Notes on punctuation

Although punctuation is far from the most important aspect of your writing, it serves a worthwhile purpose: it signals to the reader the relationship between your ideas. Simply put, a correctly punctuated passage is easier to read than one that is not. At times, punctuation also helps to determine meaning. Rules governing punctuation may be broken occasionally to create a particular rhetorical effect. On the whole, however, these rules should be followed because, as Donald Hall puts it, “rules describe the reader’s expectations.” In this handout, some of the major rules of punctuation are reviewed.