Page 1040 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing
P. 1040
Apostrophes in Contractions
1 Use apostrophes in contractions.
Contractions are informal or conversational shortenings of words:
can’t for cannot, doesn’t for does not, and it’s for it is or it has.
Contractions are used in informal writing but are generally
inappropriate for formal or scholarly writing. You will find contractions
in some journalistic writing, in some textbooks, in works of fiction, and
in informal essays. Contractions are considered inappropriate in
reports of academic research and in legal documents. Your instructor
will specify the level of formality you should use in your essays and
other writings.
To form a contraction, replace omitted letters with a single apostrophe.
Close any spaces between words.
Examples of Apostrophe Use in
Contractions
isn’t = is not
