Some Punctuation Rules You Need to Follow in Academic Papers

In an academic paper, no one can deny the importance of punctuation rules. A set of symbols and signs which indicate the expressions of pauses, introductions and omissions in writing is known as punctuation. It is necessary for the students to follow the punctuation rules in the academic papers because if a student doesn’t follow the punctuation rules, he will not be able to get the best grades. There are some students who face some problems regarding the punctuation rules while writing academic papers. Here, experts of dissertation proposal writing services will explain some punctuation rules which are necessary to follow in the academic papers.

Period: The period is also known as a full stop. A period is one of the most important punctuation marks while writing an academic paper because it provides a sense of completeness to a sentence. After putting a period at the end of each sentence means that you can take a breath here. Some examples of periods are given below;

• They are playing video games.
• We have completed our work.

Semi-colon: While writing an academic paper, sometimes, we have to use two or more than two clauses. In order to merge two independent clauses, we use a semi-colon. The semi-colon provides shorter pause to a sentence whereas a period provides a longer pause to a sentence. Some examples of semi-colon are explained below;

• You need a break; otherwise, you will not be able to perform your duties in an effective way.
• Let’s visit the library; there are more than 50 interesting books.

Comma: If a student wants to divide a sentence into manageable chunks, he has to use a comma. Its reason is that commas are the best way to insert interesting pauses into the sentences. Anyhow, the students should avoid using an excessive amount of commas in the sentences. If we want to separate words and a group of words into simple series, we also use commas. Some examples of commas are given below;

• John, Dalton and Ally are good friends.
• My estate goes to my son, daughter and husband.

Colon: If we are going to introduce some words, phrases and quotations, we have to use colons. There are various technical and formulaic contexts in which colons are used. Some examples of the use of colons are given below;

• Walton plays three sports: cricket, football and hockey.
• I don’t like sweet cake: it has too many calories.

Quotation mark: While writing an academic paper, sometimes, we have to use direct quotations from other sources. In order to get rid of plagiarism issues, we have to put these quotations in the punctuation marks. If we are going to explain the direct quotation of a person, it is also necessary for us to enclose his quotation in the punctuation marks. Some examples of the quotations marks are explained below;

• My father said, “Don’t cheat anybody”.
• The words “beautiful, pretty, lovely and wonderful” are synonyms.

Along with these punctuation rules, the students should also try to take care of ellipsis, the exclamation mark, the question mark and bracket while writing an academic paper.