Page 9 - Style Book 2020

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• When an academic abbreviation follows a name, place a comma after the name. If the sentence continues after the academic abbreviation, it should be set off with commas.
Desmond Blackburn, Ph.D.
Desmond Blackburn, Ph.D., will be the keynote speaker.
• Use a comma after the salutation in a personal letter and after the close of a business or personal letter.
• Place the exclamation mark inside quotation marks when it is part of the quote, and do not use a comma or a period after the mark.
“Don’t do that!” he shouted.
• If the mark is not part of the quoted material, place it outside the quotation marks.
I hated reading “Beowulf”!
Hyphens
• Use hyphens to form a single idea from two or more words, or to avoid ambiguity.
After Brian recovered from the long trip he re-covered his books.
A representative from the Brevard Schools Foundation will speak to small-business men. (not to small businessmen)
• Use hyphens between compound modifiers that precede a noun, except when the compound modifier includes adverbs that end in ly and / or the adverb very.
She has a full-time job. She works full time.
The fourth-grade students served as tutors for the first graders.
Our employees are well educated.
We need well-educated teachers.
The teacher explained the very poorly constructed sentence.
• Even though the practice of hyphenating words varies, use a dictionary to check on the hyphenation of compound words. The key is to be consistent.
Here are some common words used in education that are hyphenated.
Dear Jenny,
Dashes
Yours truly,
• Use a dash sparingly. It should be used to signify a sudden break in thought or for emphasis, definition or explanation.
The new school – when it is finished – will house 800 students.
The impact fees – totaling $1.3 million – have been paid under protest.
• In typewritten material, the dash is formed by striking the hyphen key twice. If using a personal computer, there is a key for dashes. Put a space before and after a dash.
Ellipses
• Use an ellipsis, which is constructed with three periods and a space on either side, to indicate the omission of words, phras- es or sentences. It also may be used to indicate a pause or a thought the writer does not complete.
• If an ellipsis falls at the end of a sentence, place the punctua- tion at the end of the last word before the ellipsis.
Notice that if a sentence ends with an ellipsis, a final period is included for clarity.
The district must enthusiastically pursue every dollar available ....
• If material is omitted at the end of one paragraph and at the beginning of the next one, place an ellipsis in both locations.
... Let me share with you, the business community, some of our district’s successes and challenges.
Exclamation points
• Use exclamation points sparingly. The mark should be used to express a strong feeling or emotion, or a high degree of surprise. When the mark is used, one is sufficient to get the point across.
Wow! We won the championship.
co-author co-chairman co-education co-sponsor co-worker college-bound district-level
follow-up non-instructional on-line (adj.) post-test pre-convention re-enter
re-entry
re-establish re-examine school-based self-concept state-sponsored web-based web-enabled year-end year-round
• These are some examples of suspensive and multiple hyphenations.
5- and 6-year-old kids 7-year-old girl day-to-day
10- to 20-year assignment 5-year-olds
full- and part-time jobs