How to Use Commas Before Coordinating Conjunctions

A coordinating conjunction is a word that connects different parts of a sentence. Commas must be placed before coordinating conjunctions that separate independent clauses—word groups that can function as complete sentences.

• Example: The mother went to the store, but the child went to school.

In the above example, “The mother went to the store” is an independent clause, and “the child went to school” is also an independent clause. Both word groups can function as complete sentences. For this reason, a comma is placed before the coordinating conjunction but.

Do not use a comma before a coordinating conjunction if it belongs to a word group that is not an independent clause.

• Example: The mother went to the store but not the bank.

In the above example, “The mother went to the store” is an independent clause, but the phrase “not the bank” is not an independent clause. Therefore, the phrase "not the bank" cannot function as a complete sentence. For this reason, a comma is not placed before the coordinating conjunction but.

How to Use Commas with Items in a Series

Commas for two items in a series

Do not use a comma if a sentence contains a list of only two items.

• Example: I like apples and bananas.
• Example: I like to paint and sing.

Do not use a comma if a sentence contains a list of only two items, even if each item is described with many words.

• Example: I like apples baked with walnuts and bananas topped with chocolate and whipped cream.

In the above example, no commas are required. Even if many words are being used to describe items in a list, from a grammatical standpoint there are only two items being listed: 1. apples [baked with walnuts] and 2. bananas [topped with chocolate and whipped cream].

Commas for three or more items in a series

Use commas to separate three or more items in a series.

• Example: The café's smoothie flavors are apple, mango, strawberry, and banana.
• Example: The café's smoothie flavors are apple, mango, strawberry and banana.

In the first example, a comma is placed before the last item in the list, and banana. In the second example, a comma is not placed before the last item in the list. Both sentences are grammatically correct. A comma that comes before the last item in a list is known as a serial comma or Oxford comma.

The Oxford comma is used to make sure that lists are not confusing. In the example above, without the use of the Oxford comma, a reader may think that the café sells a strawberry and banana smoothie, when the café actually sells a strawberry smoothie and a banana smoothie.

In MLA style, always use the Oxford comma.

Commas for two adjectives in a series

If two adjectives modify the same word, separate them with a comma only if the adjectives are coordinate. A set of coordinate adjectives are adjectives of equal importance.

• Example: The hot, humid day seemed to drag on forever.
• Example: The humid, hot day seemed to drag on forever.

In the above examples, both pairs of adjectives are coordinate because they modify the same nouns and are of equal importance.

A set of two coordinate adjectives can also be separated by the word and rather than by a comma.

• Example: The hot and humid day seemed to drag on forever.
• Example: The humid and hot day seemed to drag on forever.

If the set of two adjectives are not coordinate, do not use a comma.

• Correct: The juggler used three yellow balls.
• Incorrect: The juggler used yellow three balls.

In the above examples, three and yellow are not considered of equal importance grammatically, so the set of adjectives is not coordinate. Only three yellow balls is correct. Since the set of adjectives is not coordinate, a comma is not used to separate them.

Coordinate adjectives are especially tricky for English-language learners, because proper usage is determined more by context than by hard and fast rules. Refer to the Parts of Speech section for more information about coordinate adjectives.

Commas for three or more adjectives in a series

Use commas to separate three or more adjectives in a series. The coordinating conjunction and may be placed before the final adjective.

• Example: The hot, humid, rainy day seemed to drag on forever.
• Example: The hot, humid, and rainy day seemed to drag on forever.

Both examples above are grammatically correct. Generally, the use of and before the final adjective is more common in both informal and academic writing.

Use Commas After Introductions

Sometimes, your writing may include an introductory word, clause, or phrase at the beginning of a sentence to provide additional context. A comma should generally be used to separate an introduction from the independent clause of a sentence.

Introductory words

Use a comma after introductory words like however, nonetheless, or furthermore.

• Example: Film production was halted due to the pandemic. Nonetheless, the actors continued to rehearse their roles.

