Tricks of the Trade: Diction–Finding the Best Words

The next trick of the trade is one that seems obvious, but it’s one that many new writers do not consciously practice when they write and revise: diction (also called word choice).

The key to effective diction is to search consciously for the best, most specific word. However, the best word isn’t necessarily mean the longest, fanciest word. (That’s an error my freshman students often make–they sacrifice their natural prose in attempts to sound “smart” or “intellectual.”) Oftentimes, the best word is a short but specific one. Choose nouns that include adjectives, and use verbs that include adverbs. Consider the following example:

to run swiftly = to sprint

Think about what the verb sprint means: it includes both the verb run and the adverb swiftly. Instead of using the vague verb run and then adding an adverb to it for more specific meaning, just begin with a more vivid, specific verb, like sprint.

Likewise, avoid vague nouns like thing, and avoid overusing do as your main action verb. Use specific language to paint a clear picture of your precise ideas in the mind of your reader. When discussing people, avoid overusing vague words like person and one. Unless you are discussing some universal type of person (a very rare occurrence), find a more specific type of person than the word person. (Note: I will share a list of frequently overused vague words in an upcoming diction article.)

Consider this example. Notice how dull the sentence is:

One should try to use the most specific diction to best transmit thoughts to another person.

Note the two vague people-nouns, marked in red:

One should try to use the most specific diction to best transmit thoughts to another person.

Now replace those vague nouns with specific nouns. This is what we are really trying to express:

The new writer should try to use the most specific diction to best transmit thoughts to the reader.

Now, let’s make it even more vivid by using even more descriptive nouns and verbs, and by adding adjectives where they are most effective:

The novice writer should strive to use the most specific diction to best transmit pinpointed, vivid thoughts to the reader. (Now we’re cooking!)

Don’t Overuse Adjectives and Adverbs

Now, while adjectives and adverbs can be very helpful, do not overuse such descriptors in an attempt to make your writing more descriptive or vivid. At times—perhaps simply as a matter of practice—challenge yourself not to use them at all. They will, of course, sneak in from time to time, but give it your best shot. The key is not to force them.

At this point, you are probably asking, “But why avoid descriptive words? Shouldn’t I be descriptive in my writing?”

It’s a good question, to be sure. Here’s the key: Adjectives and adverbs are not the only descriptive words we can use. Nouns and verbs are also descriptive. In fact, the best nouns and verbs are self-descriptive, and they are better at describing themselves than adjectives and adverbs. In other words, these nouns and verbs have built-in adjectives (for nouns) and adverbs (for verbs). The description is in the word itself.

You’ve probably had enough of the theory, so here is an example of a weak adjective-noun construction:

Bill realized at that moment that he could not drive in for the slam dunk because of the large man standing guard under the net. (adjective-noun construction marked in red)

The diction above is weak because the writer is using an adjective (large) to add flavor and detail to a vague, non-descriptive noun (man). Instead of trying to dress up a boring noun with outside description, why not just change the noun itself? For example, consider this improvement:

Bill realized at that moment that he could not drive in for the slam dunk because of the giant standing guard under the net. (giant = large + man)

And now we have even more choices. What are other words that can mean “large man” in this sentence? Here are a few:

colossus, monster, hulk, tower, beast, tower of a man, etc.

See how that works? Use vivid nouns that contain their own descriptions. Oh, and here’s one more point: Have fun with it!

Let’s go further down this rabbit hole by applying this same way of thinking to adverb-verb constructions. Here’s an example:

Seeing the futility of driving in for a dunk, Bill deceptively stepped back and then carefully took a shot from twenty feet away. (adverb-verb constructions marked in red)

Now, how about this:

Seeing the futility of driving in for a dunk, Bill popped a fade-away from twenty feet away. (Now we’re cooking!)

Now, from here we can add any additional adjectives and adverbs if we really need them. For example, I might use an adverb to show Bill’s intentions and way of thinking:

Seeing the futility of driving in for a dunk, Bill cleverly popped a fade-away from twenty feet away. (Now we’re cooking with fire!)

The key is that I did not add an adverb to a vague verb. I took an already vivid verb and qualified it even further. Likewise, always choose a descriptive, specific noun before adding any adjectives, and make sure that those adjectives are really necessary before you add them.

Next Up:

Revising for Word Choice: A Working Method

“It looks easy enough,” you might be thinking. “But you just make diction look easy with those examples. What am I to do when I am sitting in front of my computer, trying to find the best words? What if they don’t come to me when I’m writing?”

Fret not, dear reader: the next article shares a step-by-step working method for improving diction in any piece of writing. Trust me: you’ll want to read this one!

• Revision for Word Choice: A Working Method (I will post this article soon.)

Christopher Altman is passionate about bringing the art of effective writing to everyday Americans. In addition to writing this blog, Mr. Altman produces and hosts The Writer’s Toolbox Podcast, and he is currently developing a number of book projects that examine the role of language in popular media and everyday life. His book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, explores how adult writers can overcome the false writing rules learned in childhood. When he is not writing or teaching, Mr. Altman enjoys grilling out and savoring the mild summers of Central New York, where he is a professor of English at Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY).

Parallel Structures: Examples from MLK

The previous Tricks of the Trade article explained applications of parallel sentence structures for creating flowing, rhythmic writing. Now, in this new Tricks of the Trade article, I want to share examples of parallel structures at work in the prose of a powerful, canonical essayist. I am

using Martin

My dedication to MLK in Minecraft

Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” as our ongoing example for Tricks of the Trade, since King’s essay showcases all of the techniques discussed in this series—and since it uses each of these techniques many times over. Let’s turn once again to MLK’s classic civil rights essay as we explore examples of parallel structure at work.

About reading these passages: I have color coded the parallel structures within the passages below. In some passages, you might notice two or more colors. Each color is a different parallel structure pattern within the example.

Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus saith the lord” far beyond the boundaries of their hometowns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own hometown.

The sentence below (which occurs several pages after the example sentence above) uses the same parallel structure seen above by using the phrase “just as”—but this time King uses the phrase to establish a parallel between his actions and those of the ancient Greek philosopher and teacher Socrates. This repeated phrase, “just as,” shows how parallel structures can link ideas across different sentences, paragraphs, and pages. From there, MLK will use another parallel structure for comparing the actions of nonviolent resisters to the teachings of Socrates:

Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.

