26 Types of Punctuation Marks & Typographical Symbols We use words in writing. Shocking, I know! Do you know what else we use in writing? Here is a hint: they have already appeared in this paragraph. In addition to words, we use many different symbols and characters to organize our thoughts and make text easier to read. All of these symbols come in two major categories: punctuation marks and typographical symbols. These symbols have many different uses and include everything from the humble period (.) to the rarely used caret symbol (^). There may even be a few symbols out there that you’ve never even heard of before that leave you scratching your head when you see them on your keyboard! What is punctuation? Punctuation is the act or system of using specific marks or symbols in writing to separate different elements from each other or to make writing more clear. Punctuation is used in English and the other languages that use the Latin alphabet. Many other writing systems also use punctuation, too. Thanks to punctuation, we don’t have to suffer through a block of text that looks like this: - My favorite color is red do you like red red is great my sister likes green she always says green is the color of champions regardless of which color is better we both agree that no one likes salmon which is a fish and not a color seriously. Punctuation examples The following sentences give examples of the many different punctuation marks that we use: - My dog, Bark Scruffalo, was featured in a superhero movie. - If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who are you going to call? - A wise man once said, “Within the body of every person lies a skeleton.” - Hooray! I found everything on the map: the lake, the mountain, and the forest. - I told Ashley (if that was her real name) that I needed the copy lickety-split. What is a typographical symbol? The term typographical symbol, or any other number of phrases, refers to a character or symbol that isn’t considered to be a punctuation mark but may still be used in writing for various purposes. Typographical symbols are generally avoided in formal writing under most circumstances. However, you may see typographic symbols used quite a bit in informal writing. Typographical symbol examples The following examples show some ways that a writer might use typographical symbols. Keep in mind that some of these sentences may not be considered appropriate in formal writing. - The frustrated actor said she was tired of her co-star’s “annoying bull****.” - For questions, email us at anascabana@bananacabanas.fake! - The band had five #1 singles on the American music charts during the 1990s. - My internet provider is AT&T. Punctuation vs. typographical symbols Punctuation marks are considered part of grammar and often have well-established rules for how to use them properly. For example, the rules of proper grammar state that a letter after a period should be capitalized and that a comma must be used before a coordinating conjunction. Typographical symbols, on the other hand, may not have widely accepted rules for how, or even when, they should be used. Generally speaking, most grammar resources will only allow the use of typographical symbols under very specific circumstances and will otherwise advise a writer to avoid using them. Types of punctuation and symbols There are many different types of punctuation marks and typographical symbols. We’ll briefly touch on them now, but you can learn more about of these characters by checking out the links in this list and also each section below: Period Question mark Exclamation point Comma Colon Semicolon Hyphen En dash Em dash Parentheses Square brackets Curly brackets Angle brackets Quotation marks Apostrophe Slash Ellipses Asterisk Ampersand Bullet point Pound symbol Tilde Backslash At symbol Caret symbol Pipe symbol Period, question mark, and exclamation point These three commonly used punctuation marks are used for the same reason: to end an independent thought. Period (.) A period is used to end a declarative sentence. A period indicates that a sentence is finished. Today is Friday. Unique to them, periods are also often used in abbreviations. Prof. Dumbledore once again awarded a ludicrous amount of points to Gryffindor. Question mark (?) The question mark is used to end a question, also known as an interrogative sentence. Do you feel lucky? Exclamation point (!) The exclamation point is used at the end of exclamations and interjections. Our house is haunted! Wow! Comma, colon, and semicolon Commas, colons, and semicolons can all be used to connect sentences together. Comma (,) The comma is often the punctuation mark that gives writers the most problems. It has many different uses and often requires good knowledge of grammar to avoid making mistakes when using it. Some common uses of the comma include: Joining clauses: Mario loves Peach, and she loves him. Nonrestrictive elements: My favorite team, the Fighting Mongooses, won the championship this year. Lists: The flag was red, white, and blue. Coordinate adjectives: The cute, happy puppy licked my hand. Colon (:) The colon is typically used to introduce additional information. The detective had three suspects: the salesman, the gardener, and the lawyer. Like commas, colons can also connect clauses together. We forgot to ask the most important question: who was buying lunch? Colons have a few other uses, too. The meeting starts at 8:15 p.m. The priest started reading from Mark 3:6. Semicolon (;) Like the comma and the colon, the semicolon is used to connect sentences together. The semicolon typically indicates that the second sentence is closely related to the one before it. I can’t eat