A.

PUNCTUATION

 The parentheses brackets, and braces used in symbolic language to eliminate

ambiguity in meaning
 In any formula the negation symbol will be understood to apply to the smallest
statement that the punctuation permits

COMMA (,)

Writers disagree on whether lists of three or more should include a comma before the
“and” (or “or”) and the last item in the list. Above all, consistency is key. If you do not
know your reader's preference, choose one method and stick to it. Commas before the
last “and” must be used when the final item in the list itself contains a conjunction (e.g.,
“He was charged with assault, battery, and breaking and entering.”)

PARENTHETIC PHRASES

Use commas to set off words and phrases that do not neatly fit into the main
grammatical structure of the sentence. Nonrestrictive clauses are examples of
parenthetic phrases. Unless the parenthetic phrase ends the sentence, there should
always be a comma at the end of the parenthetic phrase. Do not use commas to set off
phrases that, if removed, would change the meaning of the sentence, i.e., a restrictive
clause.

Examples:

 The Constitution, which was signed in 1987, is the supreme law of the land.
 The Constitution, signed in 1987, is the supreme law of the land.
 The judge, however, was not amused.
 The version of the bill that the Senate ultimately approved was substantially
weakened

PUNCTUATION BEFORE AND AFTER QUOTATION MARKS

When you are quoting a sentence or phrase that ends the sentence, the period should
always go before the last quotation mark, even if it is not the end of the sentence in the
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original source. Commas should also always go inside the quotation mark. Other
punctuation marks go outside of the quotation unless they appear in the original source.

THE ELLIPSIS (…)

If you are quoting a source and choose to remove one or more words from the middle of
the quotation, you should indicate that with a space and then three dots separated by
spaces. If your quotation ends your sentence, but is not the end of the sentence in the
original source, the quotation should end with four dots separated by spaces (the fourth
dot acting as the period after a three dot ellipsis).
APOSTROPHE (‘)
Apostrophes are used to indicate letters missing from words and to create possessive
forms of nouns.
HYPHEN (-)

Hyphens can be used between two words that function together to modify a subsequent
word in the sentence, as in “well-pled complaint.” Hyphens can also be used to connect
some prefixes to words.

Hyphenated words can assist with conciseness by eliminating the need for additional
adverbial phrases.
DASH ( — )

The em dash—created on Microsoft Word by two hyphens and a space—is a versatile

punctuation mark that can replace parentheses, commas, and colons. Em dashes are
often used to indicate a sudden break in thought.

Note on using dashes: Avoid using dashes to replace more than one kind of
punctuation in a single sentence. For instance, the sentence “On the Supreme Court,
the federal government’s highest judicial body, one justice virtually never asks questions
in oral argument: Clarence Thomas,” would be harder to understand if it were written,
“On the Supreme Court—the federal government’s highest judicial body—one justice
virtually never asks a question—Clarence Thomas.”

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SEMICOLON (; )

Semicolons connect independent sentences that are logically closely related or work
together as part of a larger idea.
Effect: Semicolons tell the reader that more information, following the semicolon, will
clarify
your meaning. They add emphasis to the second clause as an important explanation of
the first.
Advantages: Semicolons can highlight connections between ideas that will help the
reader
understand your meaning.
Disadvantages: Critics complain that writers use semicolons to gloss over imprecise
thought.20 Like any sentence structure, semicolons can be over-used.
Semicolons also separate items in a list when the individual items are long or if any one
item contains a comma.
COLON ( : )

Colons end a sentence that creates anticipation or suspense that the next sentence or
phrase resolves.
Effect: Colons create an expectation that what follows is surprising, important, or
especially interesting.
Advantages: Colons can highlight crucial information by adding emphasis to what
follows the colon.
Disadvantages: Because the colon is a dramatic sentence structure, colons can lose
emphasis and credibility if over-used. Generally, use colons when no other punctuation
can create the desired effect.
Colons also introduce a list or introduce a quotation that is not integrated into the
writer’s sentence.
The court applied the following four factors to the facts at issue: . . .
The court explained that location can also contribute to reasonable suspicion:

“[O]fficers are not required to ignore the relevant characteristics of a location . . . ”

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