Punctuations

Punctuations are the symbols that don't carry any meaning when typed alone however change the entire meaning of sentence drastically whenever used.

It is always difficult to ensure the usage for expressing the same thought as the writer wants. Punctuations are highly used to express the emotions, pitch, tone, exaggeration in a sentence. I have read Element of Style as well as other books to have a grip on all of these but the best explanation and easy to remember approach I got from Dianna Booher's E-Writing.

She has taken traffic signs analogy to explain them.

1) . and ? Come to a complete stop. Kill engine.

The thought has been completed and it's a full stop.

2) ! Come to a complete stop. Race engine.

This is most widely used punctuation now a days and one can associate it with the aggression of our generation. This tells about the completeness of sentence and also signifies that a lot more was there on writer's mind that he didn't say.

3) ; Come to a complete stop. Keep idling.

This is used to segregate one sentence in to two that was otherwise joint with 'And' or 'But'. This signifies that though the thought has been completed but related more is written next.

4) : Come to a complete stop. Keep idling. Look ahead.

This is used for complete sentence but the sentence itself conveys the idea that more information is ahead of this symbol. Usually a list follows after this symbol.

5) , Slow down.

This is the most misunderstood and used in the wrong places symbol. This has capability to drastically change the meaning.

This tells that sentence is not yet closed but the flow has.

6)  , words, Slow down and look out the window for what is there between.

Two commas and some words in between are used when less important yet related information is written for the sentence it is a part of. Removing the entire , words, doesn't change the meaning of sentence.

7) "quote" Listen or look out the window to see the specific scene

This is used to give more stress on some said sentence. This usually attracts the attention of reader.

8) ... Watch the hole in the road

This means that something has been omitted and is somehow not necessary to say.

9) - Look ahead!

This is used to highlight what is being said in the coming words. Dash is less formal than colon and is used to emphasize the rest of the phrase disconnected from the sentence.

10) - words - Look between

This is used to highlight the said related words in between a sentence, more attention seeking that , words,.

11) (words) Glance between

This is used to just give a little glance and give less importance to whatever mentioned, less attention than -words-.

12) - Hyphen Make certain distance from other vehicle in your lane.
Note-book, e-mail, web-site etc are words used collectively to give a different meaning. If the same combination is used without hyphen for long, eventually the hyphen is omitted.

Seeds of thoughts:

Read full page of newspaper and focus on punctuations. Go back the memory lanes when you had been on your vacations at hill station. Write right from leaving your home, reaching station, inside train or bus, reaching hill station, enjoying there, shopping there, new things your experience and returning back. Oh you never have gone to hill station. Don't worry, write about the summer vacations spent on your grandparents place but do write and focus on punctuations.  

- Amit Roop