King also uses parallel structures from sentence to sentence to showcase the larger thematic unity those sentences share. Here’s an example:

In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn’t this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? Isn’t this like condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock? Isn’t this like condemning Jesus because his unique God-consciousness and never-ceasing devotion to God’s will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion?

By the way, have you noticed the repetition of Christian and Socratic themes in these passages? King brings up Jesus and Socrates quite often in this essay. Why? Considering King’s original audience (eight clergymen who had spoken out against his actions in Birmingham), these two examples from religion and western culture are perfectly fitting. They are precisely the best examples that King could have used for winning over his audience. In the course of his letter/essay, King also invokes the the Founding Fathers, the Apostle Paul, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Augustine, John Bunyan, and Abraham Lincoln. Why do you think King uses such a range of (white and Jewish) figures to validate the points he makes in this essay? This side-note takes us back to the first trick of the trade: writing for our audience. If you missed that (crucial) article, click here to read it.

In addition to using parallel structures to organize and align long sentences (as seen above), King also uses parallel structures in short sentences—and to great effect. Consider this famous sentence drawn from King’s essay:

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Here are more short sentences with parallel structures:

Example:

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.”

Example:

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.

Example:

All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority.

A Few More Examples from MLK

Here are more examples of parallel structure within “Letter from Birmingham Jail” that I find especially powerful. Read these passages aloud, and as you do so, feel their undeniable passion and power.

Example:

Is not segregation an existential expression of man’s tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.

Example:

You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping “order” and “preventing violence.” I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department.

Example:

Never before have I written so long a letter. I’m afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts, and pray long prayers?

Example:

If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me.

That last example illustrates how, by being nearly the same, parallel structures emphasize their seemingly small differences. Why is the use of God in place of you effective in that second parallel structure? What statement does that small change make? What is the greater evil, in MLK’s eyes: to be impatient for one’s rights–or to wait too long? King gives us the answer: it’s right there in the small one-word difference between those two parallel structures. Read it again and consider this point.

Next Up:

Diction: Finding the Best Words

Although the way we structure our sentences is important (as we have seen), equally important are the words we use within those sentences. With that point in mind, the next set of articles in Tricks of the Trade will help you strengthen your word choices by sharing specific methods for finding the best words to convey your ideas and assertions.

• Diction: Finding the Best Words (I will post this article soon.)

Works Cited

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ed. Clayborne Carson. New York: Warner Books, 1998. 188-204. Print.

Christopher Altman is passionate about bringing the art of effective writing to everyday Americans. In addition to writing this blog, Mr. Altman produces and hosts The Writer’s Toolbox Podcast, and he is currently developing a number of book projects that examine the role of language in popular media and everyday life. His book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, explores how adult writers can overcome the false writing rules learned in childhood. When he is not writing or teaching, Mr. Altman enjoys grilling out and savoring the mild summers of Central New York, where he is a professor of English at Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY).

Tricks of the Trade: Parallel Structures–Writing with Rhythm

Whenever you include multiple items or clauses in a long sentence, write them all with similar word and phrase patterns. Long sentences that do not have these parallel structures are often hard to follow.

For example, here is a sentence that is difficult to read:

Bob enjoys many activities: going hiking, chess, his friends, to play his old Nintendo, and reading detective novels.

The writer did not use parallel structures for expressing these items. The ideas unify in a thematic sense (since they are all activities Bob enjoys), but the writing does not reflect that unity. The sentence can be adjusted to align content (what is said) with style (how it is said). The writer can do this by using a parallel gerund pattern. (A gerund is formed by adding –ing to the end of a verb so that the word then functions as something else, usually a noun.)

Here is the resulting sentence, with the parallel gerund pattern underlined:

Bob enjoys many activities: going hiking, playing chess, hanging out with his friends, playing his old Nintendo, and reading detective novels.

This sentence can be improved further by beginning with the shortest item and progressing towards the longest one. This way, there is yet another pattern:

Bob enjoys many activities: playing chess, going hiking, reading detective novels, playing his old Nintendo, and hanging out with his friends.

This sentence provides an even better reading experience than the first revision because now it has an ordered pattern. Sentences that show patterns are easier to read than those that are random and chaotic. On top of that, parallel structures let writers take control of long sentences. With parallel structures in your sentences, you’ll write much longer sentences than you may have thought you could—and those sentences, despite their length, will be surprisingly easy to read.

In addition to helping present phrase items in a series (as seen above), parallel structures are useful for presenting sentences with multiple clauses. Here is an example of parallel structure using clauses:

Although Bob enjoys many leisure activities, and although he has many friends, most of his time is spent focusing on his career.

Notice how both dependent clauses in the example above begin with the word although. This creates a pattern, and it holds the reader’s attention, even in a long sentence. Read the sentence aloud; do you hear the rhythm?

Here is another example. However, this new parallel structure uses to before each verb. (This “to + verb” formation is called the infinitive form.)

A strong writer seeks to achieve three main goals: to reason with sound logic, to communicate with clear language, and to empathize with thoughtful appeals.

The writer could convert the infinitive pattern to an –ing (gerund) pattern:

A strong writer seeks to achieve three main goals: reasoning with sound logic, communicating with clear language, and empathizing with thoughtful appeals.

(What additional change was made? Consider this point.)

Parallel Structures: A Stunning Example from MLK

Utilizing parallel structures can create much longer sentences than the examples shared above. For example, look at the sentence below, written by Martin Luther King, Jr., and as you do so, behold the unbridled power and unadulterated majesty of parallel structures:

Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, “Wait.” But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking, “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” and “colored”; when your first name becomes “nigger,” your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are), and your last name becomes “John,” and your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”—then you will know why we find it difficult to wait.

Powerful, isn’t it? What is the parallel structure here? What are the words that King repeats in every dependent clause? What effects do they have on you as you read? Think about these points as you consider the power and effectiveness of parallel sentence structures.

Next Up: More Examples from MLK

As we have done in previous Tricks of the Trade articles, we will look once again to the writing of MLK–this time for examples of parallel structures at their best. If you want to observe the effective use of parallel structures within sentences, you need look no further than the prose of MLK.

• Parallel Structures: Examples from MLK
  

Works Cited

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ed. Clayborne Carson. New York: Warner Books, 1998. 188-204. Print.