Introductory clauses

If a dependent clause comes before an independent clause in a sentence, use a comma to separate the clauses. Do not use a comma if the independent clause comes first in the sentence.

• Example: Once the snowstorm ended, we had an epic snowball fight.
• Example: We had an epic snowball fight once the snowstorm ended.

Introductory phrases

Use a comma to separate a long introductory phrase from the independent clause in a sentence.

• Example: Before the biggest snowstorm of the year, we made sure to gather firewood.

If an introductory phrase is only a few words long, comma usage is optional.

• Example: Before the snowstorm, we made sure to gather firewood.
• Example: Before the snowstorm we made sure to gather firewood.

How to Use Commas to Separate Unnecessary Words

Unnecessary words

Sentences sometimes contain words that provide additional context or information but are not strictly necessary for the sentence to function.

For a word to be considered unnecessary, it must:

• Not serve a critical role in the grammar of the sentence
• Not serve a critical role in the meaning of the sentence

Use a comma to separate unnecessary words from the rest of a sentence.

Here is an example of a sentence with an unnecessary word.

• Example: She stayed home.
• Example: She, however, stayed home.

In the examples above, She stayed home functions as a complete sentence, so the word however is not grammatically necessary. Both examples above convey the same information, so however is not critical to the meaning of the sentence either.

Words that are grammatically necessary

Here is an example of a sentence where a word is grammatically necessary.

• Correct: However hungry the dog may be, don’t feed him your hamburger.
• Incorrect: However, hungry the dog may be, don’t feed him your hamburger.
• Incorrect: Hungry the dog may be, don’t feed him your hamburger.

In the examples above, the word However is necessary for the grammar of the sentence to work. The word However should not be separated by a comma.

Words that are necessary for meaning

Here is an example where a word is necessary for the meaning of a sentence. Imagine that you have two sisters, Catherine and Julie.

• Example: Your sister came to visit you.
• Example: Your sister Catherine came to visit you.

In the above example, the word Catherine is not separated by commas because it is critical to the meaning of the sentence. Without the word Catherine, it is not clear which sister came to visit.

Now imagine that Catherine is your only sister.

• Example: Your sister came to visit you.
• Example: Your sister, Catherine, came to visit you.

In the above example, the word Catherine is separated by commas because it is not critical to the meaning of the sentence. There is only one person that your sister could be referring to.

Other Uses of Commas to Consider

Numbers

Use a comma to separate the thousands place in a numeral.

• Example: 1,000
• Example: 30,000
• Example: 999,999,999

Remember that different style guides have different rules on when to use a numeral and when to use the word form of a number (in other words, 10 instead of ten).

Place-names

Use commas to separate place-name elements from each other. A place-name element is a location name like a street address, city, state, country, or campus.

• Example: I visited my friend in Atlanta, Georgia, a few days ago.
• Example: I visited my friend in Paris, France, a few years ago.
• Example: Pittsburgh, PA, is home to some of the nation’s largest steel mills.
• Example: I presented at a conference at the University of South Florida, Tampa, on the topic of sustainability.

When multiple place-names are listed together in a sentence, a comma should come after the last place-name element, unless it is the last word in the sentence.

• Example: I went to the campus bookstore at 2727 Mansfield Blvd., Wesley Chapel, Florida, to purchase textbooks for my class.

Do not use a comma if there is only one place-name.

• I visited my friend in Atlanta a few days ago.
• I presented at a conference at the University of South Florida on the topic of sustainability.
• I went to the campus bookstore at 2727 Mansfield Blvd. to purchase textbooks for my class.

No matter which style guide you are following, the numbers in a place-name should be represented by numerals. 

Dates

Use a comma for dates expressed in month-day-year format. When this date format is used in a sentence, a comma should come after the year, unless it is the last word in the sentence.

• Example: Comic book writer Stan Lee was born on December 28, 1922, and died on November 12, 2018.

Do not use a comma for dates expressed in day-month-year format.

• Example: Comic book writer Stan Lee was born on 28 December 1922 and died on 12 November 2018.