peanuts; I am highly allergic to them. Lucy loves to eat all kinds of sweets; lollipops are her favorite. Hyphen and dashes (en dash and em dash) All three of these punctuation marks are often referred to as “dashes.” However, they are all used for entirely different reasons. Hyphen (-) The hyphen is used to form compound words. I went to lunch with my father-in-law. She was playing with a jack-in-the-box. He was accused of having pro-British sympathies. En dash (–) The en dash is used to express ranges or is sometimes used in more complex compound words. The homework exercises are on pages 20–27. The songwriter had worked on many Tony Award–winning productions. Em dash (—) The em dash is used to indicate a pause or interrupted speech. The thief was someone nobody expected—me! “Those kids will—” was all he managed to say before he was hit by a water balloon. Test your knowledge on the different dashes here. Parentheses, brackets, and braces These pairs of punctuation marks look similar, but they all have different uses. In general, the parentheses are much more commonly used than the others. Parentheses () Typically, parentheses are used to add additional information. I thought (for a very long time) if I should actually give an honest answer. Tomorrow is Christmas (my favorite holiday)! Parentheses have a variety of other uses, too. Pollution increased significantly. (See Chart 14B) He was at an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting. Richard I of England (1157–1199) had the heart of a lion. Square brackets [] Typically, square brackets are used to clarify or add information to quotations. According to an eyewitness, the chimpanzees “climbed on the roof and juggled [bananas].” The judge said that “the defense attorney [Mr. Wright] had made it clear that the case was far from closed.” Curly brackets {} Curly brackets, also known as braces, are rarely used punctuation marks that are used to group a set. I was impressed by the many different colors {red, green, yellow, blue, purple, black, white} they selected for the flag’s design. Angle brackets <> Angle brackets have no usage in formal writing and are rarely ever used even in informal writing. These characters have more uses in other fields, such as math or computing. Quotation marks and apostrophe You’ll find these punctuation marks hanging out at the top of a line of text. Quotation marks (“”) The most common use of quotation marks is to contain quotations. She said, “Don’t let the dog out of the house.” Bob Ross liked to put “happy little trees” in many of his paintings. Apostrophe (‘) The apostrophe is most often used to form possessives and contractions. The house’s back door is open. My cousin’s birthday is next week. It isn’t ready yet. We should’ve stayed outside. Slash and ellipses These are two punctuation marks you may not see too often, but they are still useful. Slash (/) The slash has several different uses. Here are some examples: Relationships: The existence of boxer briefs somehow hasn’t ended the boxers/briefs debate. Alternatives: They accept cash and/or credit. Fractions: After an hour, 2/3 of the audience had already left. Ellipses (…) In formal writing, ellipses are used to indicate that words were removed from a quote. The mayor said, “The damages will be … paid for by the city … as soon as possible.” In informal writing, ellipses are often used to indicate pauses or speech that trails off. He nervously stammered and said, “Look, I … You see … I wasn’t … Forget it, okay.” Typographical symbols Typographical symbols rarely appear in formal writing. You are much more likely to see them used for a variety of reasons in informal writing. Asterisk (*) In formal writing, especially academic and scientific writing, the asterisk is used to indicate a footnote. Chocolate is the preferred flavor of ice cream.* *According to survey data from the Ice Cream Data Center. The asterisk may also be used to direct a reader toward a clarification or may be used to censor inappropriate words or phrases. Ampersand (&) The ampersand substitutes for the word and. Besides its use in the official names of things, the ampersand is typically avoided in formal writing. The band gave a speech at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Bullet Point (•) Bullet points are used to create lists. For example, For this recipe you will need: • eggs • milk • sugar • flour • baking powder Pound symbol (#) Informally, the pound symbol is typically used to mean number or is used in social media hashtags. The catchy pop song reached #1 on the charts. Ready 4 Halloween 2morrow!!! #spooky #TrickorTreat Tilde (~) Besides being used as an accent mark in Spanish and Portuguese words, the tilde is rarely used. Informally, a person may use it to mean “about” or “approximately.” We visited São Paulo during our vacation. I think my dog weighs ~20 pounds. Backslash (\) The backslash is primarily used in computer programming and coding. It might be used online and in texting to draw emoticons, but it has no other common uses in writing. Be careful not to mix it up with the similar forward slash (/), which is a punctuation mark. At symbol (@) The at symbol substitutes for the word at in informal writing. In formal writing, it is used when writing email addresses. His email address is duckduck@goose.abc. Caret symbol (^) The caret symbol is used in proofreading, but may be used to indicate an exponent if a writer is unable to use superscript. Do you know what 3^4 (34) is equal to? Pipe symbol (|) The pipe symbol is not used in writing. Instead, it has a variety of functions in the fields of math, physics, or computing. Copyright 2024, AAKKHRA, All Rights Reserved.

