The web's most comprehensive guide to American punctuation.

The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons ⁠—in each case to slightly different effect.

Semicolon The semicolon is sometimes described as stronger than a comma but weaker than a period. In certain uses, this is a reasonably accurate definition. Yet there is more to the semicolon than that. …

Slash The slash ( / ), also known as the virgule, has several uses, most of which should be avoided in formal writing. Never use a backslash ( \ ) in place of a slash. Poetry The one inarguably acceptable …

Though not necessarily logical, the American rules for multiple punctuation with quotation marks are firmly established. (See here for a brief explanation of the British style.)

En dash The en dash (–) is slightly wider than the hyphen (-) but narrower than the em dash (—). The typical computer keyboard lacks a dedicated key for the en dash, though most word processors …

The apostrophe with other punctuation The apostrophe should never be separated from the word to which it attaches by adjacent punctuation.

Example Punctuation Quarterly 4:86–89 Explanation: This reads as “pages 86 through 89 of volume four.”

Titles of works The titles of certain works are indicated with quotation marks, others with italics, and yet others with regular type. The style presented here is consistent with The Chicago Manual of Style …

Hyphen For most writers, the hyphen’s primary function is the formation of certain compound terms. The hyphen is also used for word division, which is briefly explained here. Never use a hyphen in place of …