■Parenthesis

Parentheses are used to emphasize content. They place more emphasis on the enclosed content than commas. Use parentheses to set off nonessential material, such as dates, clarifying information, or sources, from a sentence.

Muhammed Ali (1942-present), arguably the greatest athlete of all time, claimed he would “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

■Dash

Dashes are used to set off or emphasize the content enclosed within dashes or the content that follows a dash. Dashes place more emphasis on this content than parentheses.

Perhaps one reason why the term has been so problematic—so resistant to definition, and yet so transitory in those definitions—is because of its multitude of applications.

In terms of public legitimacy—that is, in terms of garnering support from state legislators, parents, donors, and university administrators—English departments are primarily places where advanced literacy is taught.

The U.S.S. Constitution became known as “Old Ironsides” during the War of 1812—during which the cannonballs fired from the British H.M.S. Guerriere merely bounced off the sides of the Constitution.

To some of you, my proposals may seem radical—even revolutionary.

Use a dash to set off an appositive phrase that already includes commas. An appositive is a word that adds explanatory or clarifying information to the noun that precedes it.

The cousins—Tina, Todd, and Sam—arrived at the party together.

■Quotation Marks

Use quotation marks to enclose direct quotations. Note that commas and periods are placed inside the closing quotation mark, and colons and semicolons are placed outside. The placement of question and exclamation marks depends on the situation.

He asked, “When will you be arriving?” I answered, “Sometime after 6:30.”

Use quotation marks to indicate the novel, ironic, or reserved use of a word.

History is stained with blood spilled in the name of “justice.”

Use quotation marks around the titles of short poems, song titles, short stories, magazine or newspaper articles, essays, speeches, chapter titles, short films, and episodes of television or radio shows.

“Self-Reliance,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Just Like a Woman,” by Bob Dylan

“The Smelly Car,” an episode of Seinfeld

Do not use quotation marks in indirect or block quotations.

■Italics

Underlining and Italics are often used interchangeably. Before word-processing programs were widely available, writers would underline certain words to indicate to publishers to italicize whatever was underlined. Although the general trend has been moving toward italicizing instead of underlining, you should remain consistent with your choice throughout your paper. To be safe, you could check with your teacher to find out which he/she prefers. Italicize the titles of magazines, books, newspapers, academic journals, films, television shows, long poems, plays of three or more acts, operas, musical albums, works of art, websites, and individual trains, planes, or ships.

Time

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

The Metamorphosis of Narcissus by Salvador Dali

Amazon.com

Titanic

Italicize foreign words.

Semper fi, the motto of the U.S. Marine Corps, means “always faithful.”

Italicize a word or phrase to add emphasis.

The truth is of utmost concern!

Italicize a word when referring to that word.

The word justice is often misunderstood and therefore misused.

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