When using a month and a year in a sentence or a season and a year in a sentence, do not separate the elements of the date with a comma.

• The so-called "Y2K bug” that was supposed to cripple computer systems on January 2000 was vastly overblown.
• I graduated at the end of spring 2022.

No matter which style guide you are following, the numbers in a date should be represented by numerals.

Separating signal phrases from sentence quotes

A signal phrase identifies who is speaking when a quote is used in a sentence. Use commas to separate signal phrases from their quotes.

If a signal phrase comes after a quote, place the comma before the end quotation mark. 

• Example: “There will be an earthquake along the Santa Barbara fault within the next ten years,” according to Morelli.

If a signal phrase comes before a quote, place the comma before the first quotation mark.

• Example: According to Morelli, “There will be an earthquake along the Santa Barbara fault within the next ten years.”

If a signal phrase interrupts a single quoted sentence, follow both of the rules above.

• Example: “There will be an earthquake,” according to Morelli, “along the Santa Barbara fault line within the next ten years.”

How to Use Contractions

A contraction is used when two words are joined, leaving out one or two letters. Place an apostrophe in place of the missing letter(s).

• Example: did not – didn’t
• Example: should have – should’ve
• Example: it is – it's

How to Show Possession

When a noun belongs to another noun, use an apostrophe to show possession. There are different rules for possession depending on whether the noun is singular or plural.

Possession for singular nouns

Add an apostrophe and the letter s (’s) to indicate possession in a singular noun.

• Example: The coat belongs to the girl – the girl’s coat
• Example: The shoes belong to Kelly – Kelly’s shoes

Add an apostrophe and the letter s (’s) even when a singular noun ends in s.

• Example: The car belongs to Charles – Charles’s car
• Example: The house belongs to Bill Jones – Bill Jones’s house

Note: Instructors and style guides sometimes accept the use of an apostrophe without an s when a singular noun ends in s (Charles’ car, Bill Jones’ house). However, this style choice is not always accepted, so it is safer to use an apostrophe and an s for all singular nouns.

Possession for plural nouns

If a plural noun does not end in an s, add an apostrophe and the letter s (’s).

• Example: The rights of women – women’s rights
• Example: The department for children – children’s department

If a plural noun ends in an s, add an apostrophe but do not add the letter s.

• Example: The coat belongs to the girls – the girls’ coats
• Example: The house belongs to the Smiths – the Smiths’ house

How to Use the Plural Form of a Lowercase Letter

Use an apostrophe and the letter s (’s) when pluralizing a lowercase letter.

• Example: The book contained a printing error that turned all its h’s into b’s.

Do not use an apostrophe and the letter s (’s) to pluralize uppercase letters.

• Example: Professor Vanya holds multiple PhDs.
• Example: Aiden earned all As in his classes last semester.
• Example: The Ps are my favorite section of the library.

How to Address Problems with Apostrophes

There are some uses of the apostrophe that can be troublesome and confusing. Here are guidelines for some of these common issues.

Do not use an apostrophe to make a noun plural.

• Correct: The dogs ran in the yard.
• Incorrect: The dog’s ran in the yard.
   
• Correct: These books are on sale.
• Incorrect: These book’s are on sale.

Do not use apostrophes to form the plural of an abbreviation or number.

• Correct: EMTs
• Incorrect: EMT’s
   
• Correct: the 1800s
• Incorrect: the 1800’s

Use an apostrophe to show possession for the plural form of a year.

• Example: The 90s’ grunge rock scene is coming back in style.
• Example: The effects of the 1960s’ Civil Rights Movement are still being felt today.

Do not confuse contractions with similar sounding words.

Its and It’s

The word it’s is the contraction of it is or it has.

• Example: It is a beautiful day.
• Example: It’s a beautiful day.
   
• Example: It has been nice to know you.
• Example: It’s been nice to know you.

The word its is the possessive form of it.

• Example: My car needs to have its engine checked.
• Example: Its steering wheel just came off, too.

Who’s and Whose

The word who’s is the contraction of who is.

• Example: Who is coming to the party?
• Example: Who’s coming to the party?