Christopher Altman is passionate about bringing the art of effective writing to everyday Americans. In addition to writing this blog, Mr. Altman produces and hosts The Writer’s Toolbox Podcast, and he is currently developing a number of book projects that examine the role of language in popular media and everyday life. His book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, explores how adult writers can overcome the false writing rules learned in childhood. When he is not writing or teaching, Mr. Altman enjoys grilling out and savoring the mild summers of Central New York, where he is a professor of English at Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY).

Addressing Counterarguments: Examples from MLK

In the previous Tricks of the Trade article, we looked at a new technique: addressing counterarguments. A counterargument is a point of disagreement or doubt that a reader might raise while reading your writing—a moment where the reader says, about a point you are making, “But I disagree with your point here.” It’s your job as the writer to be aware of such counterarguments (at least, the most likely ones) and to address those counterarguments.

At this point, you might be thinking, “But how can I think of all possible counterarguments my readers might raise?” Well, the sad fact is, you can’t think of all possible counterarguments. However, by tackling the most probable counterarguments, your chances of winning over more readers will increase. And, even if you bring out counterarguments that a reader does not raise, your counterargument still helps to win the reader’s respect since (1) you come across as the kind of writer who cares about readers’ concerns and (2) you come across as the kind of writer who attempts to cover all bases in posing an argument. (By the way, did you notice that I used this short paragraph to address a counterargument that my reader might raise? Were you thinking to raise this counterargument just as I mentioned it here?)

If you read the previous Tricks of the Trade article, then you should be clear on what a counterargument is and how it is essentially posed. (And if you didn’t read that article yet, I suggest that you click here to read it before continuing to read this article.) However, the previous article did not share real examples of counterarguments at work within their larger context.

With that point in mind, I have written this article to provide examples of counterarguments drawn from a real essay. When considering the counterargument and how it works, there’s no better place to look than the writing of Martin Luther King, Jr.—particularly his classic essay, “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

As the title implies, MLK penned this letter (now anthologized as an essay) from a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama, where he and other civil rights protestors were being held simply for making their voices heard in the segregationist Jim Crow south of 1963. While imprisoned, MLK read a newspaper article written by eight clergymen, all of them arguing that MLK and the other nonviolent protestors were “extremists” and that the protestors should simply wait for what (the clergymen thought) would be inevitable change. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was MLK’s response to these eight clergymen. MLK argues in his letter that civil rights equality would not simply happen with time and that change happens only because people take a stand for equality and strive to make it a reality.

I should note, before sharing these excerpts, that MLK was already aware of many of these counterarguments because these arguments had already been raised against the actions of MLK and other nonviolent civil rights protestors. He had the advantage of already being aware of the opposition’s core arguments, and he harnessed that advantage to full effect.

As you read the passages below, notice how MLK does not merely bring up counterarguments as side-notes or “by the way” points. He actually uses the counterarguments to drive this essay, going from addressing one counterargument to addressing the next one.

Counterargument Excerpts: “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

The counterarguments below, drawn from MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” are color coded so that each counterargument (marked in red) stands out from MLK’s response(s) to each counterargument (marked in green).

You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches, and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks to dramatize the issue so that it can no longer be ignored.

King immediately moves to another counterargument—one that would be raised in response to the way he addressed the first counterargument (immediately above):

My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension.” I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.

Leaving no possible counterargument unaddressed, King moves on one paragraph later to address the next logical counterargument: the argument that, even if it is right to create nonviolent, productive tension, the timing is not right for that tension:

One of the basic points in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have taken in Birmingham is untimely. Some have asked: “Why didn’t you give the new city administration time to act?” The only answer that I can give to this query is that the new Birmingham administration must be prodded about as much as the outgoing one, before it will act. We are sadly mistaken if we feel that the election of Albert Boutwell as mayor will bring the millennium to Birmingham. While Mr. Boutwell is a much more gentle person than Mr. Connor, they are both segregationists, dedicated to maintenance of the status quo. I have hope that Mr. Boutwell will be reasonable enough to see the futility of massive resistance to desegregation. But he will not see this without pressure from devotees of civil rights. My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.

Another counterargument that King confronts is the accusation that the nonviolent resisters were breaking laws and that this point invalidated their cause. Let’s look at how King discusses and dismantles this new counterargument:

You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.”

King goes on for several paragraphs to present even more responses to this counterargument. But perhaps none of these responses resonates as powerfully as this passage, where King draws upon what was (and still is) an all-too-familiar example of racial prejudice when carried out to its worst extreme:

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers.

The passage above is especially fitting for King’s audience, since he is responding to Jewish as well as Christian clergy. Consider the other Judeo-Christian references King makes in this essay and how those references are especially effective, considering that he is writing for clergy. As discussed in the first Tricks of the Trade technique, King is aware of his audience and he writes accordingly.

The final counterargument I will cite (but certainly not the last one in King’s essay) is one of the central accusations brought against King and the other nonviolent protesters in Birmingham: the accusation that the protestors were extremists. King addresses this particular counterargument with two (very different) arguments: (1) the point that the truly dangerous “extremists” in the civil rights movement are those who advocate violence and (2) the point that the term extremist is not bad in and of itself, but depends upon what one chooses to be an extremist for. King puts the counterargument to rest—twice over:

You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist. [. . .] The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up across the nation, the largest and best-known being Elijah Muhammad’s Muslim movement. Nourished by the Negro’s frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible “devil.” [. . .] So I have not said to my people: “Get rid of your discontent.” Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action. And now this approach is being termed extremist.

Here is King’s second response to the accusation of extremism:

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.” And John Bunyan: “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.” And Abraham Lincoln: “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.” And Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . .” So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? [. . .] Perhaps the South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

Do you feel the power of King’s response? Effective writing—it doesn’t get any better than this.

Next Up: Parallel Sentence Structure

One reason for the effectiveness of King’s response (just above) is that it employs yet another technique I want to discuss in Tricks of the Trade: parallel sentence structure. Notice how King’s sentences often repeat the same syntax and word patterns, creating a rhythm from sentence to sentence, holding the reader’s attention but at the same time reinforcing the point that the concepts the sentences convey also share parallels. (Similarities in language reflect similarities in ideas.)

