نقطه‌گذاری در کار: اصول ساده برای دستیابی به وضوح و سبک خوب

Good punctuation is more than just a matter of courtesy: in workplace writing, a sentence should yield its meaning instantly. But when punctuation is haphazard, readers need to work to understand or guess at the writer's intent. ''Punctuation at Work'' provides readers with 18 common sense principles to live by, helping them to avoid time-wasting confusion, questions about professionalism and sometimes even serious and costly miscommunication. From hyphens and semicolons to brackets and quotation marks...all the way to ellipses (and the eternal struggle between 'that' and 'which'), this book shows readers how to use correct punctuation to make meaning clear and emphasize their most important ideas. Contents......Page 6 Introduction......Page 8 Author’s Note......Page 16 Definitions......Page 18 1. Punctuation can’t rescue sense from nonsense.......Page 28 2. The main reason to punctuate is to clarify your intent.......Page 30 3. One of punctuation’s tasks is to supply the various signals given by the voice.......Page 32 4. In workplace writing, a sentence should yield its meaning instantly.......Page 35 5. Punctuation should be invisible.......Page 38 6. Punctuation follows the arrangement of words.......Page 40 7. Punctuation indicates how ideas relate.......Page 43 8. Punctuation suggests how much emphasis an idea deserves.......Page 45 9. Punctuation slows the reading.......Page 48 10. Don’t count too much on context to make your meaning plain.......Page 52 11. Know the difference between restrictive and non-restrictive expressions.......Page 55 12. Respect the distinction between that and which.......Page 59 13. When is punctuation optional?......Page 65 14. Use the serial comma.......Page 72 15. When do I separate adjectives with a comma?......Page 75 16. Use the hyphen to clarify “improvised usage.”......Page 79 17. Sometimes, no matter how you punctuate, a reader is going to think it’s wrong.......Page 85 18. Feed your head.......Page 86 19. When you see an odd usage, consider the source.......Page 87 Apostrophe......Page 90 Brackets......Page 96 Colon......Page 102 Comma......Page 105 Dash......Page 121 Ellipsis......Page 125 Hyphen......Page 127 Parentheses......Page 134 Period......Page 142 Question Mark......Page 148 Quotation Marks......Page 149 Semicolon......Page 156 Slash......Page 162 Punctuating Common Sentence Structures......Page 165 Appendix: How to List Ideas......Page 182 Notes......Page 196 C......Page 204 E......Page 205 N......Page 206 Q......Page 207 S......Page 208 Z......Page 209 Contents 6 Introduction 8 Author’s Note 16 Definitions 18 What You Need to Know First: 19 Principles 28 1. Punctuation can’t rescue sense from nonsense. 28 2. The main reason to punctuate is to clarify your intent. 30 3. One of punctuation’s tasks is to supply the various signals given by the voice. 32 4. In workplace writing, a sentence should yield its meaning instantly. 35 5. Punctuation should be invisible. 38 6. Punctuation follows the arrangement of words. 40 7. Punctuation indicates how ideas relate. 43 8. Punctuation suggests how much emphasis an idea deserves. 45 9. Punctuation slows the reading. 48 10. Don’t count too much on context to make your meaning plain. 52 11. Know the difference between restrictive and non-restrictive expressions. 55 12. Respect the distinction between that and which. 59 13. When is punctuation optional? 65 14. Use the serial comma. 72 15. When do I separate adjectives with a comma? 75 16. Use the hyphen to clarify “improvised usage.” 79 17. Sometimes, no matter how you punctuate, a reader is going to think it’s wrong. 85 18. Feed your head. 86 19. When you see an odd usage, consider the source. 87 The Marks 90 Apostrophe 90 Brackets 96 Colon 102 Comma 105 Dash 121 Ellipsis 125 Hyphen 127 Parentheses 134 Period 142 Question Mark 148 Quotation Marks 149 Semicolon 156 Slash 162 Punctuating Common Sentence Structures 165 Appendix: How to List Ideas 182 Notes 196 Index 204 A 204 B 204 C 204 D 205 E 205 F 206 G 206 H 206 I 206 J 206 L 206 M 206 N 206 O 207 P 207 Q 207 R 208 S 208 T 209 U 209 V 209 W 209 Y 209 Z 209 081441494X,9780814414941 AMACOM In the workplace, good punctuation is much more than a matter of correctness. It's a matter of efficiency. Professionals who aren't sure how to punctuate take more time than necessary to write, as they fret about the many inconsistent and contradictory rules they've picked up over the years. Good punctuation is also a matter of courtesy: In workplace writing, a sentence should yield its meaning instantly, but when punctuation is haphazard, readers need to work to understand – or guess at – the writer's intent. Weak punctuation results in time-wasting confusion, questions about professionalism, and some times even serious and costly miscommunication. Without using the jargon of grammar — and providing 18 common sense principles to live by — Punctuation at Work shows busy professionals exactly how the marks can be used to make meaning clear and emphasize ideas. All the marks are covered, with hundreds of examples taken from today's workplace. From hyphens and semicolons to brackets and quotation marks...all the way to ellipses (and the eternal struggle between “that” and “which”), this book explains the many ways punctuation makes things plain. Through his company the Lauchman Group, author Richard Lauchman has trained professionals in the area of business writing for over thirty years. Now, in this essential guide, he reveals how good punctuation is the key to clear written communication and to emphasizing ideas without the help of vocal tone or facial cues. Using eighteen common-sense grammar principles to live by, he teaches readers how to improve their business writing and provides them with the tools to make the whole process go a lot faster--doing away with time-wasting fretting over the placement of a mark and any confusion or accidental unprofessionalism in your compositions. In Punctuation at Work, youll discover how to utilize all of the most important marks--from hyphens to semicolons to brackets to quotation marks . . . to ellipses--as well as how to overcome the eternal struggle between using that and which, and much more. With hundreds of examples taken from todays workplaces, this book explains the many ways correct punctuation makes successful business writing a breeze.

You'll never be perplexed by punctuation again! With 19 easy rules of thumb and A hundreds of illuminating examples, Punctuation at Work shows you how to wield commas, semicolons, dashes, quotation marks, apostrophes, and more with the precision you need to get your message across-clearly, accurately, and instantly.

With 19 easy rules of thumb and hundreds of illuminating examples, Punctuation at Work shows you how to wield commas, semicolons, dashes, quotation marks, apostrophes, and more with the precision you need to get your message across--clearly, accurately, and instantly. --From publisher's description Proper punctuation isn't just for school teachers--it's for anyone in the workplace who wants to communicate professionally ... and clearly!