Pun, Pangrams, Palindromes, And More: Discover Types Of Word Play Words are powerful, and a masterful use of words can change the world. At the same time, words have a fun side to them too. While the English language often seems to exist purely to confuse us, English also has a silly side that can make us laugh and smile. Are you skeptical? Well, we have dug deep into the English toy box to find a bunch of different ways we can play with words. Fair warning: those that have a low tolerance for dad jokes will want to leave immediately. Puns By definition, a pun is a humorous use of a word with multiple meanings or a funny use of a word as a substitute for a similar sounding word. The related terms punning, play on words, and paronomasia are often used to refer to the act of making puns. The term double entendre refers to a type of wordplay that also uses words with multiple meanings, albeit usually in a more risqué manner than a whimsical pun. Examples of puns Puns that involve words with multiple meanings: The young monkeys went to the jungle gym for some exercise. The investor in the bakery demanded a larger piece of the pie. The art competition ended in a draw. The maestro turned away from the orchestra as they told him the bad news; he couldn’t face the music. Puns that involve similar sounding words: - She claimed the big cat was a tiger, but we knew she was lion. - When he asked me what the flowers should smell like, I told him to use common scents. - As it turned out, the runners themselves had rigged the race. It was an inside jog. - The negotiations over the birds went poorly; neither side would give a finch. Tom Swifty A Tom Swifty is a fun use of words that follows a quote, usually said by a fictional Tom, using a punny adverb. The term Tom Swifty was coined by writer Willard Espy and named after the Tom Swift series of books, which tended to use a lot of adverbs to describe dialogue. Examples of Tom Swifties “I have frostbite,” Tom said coldly. “I’m stocked on all the essentials,” Jess said needlessly. “We feel really bad about what we did,” the children said shamefully. Stinky Pinky Stinky pinky, also known as stinky pinkie and by many other names, is a word game in which players try to guess a rhyming phrase based on a definition. The phrase “stinky pinky” itself is a possible answer when playing the game. It is unknown who invented the game or named it, but word games with the name “stinky pinky” can be traced back to at least the 1940s. Stinky Pinky examples Clue: “Stone timepiece” Answer: Rock clock. Clue: “Road pork” Answer: Street meat. Clue: “A young cat’s gloves” Answer: Kitten’s mittens. Spoonerisms A spoonerism is a, usually accidental, swapping of initial sounds of two words. The term spoonerism is named for Oxford lecturer William Archibald Spooner, a notoriously nervous speaker who often swapped the beginnings of words when he spoke publicly. Spoonerism examples - It is tinner dime. (“dinner time”) - He used to work on a bail soat. (“sail boat”) - Happy dogs love to tag their wails. (“wag their tails”) Kennings A kenning is a metaphorical or poetic phrase that is conventionally used in place of another term. Kenning examples gumshoe = a detective pencil pusher = an office worker tree-hugger = an environmentalist Pig Latin Pig Latin is a form of language, usually used by children, in which the first consonant or consonant sound is placed at the end of a word followed by the sound ā (written as “ay”). Example: Ancay ouyay eakspay igpay atinlay? (“Can you speak pig Latin?”) Palindromes A palindrome is a word, phrase, or sentence that reads the same if read forward or backward. Palindrome examples Single words: madam eve noon Multiple words: dog god ward draw live evil Sentences: A man, a plan, a canal. Panama! Madam, I’m Adam! Was it a cat I saw? Anagrams An anagram is a word, phrase, or sentence formed by rearranging the letters of another. Anagram examples porter is an anagram of report attics is an anagram of static pub toss is an anagram of bus stop Antigrams An antigram is an anagram that means the opposite of the original word or phrase it was formed from. Examples on the sly is an antigram of honestly arise late is an antigram of earliest over fifty is an antigram of forty-five Pangrams A pangram is a phrase or sentence that includes every letter of the alphabet. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog is a famous example of a pangram. Some other fun examples of things that rely on alphabet-based challenges include lipograms, heterograms, tautograms, autograms, and kangaroo words. Ambigrams An ambigram is a word or visual design that reads the same or creates a new word or image when flipped upside down or reversed. For example, the word dollop is an example of an ambigram because it would still theoretically read as “dollop” even when turned upside down. Acrostics An acrostic is a set of lines or verses where certain letters spell out a hidden message. Example: Curious Agile Territorial Smart Backronyms A backronym is an existing word turned into an acronym by creating an appropriate phrase that it could serve as an acronym for. Examples Ghost is a backronym of “ghoul haunting our spooky town.” Car is a backronym of “carrying all riders.” Alligator is a backronym of “a large lizard is grinning at the other reptiles.” Rhyming, alliteration, assonance, and consonance These four words all have to do with using words that have similar sounds. Most people are familiar with rhyming, which typically refers to using words with similar-sounding endings as in The big pig ate a fig. The word alliteration means to use words with similar-sounding beginnings or words that start with the same letter. Assonance means to use similar-sounding vowels anywhere in words when rhyming, whereas consonance means to use similar-sounding consonant sounds anywhere in words when making a rhyme. Alliteration examples She sells seashells by the sea shore. Big bunnies bounded behind busy birds. Ten tenants took twenty tents to Thailand. Assonance examples We see these bees. Leave the cleaver for the skeevy beaver. Doodle the Cool Poodle wants oodles of noodle strudel. Consonance examples Look! The crook took cook books! Ross, toss the sauce to our boss Joss. We heard the third nerdy bird’s words. Copyright 2024, XAKKHRA, All Rights Reserved.

How To Create Atmosphere & Mood In Your Writing To Engage Your Readers Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone… —The Haunting of Hill House (1959), Shirley Jackson After reading that opening, we bet you’re wondering what happens next. The best authors and writers always find a way to draw their readers in, get them invested in the work, and leave them desperate to read the next sentence, the next paragraph, the next page. How do they do this? Writers have many tools in their toolboxes to make their work compelling, but a huge part of what draws us into stories is atmosphere and mood. Authors like Shirley Jackson use language, descriptions, and other devices to pull readers into a different world. Through atmosphere and mood, authors establish a tone for their work, create ambience, and evoke emotions. Keep reading to learn how the pros establish atmosphere and mood in their work, and to get some tried and true strategies for creating this magic in your own writing. What are atmosphere and mood? Atmosphere is “the dominant mood or emotional tone of a work of art, as of a play or novel.” If you think of your story, essay or other writing as a room, what does your reader feel upon walking into that room? That’s an easy way to consider the overall atmosphere of your piece. While the importance of atmosphere is commonly associated with poetry and fiction, it is also vital to adding depth to personal essays and other types of nonfiction writing as well. Mood is a part and parcel of atmosphere, but they aren’t necessarily the same thing or always in lock step. Mood describes “a state or quality of feeling at a particular time,” and the mood of a story, poem, or essay can shift depending on the events, characters, setting, or changing information. Atmosphere and mood work together, but they aren’t always in agreement. A story may have a suffocating or foreboding atmosphere, but within that atmosphere, readers can still experience feelings of joy, wonder, sadness, or hope. Examples of atmosphere and mood Now that you understand the basics of what mood and atmosphere are, let’s look at a few examples to see how atmosphere and mood work in action. 1. “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore – While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door … Why it works In just a few lines, Poe creates an atmosphere of suspense for the reader. It’s late at night, there’s a strange knocking at the door, and it’s reasonable to suspect something mysterious or even dangerous is waiting on the other side. In this example, the atmosphere is created not only by the setting, but also by the language used. Words like dreary, weary, curious, and lore help to create an atmosphere that feels spooky and mystical. And the rhythm of the poetry also gives the lines an intriguing musicality. The end result is the reader wants to know who is knocking just as much as the main character does. 2. “Shipping Out” by David Foster Wallace “I have now seen sucrose