The word whose is the possessive form of who.

• Example: Whose car alarm keeps going off?
• Example: Whose music do you like best?

They’re, Their, and There

The word they’re is the contraction of they are.

• Example: They are going to see the movie.
• Example: They’re going to see the movie.

The word there is the possessive form of they.

• Example: They forgot their keys.

The word there is a demonstrative that shows location.

• Example: I left my glasses over there.

Would’ve, Could’ve, and Should’ve

The words would’ve, could’ve, and should’ve are contractions with the word have. These words are sometimes mistakenly rendered as would of, could of, and should of.

Would of, could of, and should of are considered grammatically incorrect. Always use have or the contracted form ’ve instead.

• Correct: I would have gone to the mall if you’d invited me.
• Correct: I would’ve gone to the mall if you’d invited me.
• Incorrect: I would of gone to the mall if you’d invited me.
   
• Correct: I could have gone directly to college, but I chose to take a gap year first.
• Correct: I could’ve gone directly to college, but I chose to take a gap year first.
• Incorrect: I could of gone directly to college, but I chose to take a gap year first.
   
• Correct: I should have asked how my sister was doing.
• Correct: I should’ve asked how my sister was doing.
• Incorrect: I should of asked how my sister was doing.

How to Use Periods

A period is used to indicate that a sentence is a statement or a command.

• Statement: I completed my homework on time.
• Command: You need to finish your homework before it’s due.

Periods with abbreviations

Periods are used in some abbreviations. When an abbreviation with a period is used at the end of a sentence, don’t use an extra period to end the sentence. 

• Example: I asked her to come at 10 a.m.

Periods with quotation marks

Periods should be placed inside a quote.

• Correct: Morticia said, “The graveyard is very beautiful.”
• Incorrect: Morticia said, “The graveyard is very beautiful”.

Use a comma instead of a period if the end of a quote is not the end of the sentence.

• Correct: “The graveyard is very beautiful,” Morticia said.
• Incorrect: “The graveyard is very beautiful.” Morticia said.

Periods with parentheses

Sometimes parentheses come at the end of a sentence, such as when citing a source or making a side comment. Punctuation should always come after the end of the parentheses.

• Example: The study measured “cooperative play in baby kittens” (Jones 1).
• Example: The art exhibition was a huge success (thanks largely to Gerard’s help).

How to Use Question Marks

Question marks are used at the end of questions. When there is a question mark, there should not also be a period since the question mark is the end punctuation.

Sometimes, a sentence that is a question has some quoted words. The question mark still goes at the end of the sentence:

• Example: Does anyone really know whether "the earth will be impacted by a meteor in the near future"?

If there is a quoted question in a sentence, then the question mark goes inside the quotation marks:

• Example: He asked, “Who is going?”

Sometimes, there is a question about whether a sentence contains a direct question.

• Example: He asked about who was going.

With this phrasing, there is no direct question. It is an indirect question. Question marks should not be used.

Question marks can also be used for rhetorical questions – questions used for persuasion.

• Example: The earth has been gradually warming since the end of the last Ice Age. Are humans really speeding up this warming trend or is it just part of the natural process?

How to Use Exclamation Points

An exclamation point is used to show strong emphasis or importance.

• Example: “Put down the box!” the woman yelled.

Ordinarily, we would use a comma to separate out the words that say who says a quote (a signal tag).  However, a comma is not used next to an exclamation point.

Exclamation points are rarely used in research writing.  When it is used in a direct quote, only one exclamation point is used.  Don’t add additional exclamation points to be more emphatic.

• Correct: Stop!
• Incorrect: Stop!!

Other Punctuation Issues

Comma splices and run-on sentences often confuse a reader. 

Comma Splices

A comma splice is a grammatical error that occurs when a comma is used to incorrectly combine two independent clauses into a single sentence.

Here is an example of a comma splice.

• Incorrect: I climbed up the mountain, the view at the top was breathtaking.

A comma splice can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses into two sentences.

