Punctuation

Navigating the Punctuation Page

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• Apostrophes
• Bold
• Bullets
• Commas, semicolons, colons, periods
• Dashes
• Ellipses
• Hyphens
• Quotation marks

Apostrophes

Possessive singular proper names ending in s

Use only an apostrophe when making possessive a singular proper name ending in s.

• Achilles' heel
• Dickens' novels
• Ole Miss' alma mater

Pluralizing figures and acronyms

In pluralizing figures and acronyms, do not use an apostrophe.

• The 1980s are here.
• Two CEUs

Years of college classes

Punctuate years of college classes with an apostrophe (single closing quote). Please note that when keying this on a computer, the single opening quote will automatically appear when you first insert the single quote. You must go back and change it to a closing quote (hit the key twice, then delete the opening quote).

• Class of '76
• John Doe, '20

Bachelor's and master's degrees

Bachelor's and master's degrees should always be written with an 's. Never write masters' degree, for example.

Web content

For web content, primes are acceptable replacements for apostrophes and quote marks.

Following Bold Words

As a general rule, the punctuation that immediately follows a bold word should not be bold. Exceptions can be made in some cases for clarity or as part of a graphic treatment.

Bullets

Bullets are graphic devices that substitute for alphanumeric designation of items in a list. In a bulleted list, the graphic device obviates normal grammatical punctuation.

Punctuation in bulleted lists

In bulleted lists within text passages, the bullet is the punctuation. No other punctuation is required to separate listed items. Do not use commas or semicolons at the end of each item. Use a period after the final entry in a list.

Capitalization in bulleted lists

The first word of each item in a bulleted list should be capitalized.

Mixing sentences and fragments

Avoid mixing sentence and sentence fragments in a bulleted list.

Commas, Semicolons, Colons and Periods

Serial comma

Do not use a comma before the words and and or in a series for news releases and publications. However, serial commas are used in the undergraduate and graduate catalogs.

• The Ole Miss Marching Band, University Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble will perform Tuesday.

Exception: elements containing more than one and or or

• The Ole Miss Marching Band, Ole Miss African Drum and Dance Ensemble, and University Wind Ensemble will perform Wednesday.

Thousands

Place a comma after digits signifying thousands.

• 1,150 students

Introducing a direct quotation

Follow a statement that introduces a direct quotation of one or more paragraphs with a colon. Also use a colon after as follows.

Transitional words and phrases

Transitional words or phrases such as to wit, namely, i.e., e.g., and viz, should be immediately preceded by a comma and followed by a comma.

Names with cities or states

When listing names with cities or states, punctuate as follows:

• Pete Golding is a Hammond, Louisiana, native.

Dates

When writing a date, place a comma between the day and the year as well as after the year.

• July 4, 1980, dawned clear.

Month and year

Do not place a comma between the month and year when the day is not mentioned.

• June 2025

Semesters

No comma is needed when referring to a school semester and year. The term for the semester does not get capitalized, and words such as the and of are not necessary.

• He retired in fall 2007.
• Not: He retired in fall of 2007, or He retired in fall, 2007.

Jr., Sr. and Roman numerals

Do not use a comma before or after Jr. or Sr., and do not precede Roman numerals such as I, II or III with a comma.

• Please call Henry Smith Jr. for the report.
• Contact William Wyatt III for further information.

Exception: In lists of donors, commas may be retained with Jr. or Sr. according to the donors' preference.

Parentheses at end of sentence

If a phrase is within parentheses at the end of a sentence, place the period after the closing parenthesis. If a complete sentence is in parentheses, the period should be inside the closing parenthesis.

Initials

No word space should be used between the initials of an abbreviation or a person's name.

• U.S., J.B. White

Note: Grammatical rules regarding punctuation are often bent for the sake of visual appeal, especially in headings or display type.

Dashes

Em dash

Use an em dash with space before and after:

Sudden break in thought

To denote a sudden break in thought that causes an abrupt change in sentence structure.