beaches and water a very bright blue. I have seen an all-red leisure suit with flared lapels. I have smelled suntan lotion spread over 2,100 pounds of hot flesh. I have been addressed as ‘Mon’ in three different nations. I have seen 500 upscale Americans dance Electric Slide. I have seen sunsets that looked computer-enhanced. I have (very briefly) joined a conga line.” Why it works In this non-fiction travelogue, David Foster Wallace is talking about his experiences on luxury cruises. He opens by placing the reader directly onto a cruise ship. In the span of a paragraph, the reader experiences awe, curiosity, amusement, disgust, wonder, and excitement. Yet Wallace uses formal language (“I have seen”) and repetition (there’s that anaphora for you) to ironic effect. This creates an interesting juxtaposition of the elements of a tall tale with a bit of anthropological distance. This example, in particular, shows how mood can function independently from the atmosphere, and how both can change abruptly with the use of language. Why atmosphere and mood matter Atmosphere and mood are important because crafting an engaging story or essay involves more than just retelling events or facts in order. In order to draw readers in and get them invested in your writing, your work needs dimension. Atmosphere and mood work together to create that by: - Communicating important details that place the reader in a scene. - Making characters feel more real. - Reinforcing themes and tone. - Communicating genre elements. - Solidifying world-building, or the fictional universe in which a story or poem takes place. And, perhaps most important, atmosphere and mood are both tools for getting readers invested in the plot or details of a piece of writing. Mood helps them identify with characters in fiction, and atmosphere helps them become immersed in the narrative or information. Both are essential to writing something people want to read. Tips for establishing and creating atmosphere in your writing When you sit down to write, here are some important things to consider to help you easily add mood and atmosphere to your piece. Choose your words carefully. Think about how you want readers to feel when they read your work. What language and descriptions can you include to evoke those emotions? While you’re in the process of examining your language, try your best to avoid clichés. “It was a dark and stormy night” has been used so many times that it won’t do much to draw your reader into a scene. In fact, cliché phrases can sometimes even pull the reader out of the work and distract them. That’s not what you want! Deploy strong imagery. “Show, don’t tell” is probably among the most repeated pieces of writing advice, but that’s because it works. If you just say a house looks old, that may not pull the reader into the house. Instead, talk about the mossy, rotting floorboards and the peeling wallpaper. Use imagery to build a world around the person reading. Be detailed. If you’re writing a story or poem, offer specific details about the setting and time period. Drop careful hints about what is coming to build tension and anticipation. If you’re working on an essay, make sure each detail is thorough and succinct. Most importantly, make sure any main component of your story or argument is thoroughly fleshed out to paint the clearest picture possible for the reader. Incorporate literary devices. Similes, metaphors, alliteration, hyperbole, and other literary devices can be especially helpful in developing atmosphere and mood. Of course, if you’re writing a more formal essay, you should use your judgment as to whether or not literary devices are a good fit for the piece, but a well-placed metaphor can go far in helping you make an important point. Make use of your characters and dialogue. Atmosphere and mood aren’t only created in descriptions of the setting. You can also use character descriptions, their words, and their actions to add to the mood or atmosphere you’re trying to create. For example, if you’re writing a horror story, you might describe your character’s shaky dialogue and uneven breathing. Perhaps they’re even pale with fright or have wide eyes. Readers can easily experience the atmosphere through characters. Good spelling counts, too Now that you know more about crafting mood and atmosphere in your writing, you’re ready to get started. But those aren’t the only elements of good writing to consider. Work on your next story, poem, or essay using Thesaurus.com’ Grammar Coach™. It will help you spot spelling errors and overused words and help you take your writing to the next level in real time. Copyright 2024, XAKKHRA, All Rights Reserved.