Elements of Punctuation

English Punctuation Rules

Periods Commas Semicolons Colons Quotation Marks Parentheses and Brackets Apostrophes Hyphens Dashes Ellipses Question Marks Exclamation Points

Quick Links for Punctuation

Punctuation makes your writing clear and understandable for your readers.  Select the punctuation topic below for more detailed information.  

Abbreviations	Apostrophes	Brackets	Capital Letters
Commas	Colons	Dashes	Ellipses (. . .)
Exclamation Point	Hyphens	Italics & Underlining	Misused/Misspelled Words
Numbers	Parentheses	Quotation Marks	Semi-Colons

Writer's Complex Copyright

The content in Writing Resources originally was created for the Writer's Complex website by Cathy Copley, Larry Greenberg, Elaine Handley, Susan Oaks and contributors. Copyright 1995-96, SUNY Empire State College.

Content currently available at:

ESC Online Writing Center. “Punctuation.” Essay, SUNY Empire State College, Web

< https://www.esc.edu/online-writing-center/resources/punctuation/>.