 * === Try out new ways of using punctuation ===
 * === Understand the use of ellipses ( . . . ) to show pause or anticipation, usually before something surprising ===
 * === Use dashes to indicate a longer pause or slow down the reading to emphasize particular information ===
 * === Consistently use periods, exclamation points, and questions marks as ending marks ===
 * === Use commas and quotation marks correctly in writing dialogue-- ===
 * === Use apostrophes in contractions and possessives ===
 * ==[|apostrophe tips]==
 * === Use commas to identify a series, introduce a speaker or introduce a clause ===
 * === Use brackets to set aside a different idea or kind of information ===
 * === Use colons to indicate something is explained or described ===
 * === Use commas and parentheses to set off parenthetical information ===
 * === Use hyphens to divide words ===
 * === Use indentation to identify paragraphs ===
 * === Use semicolons to divide related parts of a compound sentence ===

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