{"product_id":"the-best-punctuation-book-period-isbn-9781607744931","title":"The Best Punctuation Book, Period","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis all-in-one reference is a quick and easy way for book, magazine, online, academic, and business writers to look up sticky punctuation questions for all styles including AP (Associated Press), MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and Chicago Manual of Style.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePunctuate with Confidence—No Matter the Style\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Confused about punctuation? There’s a reason. Everywhere you turn, publications seem to follow different rules on everything from possessive apostrophes to hyphens to serial commas. Then there are all the gray areas of punctuation—situations the rule books gloss over or never mention at all. At last, help has arrived.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e This complete reference guide from grammar columnist June Casagrande covers the basic rules of punctuation plus the finer points not addressed anywhere else, offering clear answers to perplexing questions about semicolons, quotation marks, periods, apostrophes, and more. Better yet, this is the only guide that uses handy icons to show how punctuation rules differ for book, news, academic, and science styles—so you can boldly switch between essays, online newsletters, reports, fiction, and magazine and news articles.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis handbook also features rulings from an expert “Punctuation Panel” so you can see how working pros approach sticky situations. And the second half of the book features an alphabetical master list of commonly punctuated terms worth its weight in gold, combining rulings from the major style guides and showing exactly where they differ. With \u003ci\u003eThe Best Punctuation Book, Period\u003c\/i\u003e, you’ll be able to handle any punctuation predicament in a flash—and with aplomb.Introduction: Punctuation Is Easy, Except When It’s Not \u003cbr\u003e How to Use This Book \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Part I. Guidelines \u003cbr\u003e  Apostrophe \u003cbr\u003e  Comma \u003cbr\u003e  Period \u003cbr\u003e  Colon \u003cbr\u003e  Semicolon \u003cbr\u003e  Quotation Mark \u003cbr\u003e  Single Quotation Mark \u003cbr\u003e  Question Mark \u003cbr\u003e  Exclamation Point \u003cbr\u003e  Ellipsis \u003cbr\u003e  Hyphen \u003cbr\u003e  Em Dash \u003cbr\u003e  En Dash \u003cbr\u003e  Parenthesis \u003cbr\u003e  Bracket \u003cbr\u003e  Slash and Backslash \u003cbr\u003e  Lists \u003cbr\u003e  Numbers and Addresses \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Part II. Punctuation A to Z \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Appendix A: Understanding Grammatical Units: \u003cbr\u003e Phrases, Clauses, Sentences, and Sentence Fragments \u003cbr\u003e Appendix B: Identifying Parts of Speech for Better Punctuation \u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e About the Author and Punctuation Panel \u003cbr\u003e Index\u003cb\u003e“\u003c\/b\u003eRidiculously useful. The best book on punctuation I’ve ever seen.\u003cb\u003e”\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e —Mignon Fogarty\u003cb\u003e,\u003c\/b\u003e author of \u003ci\u003eGrammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“\u003c\/b\u003eInvaluable reference work for professional proofreaders, editors, and writers because it is the only book that presents Chicago, AP, APA, and MLA conventions side by side. (Acronym-free translation: for each use of each punctuation mark, this book clearly explains and illustrates the practices used by book publishers, the news media, social science publications, and nonscientific academic papers and journal articles.)\u003cb\u003e”\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e —Amy Einsohn, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Copyeditor’s Handbook\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eJUNE CASAGRANDE is the author of the weekly syndicated “A Word, Please” grammar column and a copy editor for the custom publishing department of the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e. She has worked as a reporter, features writer, city editor, proofreader, and copyediting instructor for UC San Diego Extension. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eGrammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies, Mortal Syntax, \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences\u003c\/i\u003e. She lives in Pasadena, California, with her husband. Visit www.junecasagrande.com.Introduction: Punctuation Is Easy, Except When It’s Not\u003cbr\u003e Punctuate this:\u003cbr\u003e In general the writer who did well in college earning As and Bs knows that a young aspiring middle grade novelist has an equally good reason to join the writers group because what it is is a line up of super creative people who for conscience sake treat it like a sub group of their audience to gauge the readers sensibilities and practice copy editing something they started in the 1960s and 70s because it was in the founders words far out\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Did you put a comma after \u003ci\u003ein general\u003c\/i\u003e? Did you put commas after \u003ci\u003ewriter\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ecollege\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBs\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003egroup\u003c\/i\u003e? Did you put apostrophes in \u003ci\u003eA’s\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eB’s\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ewriters’\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003econscience’\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ereaders’\u003c\/i\u003e, ’\u003ci\u003e70s, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003efounder’s\u003c\/i\u003e? Did you put hyphens in \u003ci\u003emiddle-grade\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003esuper-creative\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003esub-group\u003c\/i\u003e? Did you put a dash before \u003ci\u003esomething\u003c\/i\u003e? Did you put quotation marks around \u003ci\u003efar out\u003c\/i\u003e but insert a period between the word \u003ci\u003eout\u003c\/i\u003e and the closing quotation mark?