writing for non writers handout

Email & Punctuation

By: Julia Vyse For: Anyone Really

Punctuation guide

The following list is taken directly from John Scalzi’s blog. I did not create it in any way, except to copy it verbatim and change the formatting a little. Everything after punctuation – email onward, is directly from me. ~ citations are important

Punctuation – quick & dirty Periods: When you’re writing down a thought and you’re at the end of that thought, put a period. Commas: When you’re writing down a thought and you want to take a breath, whether mental or physical, put in a comma. Semi-colon: Put these in your writing in the place where, in conversation, you’d arch your eyebrow or make some other sort of physical gesture signaling that you want to emphasize a point. Colon: Use when you want to make an example of something: For example, just like this. Question Mark: Quite obviously, when you have a question. Exclamation point: When you’re really excited about something. You almost never need to use more than one in a paragraph. Use more than one in a sentence and you damn well better be using it for humorous and/or ironic effect. Dashes: You can use these when you’ve already used a colon or a semi-colon in a sentence, but be aware that if you have more than one colon or semi-colon in a sentence, you’re probably doing something wrong.

Email – quick & dirty No formats or colours: don’t hurt my eyes with your words. Also, I’m reading this on a phone, so plain black and white please. Use bullets: Chop up those ideas or actions so I can easily respond. Headings help: Use bold or underlines to make it easier to parse your epic tale of client feedback, meeting notes, whatever. Address your recipients: This is more about bolding and using headings. If your email goes to more than one person (@cc doesn’t count) separate what you expect from each of them so it’s clear. Assume not all the email will be read: If only one bit of your magnum opus is about me, that’s the only part I’m reading.

Self Editing

1.  Take your sweet time 2.  Limit your first edit to major themes 3.  Then check for spelling & grammar 4.  Take it apart. Does it make the point you want to make? Does it answer the question?

Self Editing

Start with a re-read. Say it out loud when you can Cut and keep cutting