Look again at the passage—this time formatted with parallel structures underlined:

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.” And John Bunyan: “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.” And Abraham Lincoln: “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.” And Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . .” So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? [. . .] Perhaps the South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

In addition to the underlined portions sharing word and phrase patterns, notice as well the larger repeated structure, where King gives the name of the historical figure, followed by a colon and then a quotation. This too is a parallel sentence structure. (One delightful aspect of King’s writing is his ability to embed parallel structures within parallel structures.)

Want to learn more about using parallel sentence structures to make your writing more moving and effective? (Of course you do!) To learn more, click the link below:

• Tricks of the Trade: Parallel Structures–Writing with Rhythm
  

Works Cited

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ed. Clayborne Carson. New York: Warner Books, 1998. 188-204. Print.

Christopher Altman is passionate about bringing the art of effective writing to everyday Americans. In addition to writing this blog, Mr. Altman produces and hosts The Writer’s Toolbox Podcast, and he is currently developing a number of book projects that examine the role of language in popular media and everyday life. His book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, explores how adult writers can overcome the false writing rules learned in childhood. When he is not writing or teaching, Mr. Altman enjoys grilling out and savoring the mild summers of Central New York, where he is a professor of English at Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY).

Quotation Marks And Other Punctuation

Punctuating the end of a quotation can be tricky, especially in American English, where some punctuation marks default to the inside of the quotation marks, while others can be placed outside the quotation marks. The divisions break down into two groups:

Inside Quotation Marks: When ending a quotation, place periods and commas within the quotation marks, even if the period or comma is not part of the original quotation.

Outside or Inside Quotation Marks: However, when ending a quotation in a question mark, exclamation point, colon, or semicolon, place the punctuation outside the quotation, unless that punctuation is part of the original quoted language. If the punctuation is part of the original quoted language, place it inside the quotation marks.

Here is an example of placing a comma that occurs just after a quote:

Paul Harvey concluded with his usual closer, “And that’s the rest of the story,” a line that delights me even now, as I hear it in my mind.

Treat periods the same way–always put them inside:

Paul Harvey concluded with his usual closer, “And that’s the rest of the story.”

Well . . . the period goes inside the quotation marks  in most cases. If the sentence ends in a parenthetical citation, the period goes after the citation. This placement encloses the citation within the larger sentence to show that the citation refers to that sentence. In a sense, the sentence swallows up the parenthetical citation with that period. Look:

The broadcasting legend put it best when he said, “And that’s the rest of the story” (Harvey).

But other than that one exception, the period’s default placement is inside the quotation marks. However, question marks works differently.

If the question mark is not part of the quoted language or dialogue line, place the question mark outside the quotation marks:

Why did Paul Harvey choose to end all of his programs with his signature line, “And that’s the rest of the story”?

However, if the question mark is part of the quoted language, put it inside the quotation marks:

Ed asked, “Don’t you remember Paul Harvey’s radio program?”

Removing Parts of Quotations: Ellipses

When you remove part of a quotation for the sake of efficiency or clarity, use an ellipsis (three dots) to replace the omitted part.

Here’s an example of using an ellipsis to show an omission from a quotation:

First, here is the full text from the quote. I have marked the part that will be omitted in bold:

MLK, in his momentous “I Have a Dream” speech, proclaimed, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

And here is how a writer might omit elements to save space or to get to the point:

MLK, in his momentous “I Have a Dream” speech, proclaimed, “I have a dream that my four little children . . . will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Although a normal ellipsis is allowable for showing omissions from a quote, many writers prefer to put the ellipsis in brackets to show that the ellipsis is not part of the original quote. After all, the original language could have a stylistic ellipsis to show a long pause or a hesitation in speech. Bracketed ellipses allow writers to differentiate between a stylistic ellipsis and an ellipsis of omission.

Here is how to frame the ellipsis of omission in brackets:

MLK, in his momentous “I Have a Dream” speech, proclaimed, “I have a dream that my four little children [. . .] will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

This use of brackets follows the larger rule for using brackets:

Brackets show an insertion of new material into a quotation.

To learn more about the ellipsis and its many applications in writing, click here.

Making Insertions and Replacements within Quotes: Brackets

Writers use brackets to add their own clarifications or adjustments to quotations. Here is an example:

Here is the original quote:

Senator Smith: “I will cast my vote only for laws ensuring that my African-American and Latino neighbors will have the same opportunity that I have enjoyed.”

And here is the quote, adjusted to fit the writer’s third-person perspective of Smith:

Senator Smith stated that he would “cast [his] vote only for laws ensuring that [his] African-American and Latino neighbors will have the same opportunity that [he has] enjoyed.”

Logically enough, the writer should discuss Senator Smith as he and not as I. The brackets show this shift in perspective, while indicating that the writer has adjusted Senator Smith’s original language.

Did you notice how the quote above actually incorporates Smith’s quotation into the writer’s own syntax? The transition is almost seamless, but almost is the key word: the quotation marks show readers where Smith’s quote begins—and where it ends.

To learn more about brackets, read on.

Next Up: More on Brackets

The next punctuation technique explored in “Punctuation Toolbox” is brackets (discussed briefly in the section directly above). Click the link below to learn more.

• Brackets: Making Additions to Quotations
  

Christopher Altman is passionate about bringing the art of effective writing to everyday Americans. In addition to writing this blog, Mr. Altman produces and hosts The Writer’s Toolbox Podcast, and he is currently developing a number of book projects that examine the role of language in popular media and everyday life. His book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, explores how adult writers can overcome the false writing rules learned in childhood. When he is not writing or teaching, Mr. Altman enjoys grilling out and savoring the mild summers of Central New York, where he is a professor of English at Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY).

Quotation Marks: Odds & Ends

Use Block Quotes for Long Quotations

When presenting a quotation that exceeds four lines (that is, the quote goes into the fifth line), use a block-quote format instead of using quotation marks. Do this by setting the quotation off in its own paragraphed section (but do not indent the first line) and by insetting the left margin by one inch. (In Microsoft Word, the indentation feature is located in the “Paragraph” menu.)