• That is all I know — actually, there is one more thing.

Defining or enumerating complementary elements

• The influence of three immortals — Mozart, Bach and Beethoven — was of great importance in his development as a musician.

Summarizing clause

In sentences having several elements as referents of a pronoun that is the subject of a final, summarizing clause.

• Smith, Jones and McCoy — all felt groggy on humid days.

En dash

An en dash, created by typing two hyphens and then continuing to type afterward, may be used in place of an em dash in news releases.

Ellipses

Construction

In general, treat an ellipsis as a three-letter word, constructed with three periods and a regular space on either side of it, as shown here ( … ).

With other punctuation

When the grammatical sense calls for a question mark, exclamation point, comma or colon, the sequence is word, punctuation mark, regular space, ellipsis, e.g., "The time is right. …"

Deleted material between paragraphs

When material is deleted at the end of one paragraph and at the beginning of the one that follows, place an ellipsis in both locations.

Direct quotes

In writing a story, do not use ellipses at the beginning and end of direct quotes that form complete sentences.

• Correct: "It has become evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base," Nixon said.
• Not: " … it has become evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base … ," Nixon said.

Hyphens

Note: For all spelling questions, consult Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

Nonhyphenated spelling

Use the nonhyphenated spelling of a word if either spelling is acceptable.

Vice president, vice chancellor, vice chair and words beginning with "non"

Do not hyphenate the words vice president, vice chancellor and vice chair, and words beginning with non, except those containing a proper noun.

• Non-German
• Nontechnical

Prefixes

Do not place a hyphen between the prefixes pre, post, semi, sub, anti, multi, etc., and their nouns or adjectives, except before proper nouns or when two vowels with no hyphen separating them would be unclear.

• Electro-optical, but preindustrial
• Pro-American

Exception: pre when used before law or med, as in pre-law or pre-med advising.

X-ray

Hyphenate the word X-ray and use a capital X.

T-shirt

Hyphenate the word T-shirt and use a capital T.

Compound modifiers

Hyphenate part-time and full-time when used as adjectives. Hyphenate any modifying word combined with well, ill, better, best, little and lesser when used as an adjective preceding a noun. Do not hyphenate when the expression carries a modifier or when it follows a noun.

• Well-built engine
• A moderately well built engine
• The engine is well built.

Number compounds

Hyphenate a compound in which one component is a number and the other is a noun or adjective.

• 30-mile run
• 10-year-old child, but 10 years old
• 12,000-square-foot building

Proper names

Whenever possible, avoid the hyphenation of proper names when breaking text lines.

Sports scores

Hyphenate sports scores; do not use an en dash.

Fractions

Spell out fractions using hyphens: two-thirds, four-fifths, etc. Use figures for precise amounts more than one, converting to decimals whenever practical: 1.5 miles, not 1 1/2 miles.

-long compounds

Hourlong, daylong, weeklong, monthlong, yearlong and lifelong are all one word, no hyphen.

Continuing numbers, dates, times and reference numbers

Use a hyphen with no extra space before or after to indicate continuing (or inclusive) numbers, dates, times or reference numbers.

• 1968-82, but from 1968 to 1982 (never from 1968-82)
• May-June 1967, but from May to June 1967
• 10 a.m.-5 p.m., but between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
• pp. 38-45, but from pages 38 to 45

Compound adjectives with two-word elements

Use a hyphen with no extra space before or after in a compound adjective at least one element of which consists of two words or a hyphenated word.

• New York-London flight
• Post-Civil War period
• Quasi-public-quasi-private judicial body

Slash versus hyphen

Generally, a slash means "or," and a hyphen is used as a joiner. That's why it's "either/or" and a "black-and-white" picture. Do not use a slash to join items that go together.