• Correct: I climbed up the mountain. The view at the top was breathtaking.

A comma splice can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses with a semicolon.

• Correct: I climbed up the mountain; the view at the top was breathtaking.

A comma splice can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

• Correct: I climbed up the mountain, and the view at the top was breathtaking.

Run-on Sentences

A run-on sentence is a grammatical error that occurs when punctuation is missing at the end of a sentence, causing it to fuse with the sentence that comes after it.

Here is an example of a run-on sentence.

• Incorrect: I climbed up the mountain the view at the top was breathtaking.

A run-on sentence can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses into two sentences.

• Correct: I climbed up the mountain. The view at the top was breathtaking.

A run-on sentence can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses with a semicolon.

• Correct: I climbed up the mountain; the view at the top was breathtaking.

A run-on sentence can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

• Correct: I climbed up the mountain, and the view at the top was breathtaking.

When to Use Quotation Marks in Titles

Use quotation marks for the titles of short works. Short works are items that are usually published in a larger work or collection. Common examples include songs, poems, pages from websites, and articles from periodicals (journals/magazines/newspapers).

• Example for a Journal article: "Empathetic Approaches to Nursing"
• Example for a Song: "Bad to the Bone"
• Example for a Poem: "A Supermarket in California"
• Example for a Web page: “Eleven Secrets to Improving Your Essay”

Use italics for standalone works such as books, plays, online databases, periodicals (journals/magazines/newspapers), and websites.

• Example for a Book: Moby Dick
• Example for a Play: Fences
• Example for a Website: CNN.com
• Example for a Periodical: The New Yorker

When to Use Single Quotation Marks

Use single quotation marks for quotes inside of quotes. Use apostrophes to serve as single quotation marks. Single quotation marks follow the same rules as regular quotation marks.

• Example: The professor said, “Read the article entitled ‘How to Grow Hydroponic Tomatoes.'” 
• Example: In her essay on creativity, the author states, “According to Sigmund Freud, dreams are ‘the royal road to the unconscious,’ and new research is proving him right.”

How to Format Long Quotes

For MLA style, if you are quoting more than four lines (not sentences), do not use quotation marks. Indent the quote one inch from the left margin, and use a colon instead of a comma for any introductory words.

Here is an example of a long quote:

• In a famous essay, Helen Keller explains her adventurous take on life: Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

When to Use Parentheses

Parentheses and additional information for context

Use parentheses to provide additional information or context that is separate from a sentence’s main idea.

• Example: Godzilla is a giant monster (known in Japan as a kaiju) made famous by the 1954 Japanese film of the same name.

Use parentheses to provide contextual information, such as the years a historical person was alive.

• Example: Georgia Hamilton (1903-2001) was born on a rural farm and witnessed tremendous technological changes over her lifetime.

Parentheses for in-text citations

Use parentheses at the end of a sentence to provide an in-text citation.

• Example: In the opening line of Moby Dick, Ishmael says, “Call me Ishmael” (Melville 1).

How to Use Brackets

Brackets and parentheses

Use brackets to avoid placing parentheses inside parentheses.

• Example: The members of the Koreshan Unity (established by Cyrus Teed [1839-1908] as a utopian community) believed that the Earth was surrounded by a giant, hollow sphere.

Brackets and changes made to quotes

Use brackets to indicate when you have changed the exact words in an author’s quote.

• Example: "In anticipation of an attack, he [Julius Caesar] ordered his men to guard the city gates."

Brackets and ellipses

If you are quoting material that already has an ellipsis in the text, then any ellipses you add to the quote should be placed in brackets.

• Original text: Fred sat thoughtfully for a while before saying, “I don’t know why …. But I have a feeling, a very certain and unshakable feeling, that you and I are about to become best friends.”
• Correct: Early in the novel, the protagonist says, “I don’t know why …. But I have a feeling [. . .] that you and I are about to become best friends.”

[sic]

The word sic comes from the Latin phrase sic erat scriptum, which means “thus was it written.” It is used to show that an error in a quote is not your mistake and was present in the original text.