Cited below is an example of a block quote. This quotation is from the introduction to my book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, which attempts to explain and debunk writing rules we learn as children but should discard as adults. Notice that, in quoting the material below, I do not use quotation marks. The indentation acts as the quotation framing device in place of quotation marks:

Most children begin their development as writers by being given lists of rules. If you learned these rules, you probably learned them from trusted teachers, most likely during grade school or middle school, but perhaps you learned them as late as high school. If you are still trying to follow these rules, you probably get the sense that following them is often unrealistic—and even damaging—for your writing. You feel a profound sense of relief whenever you write informal, personal prose, if only for the reason that you are able to ignore these rules and write like yourself. You get the sense that journalists and award winning authors have found some secret way around these rules, for such expert writers break these writing taboos quite frequently—and to great effect. You have an overwhelming sense that there is a bigger, better world of writing, but you have an equally large sense that you can never enter that world.

(Note: In these Writer’s Toolbox articles, I use block quotes even for shorter quotations to highlight these examples for my readers. However, in formal writing situations, like college essays or academic articles, follow the standard rule for block quoting.)

If you are interested in learning more about my book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, click here.

Quotes within Quotes

Sometimes, a writer may quote a source that quotes another source. There are two ways to handle this matter: one for short quotations (using quotation marks) and another for long quotations (using block quotes).

For short quotations, use the single quotation mark (the same symbol as the apostrophe) to show the innermost quote. For the overall (outside) quote, use normal double quotation marks. Here is an example:

When speaking on equal hiring practices, Senator Smith invoked the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “I, for one, agree with the words of that great civil rights leader who so aptly stated, ‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’”

Notice how, in the passage above, the closing quotation marks appear to be a triple set of quotation marks. That is not the case: what seems to be a triple quotation mark is actually the inner single quotation mark (to close MLK’s quote) followed by the outer double quotation marks (to close Senator Smith’s quote). If Senator Smith’s quote had continued after the MLK quote, the closing quotation mark sets would be displaced from one another, like this:

When speaking on equal hiring practices, Senator Smith invoked the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “I, for one, agree with the words of that great civil rights leader who so aptly stated, ‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’ I couldn’t agree more with these momentous words, spoken by none other than Martin Luther King, Jr.”

However, if the larger quote exceeds four lines, it should be framed in a block quote. The quote within the quote can then be framed in (normal) double quotation marks, like this:

When speaking on equal hiring practices, Senator Smith invoked the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.:

I, for one, agree with the words of that great civil rights leader who so aptly stated, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” I couldn’t agree more with these momentous words, spoken by none other than Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King’s words ring true even today, as we pass laws to ensure that American companies will practice fairness and equality in their hiring policies.

Looking at both of these examples, the overall rule is simple: if double quotation marks are already present and the writer needs to include an internal quote, the writer should use single quotation marks for the internal quote. If double quotation marks are not already present (as in a block quote), then the writer should simply use double quotation marks for the internal quote.

If in the rare event that you must include a quote within a quote within a quote, simply alternate between double and single quotation marks for each additional internalized quote. Although this triple-quotation technique is available, experienced writers attempt to avoid these confusing moments by finding some other way to present the quote. Many writers attempt to remove the outermost quotation and simply to share a quote within a quote. Other writers might choose to paraphrase the statement(s). Regardless of the specific approach the writer chooses, the rule of thumb remains the same: good writers strive to create a clear and convenient reading experience for their audiences.

Dialogue Tags and Quotation Marks

A dialogue tag is phrase that opens into quoted language. The quoted language can be part of a quotation or–as the name “dialogue tag” implies, it can be a line of dialogue, framed in quotation marks. The dialogue tag consists of a noun or pronoun (a speaker) and a verb of speaking (or thinking). Dialogue tags are frequent in fiction, but they are not limited to fiction. Any time that we talk about what someone said, thought, or wrote, dialogue tags are useful. Follow a dialogue tag with a comma, just before giving the quotation:

Bob said, “We had better get home soon.”

Lauren replied, “I’m aware, but we have more errands to run.”

“I’m tired,” Bob sighed. “Will I ever make it home?”

“Nope!” Lauren joked.

In the dialogue above, there are several dialogue tags, marked in bold. Notice how dialogue tags are punctuated differently, depending on their placement relative to the lines of dialogue. If the dialogue tag comes directly before dialogue (the most standard placement), the dialogue tag is followed by a comma, as seen in these lines:

Bob said, “We had better get home soon.”

Lauren replied, “I’m aware, but we have more errands to run.”

Notice the dialogue tag in the third line. Notice how a comma takes the place of a period in the first quoted part, since the dialogue tag follows the dialogue material:

“I’m tired,” Bob sighed. “Will I ever make it home?”

In the fourth line, there is no comma between the quote and the dialogue tag because a comma does not replace exclamation points and question marks:

“Nope!” Lauren joked.

But if we reversed the order, we would introduce the quote with a comma directly after the dialogue tag:

Lauren joked, “Nope!”

Next Up: Quotation Marks And Other Punctuation

New writers often struggle with punctuating quotations. For example, should a period ending both a quotation and its larger sentence go inside the quotation marks, like this . . .

Lauren added, “Don’t worry: we’ll get home soon enough.”

. . . or should it go outside the quotation marks, like this . . .

Lauren added, “Don’t worry: we’ll get home soon enough”.

So which one is correct? The next article answers this question–and many more.

•  I will have this article up and running soon.

Christopher Altman is passionate about bringing the art of effective writing to everyday Americans. In addition to writing this blog, Mr. Altman produces and hosts The Writer’s Toolbox Podcast, and he is currently developing a number of book projects that examine the role of language in popular media and everyday life. His book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, explores how adult writers can overcome the false writing rules learned in childhood. When he is not writing or teaching, Mr. Altman enjoys grilling out and savoring the mild summers of Central New York, where he is a professor of English at Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY).

Titles: Quotation Marks or Italics?

You may have noticed that writers frame the titles of other works in various ways. Maybe you’ve seen those other works’ titles framed in quotation marks, but maybe you’ve also seen them framed in italics and even underlined. So, with all of these ways to frame titles, what is the correct method?

The answer: it depends. This article will explain the three title framing methods and how to differentiate between them.

One Caveat: Style Guides And Writing in Specific Academic Formats

Before continuing this discussion of title formats, I must mention one caveat: this article (and my approach) follows with the approach of the Modern Language Association (MLA), the format typically used in English literature and many other disciplines in the liberal arts. Other styles, like that of the American Psychological Association (APA), have different rules for handling titles, so if you are writing for a course or a discipline requiring APA format (for example, social sciences like Sociology or Anthropology), make sure to consult an APA style guide. For all other writing situations, I find that following the MLA style creates increased clarity and consistency. (But hey–I’m an English professor, so I’m biased!)

