You can have too much of a good thing.
In the last post, I wrote about punctuation marks that are used sparingly because writers are unsure about usage. But other punctuation marks are too popular.
Exclamation points
Exclamation marks add drama. Excitement. They can be powerful. But using too many will water down their strength like drinks in Las Vegas. Marketing documents often overuse exclamation points in an attempt to sell a product or idea. More than one exclamation point in a short passage will decrease impact.
Here are some examples from a page of advice about writing a web site:
http://www.marissaberger.com/blog/2009/03/17/hey-stop-it-with-the-exclamation-points/
And here’s a link to a study showing why women use exclamation points more than men do.
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue4/waseleski.html
Dash
The dash is used to indicate an abrupt change of thought or a disruption in the flow of the sentence.
The construction delay — we’re still not sure why it happened — will mean that the office will not be ready for the scheduled Open House celebration.
Changes in the tax code — the Child Tax Credit in particular — will affect us this year.
Some business writers think dashes make the writing sound urgent and trendy. But too many dashes are tiresome for the reader. If you have too many dashes, substitute commas or parentheses to mix things up .
Multiple marks
In an e-mail to a friend, it’s OK to double up on punctuation marks:
WTF!?
I can’t believe he said that!!!
But in formal writing, duplicate marks show weakness as a writer; your words should convey the strength of your emotion without all the punctuation.
Of course, some writers disagree. One person created a Facebook page for “People who use multiple exclamation marks.” Here’s the explanation:
This page was made in dedication of my wife who does not understand the essence of using more than a single exclamation point. One can not truly understand one’s true feelings and emotion with merely one punctuation.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/People-who-use-multiple-exclamation-points/106620789378640?v=info
And Benjamin Franklin ends his famous advice about marrying an older woman with this statement.
They are so grateful!!
Of course, he was writing a personal correspondence, where the rules are more flexible; you can read more about his piece here:
Bottom line: For formal writing, don’t use multiple punctuation marks.
Next time: Lies your English teacher told you
Multiple marks screams teenage girl to me. Bleurgh!(!!!!)
[…] If you're being friendly, and I do encourage it, make sure not to go too far. E-mails can be casual but work must always stay professional. Don't drop writing standards in your messages either. I won't be marking you down on your e-mails, but I will raise an eyebrow if you use phrases like 'lolzhard' or you start throwing in too many exclamation marks. […]
I am a dashoholic–can’t stop the dashing! I also had to resist the urge to triple- exclamation-point that statement. I especially like it when Word turns my double dashes into long elegant dashes (see, I really do have a problem).
As a person in their 40’s who hated high school English class but now has to write coherently once-in-a-while, I am trying to reform my grammar habits by reading blogs like yours and books like The Elements of F*cking Style.
Thank you. 🙂
sweet!!
Useful.
[…] Lies Your English Teacher Told You Posted on October 16, 2011 by ceojimmyps « Punctuation That’s Too Popular […]
thanks for sharing such an useful cheapter 🙂
You can’t forget serial commas/apostrophes. Ugh, those were the bane of my existence at my senior editor job for a major government contractor. Great website by the way!
I have to admit to being a serial parenthesiser (if there is such a word (parenthesiser that is)).
Yes, I love parentheses! I like interrupting myself.
Overuse of punctuation is pretty common nowadays but UNDERuse is also starting to creep up too. I picked up a book last week that sounded really interesting from the blurb on the jacket but is practically impossible to read because of the lack of punctuation. The only mark used is the full stop which makes the whole thing monotonous and meaningless. Example: “Smoothed a fresh sermon sheet from the packet and fixed it there straightening the paper so that it could be clearly read then I closed the doors the swollen wood squeaking together and holding firm”. Another, further down the same page: “I have worked during the day and in the evening I have spent my time visiting the sick it has been a rewarding duty.”
Argh! Drives me crackers!!
Great site, and great advice. Thank you. Do you have any views on colons and semi-colons? I liberally sprinkle them in my scribblings, business and personal, and am never really sure if they are appropriate.
Cool!
engrassadíssimo
I am glad I found your blog. I have a couple people I wish to anonymously sign up. They THINK they know all the grammar rules. All they really know is how to annoy the rest of us.
what rumpy said. good stuff.
The best take on exclamation points is clearly from Seinfeld:
and
These post are really good!!…. oops. lol jk
Sometimes you have mixed emotions and need the punctuation marks to convey it to the reader. But now I know.
http://thefakegm.mlblogs.com/
Guilty! I really have to hold back on all of the above, even though I should know better with a degree in English and Latin! (And I start sentences with conjunctions too) ;0)
Even English Majors feel compelled to add a dash- now and then- or a gaggle of triple dots…and a modicum of ever so expressive exclamation points! It’s what we do…
I truly love this blog. Thanks for sharing. Plan to share it with my son who is entering University for English and languages.
This blog is fantastic! Very informative, thanks for posting.
Multiple punctuation is used to express emotion. So are various emoticons. Both of these tend to be used in informal writing.
I think one could make a case for developing formal ways of expressing emotion.
[…] of it I was sent a link to this blog the other day. The one thing I noticed more than anything was this entry about punctuation. The line that says, “…duplicate marks show weakness as a […]