Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Look at me! How to use the exclamation mark.
Personally i used them without thinking just adding them in where i think they might be helpful to make my point, but as i read the rules about the exclamation mark i realized that they can be over -powering at times. Here are some rules that might help you along the path of exclamation marks.
The exclamation mark (!), known informally as a bang or a shriek, is used at the end of a sentence or a short phrase which expresses very strong feeling. Here are some examples:
That's fantastic!
Johnny, don't touch that!
Help!
Good heavens!
Examples like these are quite normal in those kinds of writing that try to represent ordinary speech ‹ for example, in novels. But exclamation marks are usually out of place in formal writing. Using them frequently will give your work a breathless, almost childish, quality.
An exclamation mark is also usual after an exclamation beginning with what or how:
What fools people can be!
How well Marshall bowled yesterday! Note that such sentences are exclamations, and not statements. Compare them with statements:
People can be such fools.
Marshall bowled very well yesterday. You can also use an exclamation mark to show that a statement is very surprising:
After months of careful work, the scientists finally opened the tomb. It was empty! It is also permissible to use an exclamation mark to draw attention to an interruption:
Do not use exclamation marks in formal writing!
*In 1848, gold was discovered in California! Don't use an exclamation mark unless you're certain it's necessary ,and never use two or three of them in a row.
A little summary of exclamation marks:
Don't use an exclamation mark unless it's absolutely necessary.
Use an exclamation mark after an exclamation, especially after one beginning with what orhow.
html">http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/department/docs/punctuation/node06.html
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Well Kyle, you caught me red handed! I am constantly using exclamation marks in my writing (that is excluding essays and such). It was helpful getting a nice overview on when is the correct time to use them and how they can be overused. I had no idea that a lot of times one may be needed after a sentence beginning with What or How. Thanks for the lesson! (oops).
ReplyDeleteMe too. I use exclamations a lot, often in clusters. I appreciated the lesson also and will try to remember to tone it down some.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you watch Seinfeld at all, but there is one episode where Elaine must write a paper for her boss and she really goes overboard with exclamation marks. It is funny because while her boss is trying to read it he really struggles with it, because of all the exclamation marks. It just goes to show the importance of knowing when to use them.
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