Speaking of style guides, Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) has both an MLA and APA guide. These online style guides are edited to keep them up to date as the MLA and APA adopt new changes:

• Purdue OWL’s MLA Guide
  
• Purdue OWL’s APA Guide

Quotation Marks Versus Italics

Anyway, back to quotation marks and italics. Here is the rule of thumb for making this decision:

The Title Rule of Thumb: Use “quotation marks” for shorter component works, and use italics (or underlining) for longer works (which often include component works).

What do I mean by “component works”? Here is an example:

In Sports Illustrated, I read an article entitled “Making the Cut,” which discusses the challenges faced by collegiate athletes looking to enter professional sports.

Sports Illustrated is the larger work (a collection of many articles), while the article, “Making the Cut,” is the component work.

This is also true of other forms:

• Poems

Larger whole: A Poetry Anthology (the larger collection): (italicize)

Component: A poem in that anthology (the component work) (quotation marks)

Example: The Norton Anthology of American Literature includes Frost’s poems “Design” and “Mending Wall”–two of my favorites.

• Books and Novels

Larger whole: A novel (italicize)

Component: A chapter title from the novel (“quotation marks”)

Example: My book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, includes a chapter entitled “The Myth of the Run-On Sentence.”

• Newspaper Titles

Larger whole: A newspaper (italicize)

Component: An article in that newspaper (“quotation marks”)

Example: The article “What’s Wrong with Education in the City?” appeared in last Sunday’s Washington Post.

Exceptions

There are a few exceptions. (Of course there are–the Grammar Gods can’t make things too easy for us!)

An epic poem (which you might think of as a book-length poem): italicize (even if it is a component of a larger collection)

A novella or short book: italicize (even if it is a component of a larger collection)

Still, even these exceptions follow the rule of thumb, since they might have their own component chapter titles, which–as expected–would be placed in quotation marks.

What About Underlining Titles?

Underlining is simply another way of italicizing. In handwriting, underlining stands in place of italics, since italicizing is difficult to do in handwriting, especially if one’s handwriting is already slanted to the right like italics. In past decades, style manuals for organizations like the Modern Language Association (MLA) required underlining–even in typed documents–for book titles and other titles that we italicize today. However, with the increased precision and font varieties of word-processing programs, we can italicize these titles. In fact, italics is often preferred since it has a cleaner, less distracting look than underlining.

Still, if you are producing a handwritten document like an in-class essay exam, underline in place of italics. In addition to publication titles for books, newspapers, etc., this is true for other applications of italics such as writing foreign words, emphasizing words with additional intonation, or writing about a word as a word.

What Should We Do if Italics Are Not Available?

Many websites do not include an italics feature. For example, italics are not (yet?) available on Facebook posts and comments. (This is actually one huge pet peeve I have with Facebook–they need italics!)

In the meantime, there are a few options when your range of punctuation or font editing tools are limited. One option is simply to put the normally italicized material in quotation marks. I do this with book titles. In some cases, such as adding intonation to a word, you might just try ALL CAPS–although in “normal” writing, using all caps represents SCREAMING or YELLING–which is stronger than the intonation that italics represent. Still, most people understand that since there are no italics on sites like Facebook, using all caps is allowable for intonation.

Now, as far as underlining titles is concerned, hard-nosed sticklers will place single underscore symbols both before and after a book title (or any normally italicized title) to show the italics/underlining:

I read _Moby Dick_ for the first time. It was much more fascinating than I thought it would be.

But I just think that looks strange. Ever aware of my audience, I don’t hesitate to use quotation marks in place of italics in informal online communications like Facebook posts:

I read “Moby Dick” for the first time. It was much more fascinating than I thought it would be.

This makes sense, in terms of audience. Chances are, those underscore-obsessed sticklers don’t even have Facebook accounts. (They are too busy watching early-twentieth-century French Impressionist films while tastefully sipping obscure expensive wines from the quaint countryside of Wherever.)

One Final Point: Frame Only the Titles of Other Works

I lost count long ago of the times when students would (erroneously) put their own essay titles in quotes. Remember: use quotation marks only when referring to the title of some outside work within your own writing. If it’s your essay or article title, it is framed as a title by virtue of being capitalized and/or in a larger font at the top of the first page. These framing conventions also depend on the writing context and the rhetorical situation. For example, the title of this article (yes, the one you’re reading right now) is in a larger font, but it also uses capital letters. However, in a formal essay for a college course, the student should not write the title in a larger, bolder font (although they should capitalize most words in the title).

Now, if you are referring to another work that you wrote, then treat that title as the title of another work by placing it in either quotes or italics. For example, if I am talking in this article about my book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, I write it in italics to show that it is another work–even if it’s one of my own works.

Next Up: Quotation Marks Odds & Ends

The next article explains some nitty-gritty quotation mark matters. For example, how should we frame a quote within a quote? Are long quotations handled differently from short quotations? How can we introduce quoted lines of dialogue?  If you’re burning to know the answers to these questions (and I know you are!), then stay tuned.

• Quotation Marks: Odds & Ends
  

Christopher Altman is passionate about bringing the art of effective writing to everyday Americans. In addition to writing this blog, Mr. Altman produces and hosts The Writer’s Toolbox Podcast, and he is currently developing a number of book projects that examine the role of language in popular media and everyday life. His book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, explores how adult writers can overcome the false writing rules learned in childhood. When he is not writing or teaching, Mr. Altman enjoys grilling out and savoring the mild summers of Central New York, where he is a professor of English at Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY).

Quotation Marks

Use quotation marks to frame quoted material. In academic and professional writing, this is typically material quoted from other writers or sources, but quotation marks can also be used to tell a story or to frame any thought spoken from another perspective. In fact, a writer might even use quotation marks to frame her own thoughts.

In this article, we will look at different applications of quotation marks.

Application 1: Quotation marks show word-for-word quotations from other sources.

Suppose that a writer is quoting a line from Martin Luther King Jr.’s momentous “I Have a Dream” speech:

As Americans consider hiring policies related to race and ethnicity, we should not forget the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., who so passionately declared, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

The quotation marks in the example above show readers which words belong to the writer and which ones belong to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Application 2: Quotation marks can be used to share dialogue from a story or real-life account.