• Faculty-staff newsletter, not faculty/staff newsletter
• Ole Miss-Oxford community, not Ole Miss/Oxford community

Quotation Marks

What to place in quotation marks

Besides direct word-for-word quotes from sources, the following should be placed in quotation marks:

• Book titles (in press releases; in publications, put book titles in italics)
• Book series (e.g., "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien)
• CDs (e.g., "The Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd)
• Conference presentations (e.g., "SLcM Innovations to Support Teaching and Learning" by Kathy Gates)
• Dissertations and theses (e.g., "Collaborative Memory for Serial Order" by Elizabeth Lauren Foreman)
• Essays (e.g., "Notes of a Native Son" by James Baldwin)
• Film series (e.g., "The Godfather")
• Lectures (e.g., "The Patriot Act and the Fourth Amendment" by Ronald J. Rychlak)
• Movies (e.g., "Casablanca")
• Musical compositions (e.g., Beethoven's "Ode to Joy")
• Operas (e.g., "Don Giovanni")
• Paintings and similar works of art (not statues or sculpture) (e.g., Michelangelo's David, da Vinci's "Mona Lisa")
• Plays (e.g., "Mamma Mia!")
• Parts of volumes (chapters, titles of papers, etc.) (e.g., "A Bear Hunt" by William Faulkner)
• Radio and television episodes and programs (e.g., "Highway 61" on Mississippi Public Broadcasting)
• Short stories (e.g., "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor)
• Single conferences/lectures (but NOT lecture series) (e.g., "Mongolia's Aviation Economic Regulatory Environment," Conference on Competition Law in Mongolia, Jacqueline F. Serrao)
• Songs (e.g., "The Star-Spangled Banner")

Note: Unpublished books (manuscripts, works in progress) do NOT get italicized. Use roman text and quotation marks only.

Single quotation marks

Use single quotation marks for quotations printed within other quotations.

Single quotation marks in headlines and cutlines

Use single quotation marks, not double, in headlines and cutlines.

Multi-paragraph quotations

If several paragraphs are to be quoted, use quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph, but at the end of the last paragraph only. No quotation marks are needed for passages set off from the text by additional space, an indent or change of typeface.

Placement with other punctuation

Set quotation marks after periods and commas and before colons and semicolons. Exclamation points and interrogation marks that are not part of the quotation should be set outside quotation marks.

Course grades

Do not put quotation marks around course grades (A, A-, B+, B, etc …)

Attribution

Generally, the attribution should come after the first sentence of a direct quote. Waiting until later in the quoted material can get confusing for readers because they may not know who is speaking.

Placement of attribution

• Worse: "Being an editor allows me to see the kinds of mistakes that people at various educational levels make. This better prepares me to know how to deal with those errors and to help students learn how to avoid those and similar mistakes," Church said.
• Better: "Being an editor allows me to see the kinds of mistakes that people at various educational levels make," Church said. "This better prepares me to know how to deal with those errors and to help students learn how to avoid those and similar mistakes."

It's usually more straightforward to put "said" after the speaker's name, unless a descriptive element or long title would come between "said" and the name.

Said before or after the name

• Worse: "The university will remain open," said Wilkin.
• Better: "The university will remain open," Wilkin said.
• But: "The university will remain open," said Wilkin, who has been provost since 2017.

Long titles before the name

• Worse: "He has successfully experimented in several journalistic forms in unique ways," School of Journalism and New Media Dean Andrea Hickerson said.
• Better: "He has successfully experimented in several journalistic forms in unique ways," said Andrea Hickerson, dean of the School of Journalism and New Media.

Attribution at the end of a sentence

Don't automatically use the beginning of a sentence to introduce a new speaker or source; doing so often overshadows the real point of the sentence. Think about which elements are most important in the sentence and put them first, followed by the attribution.

• Worse: Kirkland said continuing this trend and acclimating teachers to the new system is a top priority, along with using the already nationally certified teachers.
• Better: Continuing this trend and acclimating teachers to the new system is a top priority, along with using the already nationally certified teachers, Kirkland said.