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Common
Errors of Written Expression and Ways
of Avoiding Them*
Jennifer
Clarke
  
3.
Punctuation
 These
things exist for a reason
Full
stops (.), commas (,), semi-colons
(;), colons (:), question
marks (?), exclamation marks
(!), dashes ( - ) and parentheses
or brackets (()) are not
optional; nor are they interchangeable.
Quotation marks (`') or
("") (discussed
under this heading) may
use the same symbol as apostrophes
(') (discussed below), but
serve a different purpose.
Full
stops
Most
people know that every sentence
needs a full stop
on the end, but a large
number of students essays
omit them from about every
fifth sentence. (Note that
most computer spell checks
will not detect this error.)
When
writing an entire sentence
within parentheses (brackets),
put the full stop inside
the brackets. If only part
of your sentence is bracketed,
put the full stop outside
the second bracket.
Question
marks
Most
people know that a sentence
which contains a direct
question requires a
question mark at the
end of the question,
but it is often left off.
The following sentences
contain direct questions:
A
direct question should not
be confused with an indirect
question, which does
not require a question mark.
The following sentences
contain indirect questions
- questions which are merely
reported as having been
asked:
Commas
These
indicate a breathing space
in the sentence. Commas
can be used to separate
items in a list, as they
do in the first sentence
under the heading `Punctuation'
above. They can also be
used to separate multiple
adjectives (`describing
words') in a sentence. In
these cases, commas substitute
for the word `and':
e.g. `Dirty, greasy, malodorous
water flowed out of the Law School
toilets.'
Commas
are also used to mark the
beginning and end
of a sub-clause, much in
the way that parentheses
or dashes can be used:
e.g.
`The students, who hated doing
their reading, failed the exam.'
The
sub-clause `who hated doing
their reading' has been
inserted into the sentence
`The students failed the
exam'. When writing papers,
many students use commas
to open such a sub-clause,
but then forget to use them
to close it.
The
sentence could also be written
as:
Note
that there is no need to
use commas where no sub-clause
is inserted:
NOT.
`The students, failed their
exam'.
Commas
are also used with words
like `and', `but', `yet',
`although', `for' or `or'
to separate independent
clauses of a sentence:
e.g.
`The sky was dark, but I knew
the aliens were out there somewhere.'
`He
caught the bus, although he
could afford to fly.'
Note
that it is not correct
to write `The sky was dark,
I knew the aliens were out
there somewhere.' A comma
does not provide enough
breathing space to mark
the break between these
clauses.
Semi-colons
Semi-colons
are not simply a substitute
for commas or full stops.
They mark a harder stop
in the sentence than a comma,
but a softer stop than a
full stop:
e.g.
`The sky was dark; I knew the
aliens were out there somewhere.'
It
is also possible to use
semi-colons to separate
items in a list which have
their own internal commas:
e.g.
`We lived in Houston, San Antonio
and Dallas, Texas; Wheeling, Virginia
and upstate New York.'
But
semi-colons should not
be used to separate items
in a list which have no
internal punctuation. It
is not correct to
write:
Colons
These
are used to introduce information
(e.g. a list or quotation),
or where the part of the
sentence which follows the
colon illustrates or explains
the clause preceding it:
e.g.
`The suburbs afflicted by contaminated
water supply are in the south-east:
Randwick, Maroubra and Coogee.'
When
using a colon, make sure
that the first part of the
sentence is a complete statement.
Do not write `The suburbs
afflicted by contaminated
water supply are: Randwick,
Maroubra and Coogee.' There
is no need for any punctuation
after `are'.
Dashes
These
are not the same
as hyphens. A hyphen
breaks up a word, e.g. `half-witted',
`semi-colon', `multi-faceted',
`co-ordinate'. Dashes break
up a sentence with longer
breathing spaces than those
provided by commas. If the
same key is used to type
a hyphen and a dash, a dash
must have a space on either
side of it. Like commas,
dashes can be used to open
and close a sub-clause,
although they should be
used sparingly in this context,
as they suggest a more abrupt
interruption to the sentence.
Like colons, dashes can
be used to separate an example
of a general proposition
from the proposition itself:
e.g.
`The definition is simplistic
- it fails to distinguish between
people with different historical
experiences.'
Parentheses
Round
brackets can be used to
enclose a separate clause
or sub-clause. Using brackets
in this way usually de-emphasises
the importance of the clause
in the sentence.
Round
brackets are also used for
law report and journal citations
where several volumes of
the report are published
in a given year, but those
volumes are part of a numbered
series spanning several
years: e.g. Mabo v Queensland
(no 2) (1992) 175 CLR
1; Australian Capital
Television v Commonwealth
(1992) 177 CLR 106.
Square
brackets are used in law
report and journal citations
where only one volume is
published every year - e.g.
Cudgen Rutile v Chalk
(no 2) [1975] AC
520 - or where the volume
numbering starts afresh
every year - e.g. R v
Walker [1989] 2 Qd R
79.
Square
brackets are also used to
insert editorial information
into quoted material:
e.g.
`According to His Honour, "the
plaintiff in this case [Mr Walker]
challenges the constitutionality
of the Criminal Code".'
or
His doctor wrote: `the affect
[sic] of ecstasy on Mr
Collins was to undermine his exam
performance'.
Note
that `sic' is used
to indicate that the person
quoting is aware of the
error in the material quoted.
Exclamation
marks
These
should be avoided in academic
writing. They signify either
an actual exclamation (by
a person quoted), or the
writer's surprise at the
content of his or her sentences.
Quotation
marks
These
must be used to segregate
out material copied from
another source, or to indicate
technical or colloquial
terms or those quoted from
another context. There
is no need to italicise
quoted material. You
may use either single (`')
or double ("")
quotation marks, but whatever
choice you make, keep
it standard throughout the
paper. Thus:
The
question of whether Australian
courts should apply the US `rule
of capture' was never decided.
However, the necessity for a
common law rule was overtaken
by the enactment of `Crown ownership'
statutes by the states.
or
The
question of whether Australian
courts should apply the US "rule
of capture" was never decided.
However, the necessity for a common
law rule was overtaken by the
enactment of "Crown ownership"
statues by the states.
What
happens if the person you're
quoting quotes someone else?
The way to deal with this
is to swap to the kind of
quotation marks which you
are not using yourself.
For example, if you use
single quotation marks in
your paper, use double quotation
marks for quotes within
quoted material.
e.g.
According to Brennan J (as he
then was):
`Judge
Tanaka wrote in the
South West Africa
Cases (Second Phase)
ICJ Reports 1966...:
"We can say accordingly
that the principle
of equality before
the law does not mean
the absolute equality
[...] but it means
the relative equality,
namely the principle
to treat equally what
are equal and unequally
what are unequal."'
Note
that the insertion of the
ellipsis (three dots)
in square brackets tells
the reader that it is you,
not Justice Brennan, who
has removed material from
Judge Tanaka's sentence.
The unbracketed ellipsis
after `1966' shows that
you have removed material
from Justice Brennan's
judgment.
Punctuation
and footnote numbers
Normally
the punctuation mark goes
before a footnote
number in the text:
e.g.
A mere equity may not be asserted
against a bona fide purchaser
for value without notice of
the legal estate.2
2
Latec
Investments v Hotel Terrigal
Pty Ltd (1965)
113 CLR 265.
3
(1608) 7 Co Rep 2a
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