The story might be fiction, but it can also be an account of a real past event or even a possible future event. Here is an example that might be drawn from the same ongoing essay example on equal employment policies:

In a recent conversation, a friend complained to me about how he felt hindered by hiring practices related to Affirmative Action. He said to me, “You know, it’s hard to be hired when you are a white male when other groups are always considered first.” Although I was sympathetic to his feelings of loss, I nonetheless felt compelled to point out his error. I responded, “I’m sorry, but the statistics don’t agree with you.” Like many (white male) job applicants, my friend’s feelings were sincere, but these views are informed only by individual experience and not by hard statistics and actual hiring practices.

(Note: The passage above is the introduction paragraph for the essay. In academic writing, the thesis (the main point the essay is attempting to support) is typically given at the end of the introduction, as seen in the example above. Although personal stories should be kept to a minimum in formal or academic writing, the well placed personal story often acts as an effective hook for capturing the reader’s interest at the outset of the essay.)

Here is an example of using quotation marks for a possible future event or statement:

At this point, some might say, “But hiring practices that prioritize minority groups also assume that minority groups cannot gain employment purely on their own skill or merit. These practices are a slap in the face to women and people of color.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Historically speaking, these hiring practices are in place because many companies were (and still are) unwilling even to consider hiring people of color. Also, many companies—if left to their own devices—would not hire women because those companies assume that women will cost them more money for paid maternity leave. For these reasons (and many more), we need hiring practices that protect minorities—not for a lack of merit on the part of the minority employee, but for the lack of ethical hiring practices among companies and corporations whose only focus is raising profits and lowering costs.

The technique used above, where the writer presents readers’ possible disagreements and then debunks those disagreements, is called addressing counterarguments. Some writing experts call these possible counterarguments “the conditions of rebuttal.” In persuasive writing, this is a useful technique because it acknowledges (and addresses) possible doubts and disagreements that some readers might have regarding the writer’s assertions. If readers do not feel that their own points are acknowledged and addressed, chances are, they will not be persuaded. Quotation marks are one way to frame the hypothetical counterarguments that some readers might raise. The quotation marks emphasize the point that the words are those of disagreeing readers and not those of the essayist.

Application 3: Quotation marks can frame thoughts—even those of the writer.

Although writers use quotation marks to frame words spoken or written by other people, writers can also use quotation marks to show their own thoughts. Here is an example:

After having this conversation, I reflected further on the larger implications of my friend’s misperception. I thought to myself, “I’ve heard these arguments before—and not just from friends.” Such arguments against equal hiring practices proliferate, both among everyday Americans and within the popular news media.

Application 4: Quotation marks set off phrases that are examples of language

Professor Hawkins advises her students to use transition phrases like “on the other hand” or “for example” to open new paragraph discussions in essays.

However, if the writer is presenting one word as an example of language, then use italics to set the word apart:

Professor Lubar showed Alex how to combine two closely related sentences using conjunctions like and or but.

Next Up: Quotation Marks and Titles

When writing about books, films, essays, newspaper articles, and the many other works that have titles, writers set off the titles of such works in various ways. One way is the use of quotation marks, but other titles require italics. And you may have even noticed that some titles are underlined. With all of these ways for framing titles, is there a system behind choosing the right method?

You bet! The next article shares that system. Stay tuned!

• Titles: Quotation Marks or Italics?
  

Christopher Altman is passionate about bringing the art of effective writing to everyday Americans. In addition to writing this blog, Mr. Altman produces and hosts The Writer’s Toolbox Podcast, and he is currently developing a number of book projects that examine the role of language in popular media and everyday life. His book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, explores how adult writers can overcome the false writing rules learned in childhood. When he is not writing or teaching, Mr. Altman enjoys grilling out and savoring the mild summers of Central New York, where he is a professor of English at Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY).

Related Question: Is it “Everyday” or “Every Day”?

Every day and everyday: which one is the correct spelling? Although answering this question does not involve hyphens directly, it is worth mentioning in this discussion of hyphens, since it follows the same rules that hyphenated adjectives follow.

In terms of joining words, there are three forms:

1. Open: A space is between the two words. They are not joined.
2. Hyphenated: A hyphen joins the two words. (See the two previous articles for more on the hyphenated form.)
3. Closed: The two words run seamlessly together as one word with no hyphen or space between.

The rules for the closed style often work the same as the rules for the hyphenated style, and this is true as well for deciding between everyday and every day: when writing the word everyday as a single adjective, write it together, with no space or hyphen. (In the list above, that is category 3—closed.)

Here is an example:

I hope to help everyday people improve their writing.

In the example above, everyday is a single adjective for the noun, people. Here it is, labeled, with the compound adjective underlined and the noun it modifies in italics:

I hope to help everyday people improve their writing.

However, if every is an adjective for the noun day, then do not write them together. They are separate parts of speech, so write them separately:

Bob worked every day this month. (Every is an adjective for day.)

The decision to hyphenate works the same way. Consider the terms low-income and low income:

Although he worked very hard, Bob earned a relatively low income. (Low is an adjective for the noun, income.)

Vs.

Low-income Americans like Bob should receive decent benefits. (Low-income is a single adjective for the noun, Americans.)

A Working Method for Deciding on Hyphenation

Of course, there are many more terms than everyday and low-income. How do we know if such terms should be open, hyphenated, or closed?

Well, as a general rule, the open form is easy: if the two words don’t combine into a single adjective for some other word, then we would use the open form. But, then again, there are always those odd compound nouns like dishwasher, football, and doorbell. A dictionary is always helpful for words like these, and most good word-processing programs come equipped with a dictionary.

As for deciding between the hyphenated and closed form for multiple-word adjectives . . . well, that’s a trickier matter. Still, here’s a tried-and-true approach that I use:

1. Use a high-quality word-processing program like Microsoft Word or WordPerfect.
2. Using the word-processing program, type the term in the closed form (no spaces or hyphens—just one seamless word).
3. If spell check does not detect a spelling error in the closed form, then—chances are—you should use the closed form. From there, you can use the “Look up” option to look up the term in the word-processing program’s dictionary, just to be safe.
4. If spell check detects an issue (in most programs, with a red underline), then right-click the word to see options the program offers as correct spellings. Chances are, one of those correct spellings is the hyphenated term. And even if the hyphenated term isn’t recognized by spell check, it is perfectly allowable for a writer to hyphenate two words into one if it serves clarity. (For example, see John Updike’s seventeen-word hyphenation, quoted near the end of the first hyphen article.)
5. Finally, remember that no one will crucify you for hyphenating two words, so long as you do so to improve clarity. Remember the most important rule of writing: make things easy and clear for your readers.

