Punctuation

Commas can be a confusing part of punctuation, and the Oxford comma is no exception. In this post, we’ll explain what exactly an Oxford comma is and how you should deal with them as a proofreader. The Oxford Comma (AKA The Serial Comma) Commas are used to separate items in a list. An Oxford comma, […]

Apostrophes are one of the most commonly misused forms of punctuation. As a proofreader or editor, you’ll need to catch apostrophe errors in your client’s work. There are two main uses of apostrophes: to indicate possession and to create a contraction. In this post, we’ll be focusing on the former. Read on to learn the […]

A semicolon (;) is a punctuation mark that indicates a pause, and it typically serves two purposes: linking two closely related independent clauses and separating items in a multipart list. But how are they different from colons? And when is a semicolon a better choice than a comma? As a proofreader, you’ll need to know […]

Exclamation points, also known as exclamation marks, are used to express excitement, enthusiasm, and other strong emotions. As a proofreader, though, you may need to help clients avoid overusing them or using exclamations in the wrong situation. So, when should exclamation points be used? And when should a proofreader step in to curb a client’s enthusiasm for […]

It’s that time of year again! Christmas is just around the corner, and you’ve got a lot to do – wrapping presents, buying food, writing Christmas cards… the list goes on. It would be easy to let your proofreading standards slip! But to help you avoid this, we’ve come up with five tips on writing […]

Parentheses and square brackets are punctuation marks used to set off certain bits of information from the main text in a document. They’re not too tricky, but different style guides can have slightly different rules for their usage. And, as a proofreader, you’ll need to check your client’s writing against these rules. This post, then, […]