Use [sic] to indicate when you are providing a quote that has an error in it.

• Example: An angry Twitter user told me to “keep my dogg [sic] on a shorter leash.”

How to Use Slashes

Slashes to indicate or

Use slashes instead of the word or.

• Example: If or when Chet comes home, he’s going to be grounded for life.
• Example: If/when Chet comes home, he’s going to be grounded for life.

Slashes and quoting poetry

Use slashes with a space on either side to separate quoted lines of poetry.

• Example: In Sonnet 43, Elizabeth Barrett Browning writes, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. / I love thee with the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach…”

Slashes and opposing pairs

Use slashes when discussing nouns that operate as opposing pairs.

• Example: In the film Blade Runner, the authentic/fake binary is explored by following the lives of androids.

When opposing pairs are used as a compound adjective, use hyphens rather than slashes.

• Example: The nature-nurture debate is an active topic in science.

How to Use Hyphens (-), En Dashes (–), and Em Dashes (—)

In this section, we will be discussing the hyphen, the en dash, and the em dash. Most writers recognize the hyphen, but not everyone is familiar with the en dash or em dash. These are known as special characters because they do not appear on most standard keyboards.

You may come across en dashes and em dashes in academic and professional writing, and at some point, you may be required to use them. This section will discuss these special characters and provide instruction on how to type them in both Microsoft and Apple products.

How to type en dashes and em dashes

En dashes and em dashes are considered special characters, so they do not appear on a standard keyboard. Many word processors, like Microsoft Word, will automatically detect when two hyphens (--) are used without spaces to connect two words and will attempt to convert them to the correct dash character. There are also shortcuts that can be used to insert dashes.

• En dash:
  • Mac shortcut: Option + Hyphen (-)
  • Windows shortcut: Alt + 0150 on numpad
  • Microsoft Word shortcut: Alt + Hyphen (-) on number pad
• Em dash:
  • Mac shortcut: Shift + Option + Hyphen (-)
  • Windows shortcut: Alt + 0151 on numpad
  • Microsoft Word shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + Hyphen (-) on number pad

Hyphens (-)

Hyphens are used in coequal nouns, compound adjectives, and some compound nouns. They are also used to hyphenate compound words together when a prefix or suffix is added.

Hyphens in coequal nouns
When describing someone or something with multiple nouns, if the nouns are of equal importance, they may be presented as coequal nouns by connecting the nouns with hyphens.

Here are examples of coequal nouns:

• Example: Taylor Swift is a singer and songwriter.
• Example: Taylor Swift is a singer-songwriter.
• Example: Jack has a career as an animator, illustrator, and videographer.
• Example: Jack has a career as an animator-illustrator-videographer.

Hyphens in compound adjectives

A compound adjective is a single adjective that is made of multiple words.

Here are examples of compound adjectives.

• Example: He is a world-class violinist.
• Example: I took a fast-acting painkiller.

Hyphens in compound nouns

A compound noun is a noun that is made of multiple words. Some compound nouns, like ice cream, do not require hyphens, while others do.

Here are examples of compound nouns that require hyphens.

• Example: I am so glad that I actually like my mother-in-law.
• Example: Julie and Sarah were runners-up in the contest.
• Example: The museum called the police once they found out about the break-in.

Hyphenating compound words when adding a prefix or suffix

When a prefix or suffix is added to a compound noun or compound adjective, the word group should be hyphenated for clarity. This is true even if the compound words are not normally connected by a hyphen.

Consider the compound noun fine arts, which is usually not hyphenated. If the suffix -based is added, then fine arts becomes fine-arts-based. This is done to clarify that the suffix -based is modifying the fine arts, not just arts.

• Example: She attended the art school for its fine-arts-based curriculum.
• Example: She attended the art school for its curriculum, which was based in the fine arts.
   

• Example: She attended the art school for its fine arts-based curriculum.
• Example: She attended the art school for its arts-based curriculum, which she thought was fine, but nothing special.

