Punctuation

  • No comma is necessary before an ampersand even if it is the serial comma before the last item in a list.
  • The Oxford comma should be used. An Oxford common is the last comma in a list and goes before the “and.”
  • No comma is necessary before “Jr.,” “Sr.,” or any numeral suffix.
  • There should only be one space after periods and colons.
  • Commas and periods are placed inside quotation marks; colons and semicolons are placed outside. Depending on meaning, question marks can appear either inside or outside quotation marks.
  • No space is needed between dashes or slashes and surrounding text.
Updated on March 5, 2021