A. Punctuation
Introduction to Punctuation
“Proper punctuation” shows up repeatedly in discussions about expectations and criteria for what constitutes good academic writing — whether it’s administrators, teachers, students, or legislators talking about what should be taught in the first-year writing classroom. But the word “proper” might limit or even mislead our thinking of punctuation. Used knowledgeably and deliberately, punctuation is more than proper; it’s essential to convey your intended meaning. Also, there’s a faint connotation of “arbitrary” with the word “proper” — and effective punctuation is anything but arbitrary.
Nor is punctuation merely a reflection of oral behavior, as suggested by the familiar injunctions “Use a comma for a pause” or “Where your voice drops, use a period.” Instead, punctuation functions as a rich set of clues that have emerged specifically to assist readers in understanding text on a page or screen.
The nature of reading demands such clues precisely because text is not speech. Speakers have many means (pitch, pace, hand gestures, facial expressions, and others) to help a listener correctly infer meaning. Moreover, ordinary speech usually accommodates a listener’s questions, allowing for a more rapid arrival at a joint understanding between speaker and listener. The distance between writer and reader, however, calls for a code (punctuation) that can work to give clues about the writer’s intended meaning in the absence of such direct two-way communication.
Is It Worth the Work?
While punctuation does function as a vital part of making meaning within a text, it can’t be denied that it serves another function as well: that of credibility marker. Using punctuation according to the conventions of the academic community does serve as a sort of license into and within that discourse community. To take the time and effort to learn and use punctuation conventionally sends the message to readers that “I’m part of your community; I can speak your language (use your code). So, listen to me.” This is often misunderstood as intellectual virtue signaling (e.g., mastering the rules of “proper punctuation” proves I’m a smart person), but ideally, it signals something much more meaningful.
Correct punctuation signals a sort of collegial willingness to hear and to be heard: to use a common code that enhances and expands understanding instead of restricting it to yourself. Codes can exclude and include; by using the code of “correct” punctuation, you’re signaling a willingness to be included in a group of people who’ve agreed on how to use certain dots and squiggles on the page to indicate certain relationships among ideas. For whatever reason you value inclusion in the academic community, utilizing conventional punctuation is one among many certificates of authenticity you can carry.
Why is that? Why should conventional punctuation exert such influence? In part, different punctuation marks support characteristics that the academi