Next Up: Quotation Marks

Well, that’s it for hyphens. It’s time to move on to quotation marks. Click the link below to learn more:

• Quotation Marks
  

Christopher Altman is passionate about bringing the art of effective writing to everyday Americans. In addition to writing this blog, Mr. Altman produces and hosts The Writer’s Toolbox Podcast, and he is currently developing a number of book projects that examine the role of language in popular media and everyday life. His book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, explores how adult writers can overcome the false writing rules learned in childhood. When he is not writing or teaching, Mr. Altman enjoys grilling out and savoring the mild summers of Central New York, where he is a professor of English at Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY).

Getting the Ellipsis Right

How to Write an Ellipsis

In addition to the many ways people misuse and misname the ellipsis, there is also some confusion regarding how to write an ellipsis, since it is made up of three periods. It’s simple: there should be a space between each period, and there should also be spaces before and after the entire ellipsis.

With that in mind, think of an ellipsis as being written this way:

space-dot-space-dot-space-dot-space

_._._._

Notice the spacing in the sentence we examined in a previous article:

I would have . . . let me see . . . well, about two dollars. (Correct Spacing)

Do you see the space after the verb have and the space before the word let? Those are the beginning and ending spaces. Notice also the space between each period. That is how to write an ellipsis.

Here is how many people botch the spacing of the ellipsis:

I would have…let me see…well, about two dollars. (Incorrect Spacing)

The (So-Called) Four-Dot Ellipsis

Some people abuse the poor ellipsis in yet another way: they write extremely long series of dots in attempts to show longer pauses. This is unnecessary–and . . . well . . . wrong! Others, unsure how to write the ellipsis, write four or even five dots, thinking that it represents a normal ellipsis. And, most often, such writers are unaware of the spacing. (Perhaps if they would insert the spaces, their ellipsis would indeed be longer, and they would not feel the need to . . . well, to compensate . . . for a lack of length.) Here is an example:

I would have……let me see……about ten dollars if I had a penny for every time I’ve seen a super-long (and super-wrong) ellipsis written. (Incorrect: Too Many Periods)

Now, I should mention that there are also cases where you may see what appears to be a four-dot ellipsis. For example, you may have noticed in past articles that I often end with the expression, “Stay tuned” (as if my blog is a television show!). Sometimes, if I want to give the reader a sense of waiting, I will end the “stay tuned” line with an ellipsis, like this:

To learn more, stay tuned for the next article. . . .

What is going on here? Why does this ellipsis have four dots?

Actually, the ellipsis doesn’t have four dots. What you see there is a perfectly healthy three-dot ellipsis, accompanied by a period to show end punctuation. Notice that the final sentence is a complete statement. The ellipsis shows that there is more to come after that statement. There is an intentional trailing off at the end of the sentence. It is there to leave the reader hanging. It says to the reader, “I will speak more on this point later. Stay tuned. (And now, although I have finished writing, I want you to keep waiting, as if my blog is all that matters in your life).”

Notice as well that the space before the ellipsis appears to be missing. While many grammar gods explain the ellipsis-period combination as an ellipsis followed by a period, I prefer to think of it as a period followed by an ellipsis. That order accounts for the lack of spacing before the (so-called) four-dot ellipsis.

What do I mean, you ask? Here is the conventional view of the ellipsis-period ending, with underlined periods to show the separation of punctuation:

Stay tuned. . . . (ellipsis followed by period: the spacing is irregular.)

Here is how I think of it:

Stay tuned. . . . (period followed by ellipsis: the spacing makes sense now.)

So, to return to our original example, here is the sentence without that cliffhanger ellipsis. Notice where the period is:

To learn more, stay tuned for the next article.

Now, if we add an ellipsis after the period, we have this:

To learn more, stay tuned for the next article. . . .

Also, this period-then-ellipsis perspective makes sense in terms of the order in which I am expressing my content. My cliffhanger ellipsis—my end hesitation—occurs after I have stated the full sentence. I show that cliffhanger effect by inserting the ellipsis after the period. There is a sentence, then a period, and then finally a trailing off.

In spoken conversation, we might show this end-sentence cliffhanger by the tone in which we end a statement, accompanied by a lingering, ironic, or even stern look that we leave with our listeners. For example, when I conclude a class session, I will often look directly at two or three students after I make my last statement. That look says, “I want you to remember that idea—not just for the final exam, but for the rest of your life.” (All good teachers know that look, and they use it regularly.) In writing, that look is best represented by the ellipsis. That is the look I give my readers after the cliffhanger sentence above. It says, “Hold this thought until the next article.”

What’s the Right Name? Is it Ellipsis and Ellipses?

You may have noticed that I have been using two terms in these ellipsis articles: ellipsis and ellipses. Which one is correct?

It depends. Ellipsis is the singular and ellipses is the plural. Also, each set of three dots counts as one ellipsis.

Check it out:

Chris hounds . . . I mean, challenges his students about their use of the ellipsis. (This sentence has one ellipsis.)

Wow, Chris, you are . . . for lack of a better word . . . a real nitpicker when it comes to people getting the ellipsis right. (This sentence has two ellipses.)

Here’s a related fun fact:

This –es versus –is ending is also true for the punctuation terms parentheses and parenthesis:

( ←This is a parenthesis (singular)

( ) ←These are parentheses (plural)

Well, that’s it for the ellipsis. Next up is another punctuation technique that is often misnamed: the hyphen. Stay tuned. . . .

•  How to Use Hyphens
  

Christopher Altman is passionate about bringing the art of effective writing to everyday Americans. In addition to writing this blog, Mr. Altman produces and hosts The Writer’s Toolbox Podcast, and he is currently developing a number of book projects that examine the role of language in popular media and everyday life. His book, Myths We Learned in Grade School English, explores how adult writers can overcome the false writing rules learned in childhood. When he is not writing or teaching, Mr. Altman enjoys grilling out and savoring the mild summers of Central New York, where he is a professor of English at Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY).