Punctuation in Academic Writing

Academic punctuation presentation/ Defining your terms practice

Choose one of the things below and work together to describe its form and uses in as
much detail as possible, including contrasting with other things.
 (Round) brackets
 Apostrophe
 Bold
 Bullet points
 Capital letters
 Colon
 Comma
 Dash
 Dot dot dot
 Emoticons (smileys, etc)
 Exclamation mark
 Forward slash
 Full stop
 Hyphen
 Indent
 Italics
 Numbering
 Question mark
 Quotation marks
 Semicolon
 Square brackets

Useful language
Contrasting Giving additional information
In contrast In addition
whereas We should also perhaps add
unlike A related use is…
Other useful language
According to…
If we take… as an example…
Generalising from this example,…

Ask your teacher about any which you aren’t sure of, especially any differences.

Match up the pieces of paper your teacher gives you to make explanations of some of the
things above.
AND/ OR
Write the names of some of the things above in descriptions that you are given.
Check your answers, then ask your teacher about any you still aren’t sure about.

Answer the comprehension questions from memory, then look for the answers in the texts.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2013

Answer the Questions about Punctuation in Academic Writing

What kinds of words are not capitalised in titles?

What linking words are usually followed by a comma?

What’s the difference between semicolons and commas with lists?

What kind of brackets are most likely with the expression “sic” (used to show that there is a
mistake in the quoted text)?

Why might a writer join what could be two sentences with a semicolon instead? What
changes might be needed to the sentences to make that possible?

Is that recommended by the text?

Give examples of things which are usually in brackets rather than between paired
commas.

How do you know whether something should be in brackets or paired commas, rather than
just forming part of the flow of the sentence?

What punctuation is similar to a dash? Which are preferred in academic writing?

Try to answer the questions about the other punctuation.

How can you divide up information in a list introduced with a colon?

What are the differences between single and double quotation marks? How can you know
which ones to use?

Are contractions with apostrophes acceptable in academic writing?

Apart from actual quoting, what can quotation marks be used for in academic writing?

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2013

1.

As well as the obvious uses (starting sentences, days of the week, months,
proper nouns, etc),

____________ are used at the beginning of the main words of names of things
such as books and articles.

By “main words”, we mean not grammar words like determiners (“a”, “an”, “the”,
etc), prepositions (words like “to”, “of” and “for”) or conjunctions (such as “and”
and “but”), unless they are the first word in the title.

It is sometimes confusing whether something should be considered the name of

something or simply a description.

For example, “Central London” would mean following the official description of
that (zones and two), whereas “central London” would be a more general or
personal definition.

2.

A ___________ “signals a break in the flow of the sentence”, including

“separate[ing] extra information from the main idea of the sentence,
separate[ing] linking words from the main idea of the sentence [and] resolv[ing]
ambiguity.” [1]

Examples of linking words and phrases which are usually followed by a

__________ include “furthermore”, “however”, “similarly”, “again”, “therefore”,
“consequently”, “in conclusion” and “finally”.

__________s are also used to divide up lists, with semicolons being used for
lists where each item is more complicated.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2013

3.

To quote wholesale from The Chicago Manual of Style 16 th Edition:

“_________________ (in the United States usually just called brackets)
are used in scholarly prose mainly to enclose material – usually added
by someone other than the original writer – that does not form a part of
the surrounding text.

Specifically, […] ______________ enclose editorial interpolations,

explanations, translations of foreign terms, or corrections.”

They can also be used surrounding three dots to show parts of the text which
were edited out, as in the quote given above.

To avoid round brackets within round brackets, the inner ones can also be
replaced with _________________.

4.

The online Macmillan dictionary defines a ___________ as “a punctuation mark

[…] that is used to separate words in a list, or two parts of a sentence that can
be understood separately” (retrieved from
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/semicolon, 10 May 2013),

but the first part of the definition could easily refer to a comma. The difference in
this case is that ____________s are used for more complex lists, often ones
introduced with a colon, and perhaps even ones with commas within the items
on the list (although this can be confusing and is not usually good style).

The second use given by the Macmillan dictionary is more similar to that of a
full stop, but emphasising the connection or similarity between the two clauses
more than a full stop would and perhaps replacing a linking word. This use is
difficult even for native speakers and so is best avoided.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2013

5.

According to the Macmillan dictionary website, _________ (or parenthesis in

American English) are “used in writing or mathematics for showing that the
piece of information or set of numbers between them can be considered
separately.” However, this is also true of paired commas.

We therefore need to be more precise, adding that ________ are generally

used for information which is more complex or further from the main topic of the
sentence than information between paired commas usually is.

This tends to include examples and references to other parts of the page, such
as “(see below)” and “(Fig. 2.3)”. In academic writing they are also of course
used in referencing, enclosing the year of publication, or author and year of
publication. As with paired commas, the general rule for information in brackets
is that you should be understand the sentence even with those words removed.

A ________ should not be confused with a hyphen, which is shorter and is

usually used between words.

A _________ has similar functions to brackets or paired commas (dividing extra

information from the rest of the sentence) and one of the functions of a
semicolon (connecting two clauses, often replacing a linking word, in a way
which shows a closer connection that two sentences would).

In general, though, other punctuation marks like those just mentioned are
preferred to dashes in academic writing.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2013

Put the punctuation back into the examples
Capital letters
as well as the obvious uses starting sentences days of the week months proper

nouns etc capital letters are used at the beginning of the main words of names

of things such as books and articles by main words we mean not grammar

words like determiners a an the etc prepositions words like to of and for or

conjunctions such as and and but unless they are the first word in the title it is

sometimes confusing whether something should be considered the name of

something or simply a description for example central london would mean

following the official description of that zones and two whereas central London

would be a more general or personal definition

Colon
the online macmillan dictionary gives examples of the use of a colon as before

an explanation or list retrieved 12 May 2013 the oxford advanced learners

dictionary 5th ed 1995 also mentions an example a … summary of what

precedes it or a contrasting idea and to this we can add the more common

academic situations of long and complex lists usually presented with numbers

or bullet points or divided by semicolons

Square brackets
to quote wholesale from the chicago manual of style 16 th edition square

brackets in the united States usually just called brackets are used in scholarly

prose mainly to enclose material usually added by someone other than the

original writer that does not form a part of the surrounding text specifically …

square brackets enclose editorial interpolations explanations translations of

foreign terms or corrections they can also be used surrounding three dots to

show parts of the text which were edited out as in the quote given above

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2013

Complete the defining your terms phrases
Put one word into each of the gaps below, from your memory or own ideas
Capital letters
As well ___________ the obvious uses (starting sentences, days of the week, months,
proper nouns, etc), capital letters are used at the beginning of the main words of names of
things such as books and articles. _______ “main words”, we mean not grammar words
like determiners (“a”, “an”, “the”, etc), prepositions (words like “to”, “of” and “for”) or
conjunctions (such as “and” and “but”), _____________ they are the first word in the title.

It is sometimes confusing ________ something should be considered the name of

something or simply a description. For example, “Central London” _______ mean following
the official description of that (zones and two), whereas “central London” would be a more
general or personal definition.
Colon
The online Macmillan Dictionary __________ examples of the use of a colon as “before an
explanation or list”. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (5 th Ed., 1995) also
___________ “an example, a […] summary of what precedes it, or a contrasting idea”, and
____________ this we can add the more common academic situations of long and
complex lists.
Semicolon
The online Macmillan dictionary defines a semicolon ___________ “a punctuation mark
[…] that is used to separate words in a list, or two parts of a sentence that can be
understood separately” (retrieved _______
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/semicolon, 10 May 2013), but the
first part of the definition could easily refer __________ a comma. The difference
________ this case is that semicolons are used for more complex lists.
(Round) brackets
According to the Macmillan dictionary website, round brackets (___________ parenthesis
in American English) are “used ____________ writing or mathematics for showing that the
piece of information or set of numbers between them can be considered separately.”
However, this is _______ true of paired commas. We therefore need to be _______
precise, adding ________ round brackets are generally used for information which is more
complex or further from the main topic of the sentence.
Dash
A dash should not be confused ____________ a hyphen, which is shorter and is usually
used between words. A dash has similar functions ___________ brackets or paired
commas (dividing extra information from the rest of the sentence) and one of the functions
of a semicolon (connecting two clauses, often replacing a linking word, in a way which
shows a closer connection that two sentences would). ________ general, though, other
punctuation marks like those just mentioned are preferred to dashes in academic writing.

Check with the original texts. Many other answers are possible, so please check with your
teacher before changing the words that you put.

Underline useful phrases for defining your terms in academic writing and presentations
above.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2013