Punctuation marks

The basic characters from which the notations are constructed comprise the upper-case letters A-Z of the alphabet, the numerals zero (symbolized 0) to nine (0-9), three punctuation marks hyphen (-), ampersand ( ) and oblique (/) and a blank space. Many of the normal atomic symbols such as B, F, P, 1, etc., are also employed unchanged but frequently occurring important elements and groups are assigned a single letter notation (e.g. chlorine sG ... 

Section Five Is a review of writing basics. The parts of speech and common grammatical errors are explained and made goof-proof. Spelling, punctuation marks, and capitalization are also covered. 

Correct usage of commas is not as critical to the meaning of your sentences as it is with other punctuation marks. 

Colons have the effect of sounding authoritative. They present information more confidently and forcefully than if the sentence were divided in two other types of punctuation marks. Consider the following ... 

There are 64 ways to order four things three at a time when the order in which they are taken (permutations) matters n = 4 = 64. So there are 64 words in the language of DNA. This is more words than we need to specify the 20 amino acids of proteins. A few of these words are used as punctuation marks—start and stop signals. Beyond that, most of the amino acids are specified by more than one word. The genetic code is provided in table 12.1. Note that the code words in table 12.1 refer to those in messenger RNA, mRNA, the complement to the code words in DNA. 

There are dozens of punctuation marks in the English language. They re used to separate ideas, form words, and make the meanings of sentence clear. Poor punctuation can confuse your readers and change your intended meaning. For example, one comma completely changes the meaning of this short sentence ... 

Punctuation marks (e.g., colons and semicolons) are small in size, but they communicate a lot. It is important to use them correctly. Many writers confuse colons ( ) and semicolons ( ), though they serve different purposes in writing. 

Proofreading Tip It is amazing that punctuation marks as small as colons and semicolons can change the meaning of a sentence. Make sure that you use them correctly. Remember the following (1) Colons should only be used after complete sentences, that is, sentences that can stand on their own. (2) When you join two related sentences with a semicolon, check that you ve placed the semicolon where the period could be and that the first letter of the second sentence is lowercase. 

Entries are in letter-by-letter alphabetical order ignoring spaces and punctuation marks. Page numbers in italic refer to Figures and Tables not included in the relevant page ranges. 

Here are some tips on when to use different punctuation marks in your writing. 

The simplest of the formats used to transfer data into word processing applications is the ASCII (.ASC). ASCII is a standard set of 128 binary codes used by all computers to represent all the characters presented on the normal or shifted keyboard plus control codes, originally intended for use on teletypewriters. These code allow us to display lower case leters, capital letters, numbers, and punctuation marks, but formatting codes for underline, boldface, and italics are not included in ASCII, and are removed in converting formats. ASCII files have space-separated code and can be sent out over a modem or a serial cable to another computer and applications importing ASCII code. 

Punctuation. In The Art of Plain Talk, author Rudolf Flesch said that punctuation is the most important single device for making things easier to read. (2) Omission of punctuation marks, especially commas, can force the reviewer to reread a sentence to ascertain the meaning. 

Use a period at the end of a declarative sentence, but never in combination with any other punctuation marks. 

Incorrect recognition of punctuation marks (e.g., comma versus period)... 

Splitting words with common separators such as spaces and punctuation marks with spaces according to natural language and chemical name rules... 

ASCII Acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standard coding scheme that assigns numeric values to letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and control characters, to achieve compatibility among different computers and peripherals. 

Another device that contributes to the rhythm of a line is the caesura, a heavy pause in a line of poetry. Caesuras (indicated by a II mark) may be used to isolate and thus emphasize words or slow the pace. Sometimes they are used to show strong contrasts, as in the following line Before, a joy proposed II behind, a dream. Caesuras may follow punctuation marks such as commas, semicolons, or periods, marks that say slow down to the reader. 

Punctuation marks do not exist, as one student recently complained, to make your life complicated. They are used to clarify your written thoughts so that the reader understands your meaning. Just as traffic signs and signals tell a driver to slow down, stop, or go, so punctuation is intended to guide the reader through your prose. Look, for example, at the confusion in the following sentences when the necessary punctuation marks are omitted ... 

IR-2.15.3.3 Ordering characteristic groups for substitutive nomenclature IR-2.15.3.4 Ordering ligands in formulae and names IR-2.15.3.5 Ordering components in salt formulae and names IR-2.15.3.6 Isotopic modification IR-2.15.3.7 Stereochemical priorities IR-2.15.3.8 Hierarchical ordering of punctuation marks IR-2.16 Final remarks IR-2.17 References... 

In the names of coordination compounds and boron compounds, the punctuation marks used to separate the symbols of atoms from the numerical locants, the locants indicating bridging atoms, and the various other sets of locants which may be present, are arranged in the following hierarchy ... 

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