9. Commas and periods to the left of closing quotation marks
According to Mr. Smith’s statement,
"The world is flat," and has "many places where you can fall off".
Flat," is correct and off". is not correct. It should read
off." Spellcheckers do not yet acknowledge this, although it seems a
fairly easy correction to include. Maybe soon they will have this feature. In the
meantime, develop a habit of putting your commas and periods to the left of your
quotation marks. Placing them to the right can make your document appear unprofessional.
10. Colons and semicolons to the right
of closing quotation marks
The doctor concluded, "nicotine can cause cancer"; cigarette manufacturers
disagreed. Their own experts gave the following "testimony": nicotine
doesn’t cause cancer.
Placing colons and semicolons inside closing quotation marks will make your document
look unprofessional.
A brief note about semicolon and colon usage
You can use semicolons in place of a coordinating conjunction. Semicolons can also
replace periods. For example:
You can use semicolons in place of a coordinating conjunction; semicolons can also
replace periods.
Semicolons will also work in a list that already contains commas:
The members presenting a speech today include Harry Baxter, Ph.D.; Jillian Argyle,
MD; and George Williamson, MD
Generally you can use colons to indicate the start of a list, phrase or explanation.
For example: You can use colons to indicate an example.
Remember: Colons do not replace semicolons.
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