Other Punctuation Marks: Colons, Parentheses, Brackets, Ellipses, Dashes, Slashes
(printable version here)
Use COLONS:
After an independent clause to introduce a list.
ex.: Novelists of the Naturalistic school include the following: Stephen Crane, Theodore Dreiser, and Frank Norris.
With some quotations.
ex.: The title of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath comes from a line in the first verse of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic": "He is trampling down the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored."
With appositives (a noun or noun phrase that renames a nearby noun).
ex.: I will be traveling to three major cities in Asia: Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.
Note: Appositives are usually set off by commas.
ex.: The designer of Cher's dress, Bob Mackie, also designed for the stars of "Dynasty."
Between independent clauses when the second restates or explains the first.
ex.: We are very excited to work in the Writing Center: it is a fun and interesting job.
Use PARENTHESES:
For supplemental material or digressions.
ex.: Brad Pitt is an extremely talented, charismatic (not to mention attractive), film actor.
Note: Avoid using parentheses this way in your papers. Whenever possible, work supplemental material and digressions into your sentences.
Use BRACKETS:
To enclose words or phrases of your own that you are inserting in a direct quotation.
ex.: The senator asserted, "He [Judge Thomas] is a worthy candidate for the Supreme Court, the charges against him notwithstanding."
Use ELLIPSIS MARKS:
To show that you have deleted words from a direct quotation. The rules can be a bit confusing, but we have provided some details on our page about the use of direct quotations.
Use HYPHENS:
To assist readers' comprehension by connecting multiple-word modifiers (like that one). The exception is for "ly" modifiers.
ex.: The ninety-year-old man drove the slowly moving Buick LeSabre in the wrong direction down the four-lane highway, straight into the rapidly approaching traffic.
Use DASHES:
To set off parenthetical material that deserves emphasis.
ex.: Coleridge was able--through the generosity of a wealthy patron--to concentrate on his poetry full time.
Note: A dash can also be used to set off an appositive that contains commas:
ex.: The major characters in Light in August--Lena Grove, Joe Christmas, and Gail Hightower--are all connected by a relationship with Byron Bunch.
Note: When typing, use two hyphens with no space before, between or after to indicate a dash.
Use SLASHES:
To separate lines of poetry that you quote in your text.
ex.: The beginning of the "Eolian Harp" is filled with traditional Romantic pastoral imagery, "Our cot o'ergrown / With white-flowered Jasmin, and broad-leav'd Myrtle,".
Note: There should be a space before and after the slash.
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