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e If so, your passage probably looks a lot like this:\u003cbr\u003e In general, the writer, who did well in college, earning A’s and B’s, knows that a young aspiring middle-grade novelist has an equally good reason to join the writers’ group, because what it is is a line up of super-creative people who for conscience’ sake treat it like a sub-group of their audience to gauge the readers’ sensibilities and practice copy editing—something they started \u003cbr\u003e in the 1960s and ’70s because it was, in the founder’s words, \u003cbr\u003e “far out.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e And you might think your polished, carefully punctuated passage is perfect. But you’d be wrong. \u003cbr\u003e The \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e would disagree with your apostrophes in \u003ci\u003eA’s and B’s\u003c\/i\u003e. Per that newspaper, it should be \u003ci\u003eA’s and Bs\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eThe Chicago Manual of Style\u003c\/i\u003e would disagree on different grounds: in that style, it should be \u003ci\u003eAs and Bs\u003c\/i\u003e. Any book editor would swiftly change your \u003ci\u003ecopy editing\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003ecopyediting\u003c\/i\u003e. Then there’s your punctuation of \u003ci\u003e“far out.”\u003c\/i\u003e Most editors outside the United States would swap the places of your period and closing quotation mark.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It gets worse: your punctuation marks could even be creating factual errors. \u003ci\u003eThe writer, who did well in college\u003c\/i\u003e refers to someone different than does \u003ci\u003ethe writer who did well in college\u003c\/i\u003e. That comma changes the identity of the subject and even the number of people it represents because \u003ci\u003ethe writer who did well in college\u003c\/i\u003e can refer to every student who did well in college. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Are you really sure that just one founder called it \u003ci\u003efar out\u003c\/i\u003e? Or could those be the \u003ci\u003efounders’\u003c\/i\u003e words? How sure are you that you’re talking about \u003ci\u003ethe readers’ sensibilities\u003c\/i\u003e and not \u003ci\u003ethe reader’s sensibilities\u003c\/i\u003e? Are you certain you want to leave \u003ci\u003eline up\u003c\/i\u003e as two unhyphenated words? Are you confident that an em dash is a better choice for setting off that final thought than parentheses or a colon? How would you explain your choice to leave a comma out of \u003ci\u003ewhat it is is\u003c\/i\u003e?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e How would you feel if, after leaving a comma out of \u003ci\u003eyoung aspiring middle-grade novelist\u003c\/i\u003e, you saw a highly respected publication use the same phrase except with a comma after \u003ci\u003eyoung\u003c\/i\u003e?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e On the surface, punctuation is simple stuff: a system of clear, well-documented rules we all learned in school. But when you sit down to write an article or a story or a business email or a blog post, suddenly it’s not so simple. One after another, situations arise in which the basic rules you thought you knew are no help at all. If you start looking for answers, it can get even more confusing. One of the most well-respected and influential style guides in the country will tell you to put just one comma in \u003ci\u003ered, white and blue\u003c\/i\u003e. But if you take that as gospel, you’ll be lost when you notice that nearly every book you pick up prefers to throw in another comma before the \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e, writing it \u003ci\u003ered, white, and blue\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e And heaven help you if you start paying attention to how professional editors use hyphens. The truth is, punctuation can be very difficult. Professional writers don’t know it all. Even professional editors look things up, debate them with colleagues, and are sometimes still left guessing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e No one knows everything there is to know about every punctuation mark, and no one is expected to. But that leaves any amateur or professional writer to ask: \u003ci\u003eSo what am I expected to know? Will I look stupid if I put a comma here or an apostrophe there? Or do even professional editors share my confusion on this matter?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A lot of people assume that there’s a single correct answer for every punctuation conundrum. Either a comma belongs in a certain spot or it doesn’t. Either the possessive of \u003ci\u003eJames\u003c\/i\u003e is formed by adding an apostrophe plus an \u003ci\u003es\u003c\/i\u003e, or it’s formed by adding the apostrophe alone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The good news here is also the bad news: often there’s more than one right answer. Whether to use a certain punctuation mark can be a matter of choice—the writer’s way of emphasizing his meaning, creating rhythm, or making the words more pleasing to the eye. Other times these questions boil down to a matter of style—the kind with a capital \u003ci\u003eS \u003c\/i\u003ethat’s laid down by one of the publishing world’s official playbooks. Still other times, there is only one correct choice, and if you fail to choose it, you can inadvertently change your meaning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The goal of this book is let you punctuate every sentence, even those that fall into the gray areas of punctuation rules or style differences, with complete confidence.","brand":"Ten Speed Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302723440869,"sku":"NP9781607744931","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781607744931.jpg?v=1767738340","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-best-punctuation-book-period-isbn-9781607744931","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}