Punctuation

Index
  1. Bolding/italicizing and other emphasis
  2. Commas (the serial comma or Oxford comma)
  3. Parentheses (round brackets)
  4. Spacing

Bolding/italicizing and other emphasis⚓

Follow the MSeL guidelines for emphasis, namely:

  • only bold key words or phrases

  • only use italics for references

  • only use underline for hyperlinks

  • emphasize titles with increased font size and/or type (see templates).

Commas (the serial comma or Oxford comma)⚓

Do not put a comma before “and” in a list. This is because the comma means “and”. Click here[1] for examples.

However, you may put one if it would otherwise lead to confusion. Click here[2] for examples.

Parentheses (round brackets)⚓

A parenthetic comment which stands alone as a sentence should have the full stop inside the closing parenthesis. Click here[3] for examples.

A parenthetic comment which does not stand alone should have the punctuation outside the closing parenthesis. Click here[4] for examples.

Spacing⚓

There should never be a space between words and: colons (:), semicolons (;), question marks (?) and exclamation marks (!). Click here[5] for examples

You can put a space between words and slashes (/). However, most English-speaking people only do this for titles, headings, subheadings, etc. If you think it looks clearer, then put a space, but in running text you usually shouldn't.

TipSome tips for using punctuation in e-learning content:⚓

  • Never use punctuation in buttons.

  • Use a full stop for multiple-choice options if the options are complete sentences. Do not use a full stop if the options are a single word or sentence fragment.

  • Use punctuation after a URL if it is at the end of a sentence, but make sure that any punctuation is not part of the link as this may prevent it from opening.