Note: In handwritten or typewriter-written documents, a hyphen is often used at the end of a line of text to continue a word on to the next line. This practice is generally not followed for contemporary academic writing.

En Dashes (–)

The en dash is used instead of a hyphen when connecting a prefix or a suffix to a proper noun that is more than one word. When using an en dash to connect a prefix or a suffix to a word, do not put any spaces before or after the en dash.

• Example: The movie starred an Academy Award–winning actor.

Em Dashes (—)

The em dash is used when an idea is being interrupted, when clarification is needed, when elaboration is needed, or when items are being listed in a sentence. The em dash should be used sparingly in your writing.

Em dashes for interruptions:

Use em dashes when you are interrupting the main idea of a sentence. If the interruption occurs at the end of the sentence, use a single em dash. If the interruption occurs in the middle of a sentence, put em dashes before and after the interruption. Do not put spaces before or after an em dash.

• Example: I want to be a landscape photographer and have my work featured on the cover of National Geographic—even though my parents want me to go to medical school.
• Example: My brother—who got his medical degree as a foot doctor—told me to pursue my dreams.

Em dashes for clarification:

Use em dashes to clarify meaning when commas would be too ambiguous.

• Example: Shakespeare never reveals if the symptoms of Hamlet’s madness—paranoia, violence, and visions—are the real thing or a trick he’s pulling on the court.

Consider if the sentence were written only using commas:

• Example: Shakespeare never reveals if the symptoms of Hamlet’s madness, paranoia, violence, and visions are the real thing or a trick he’s pulling on the court.

Without em dashes, the meaning of the sentence is more grammatically ambiguous. When only using commas, the word madness could be part of the list rather than the category under which the other words are listed.

Em dashes for elaboration:

Use em dashes when elaborating on an idea with words like for example or namely.

• Example: The restaurant offered specialty burgers based on world cuisines—for example, a Korean kimchi burger.
• Example: The bowl of spaghetti was knocked all over the kitchen floor. The principal offender—namely, Mister Fluffers—was my roommate’s adopted cat.

Em dashes for lists:

Em dashes can be used for lists instead of colons.

• Example: The soft-serve ice cream stand offered all the usual flavors—vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and swirl.

How to Use Italics

Italics and underlining are considered identical in many style guidelines, and different publication styles have different preferences on which to use. Do not underline in MLA style.

Italics for long, published works

Use italics for names of long, published works such as magazines, journals, newspapers, and websites.

• Example: Scientific American (magazine)
• Example: Academic Search Complete (database)
• Example: Tampa Bay Times (newspaper)
• Example: Ask.com (website)

Italics for artwork and vessels

Use italics for names of artwork and names of ships and aircraft.

• Example: Mona Lisa
• Example: USS Enterprise
• Example: Enola Gay

Italics for special uses of words and letters

Use italics for words and letters used as words and letters.

• Example: She learned her ABCs.
• Example: My phone number has a lot of fours in it.

Use italics when referring to a word, especially when introducing or defining it as a term.

• Example: The word truthiness was coined by Stephen Colbert.
• Example: Macbeth’s tragic flaw, or hamartia, is his political ambition.

Use italics for a foreign word; use quotation marks for its translation.

• Example: The Russian word krasnaya can mean either “red” or “beautiful.”
• Example: Mano-a-mano is a Spanish term meaning “hand to hand.”

Since so many foreign words have been incorporated into English and are now considered English words, there is not always a clear distinction between an English word and a foreign word. A dictionary will often note if an entry is considered a foreign term by including descriptions like “a French phrase.”

Italics should not be used to convey emphasis in academic writing.

How to Use an Ellipses

An ellipsis (plural ellipses) is used to show that words have been omitted within a quote. An ellipsis signals to the reader that your usage of a quote alters it from its original form or context. In MLA style, an ellipsis consists of three spaced periods.

An ellipsis is not needed when quoting a word or a phrase, as readers generally understand that these are not the full original text.

• Original text: The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma.
• Correct: In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode “The Secret Box,” Patrick Star states that the operations of his mind “are an enigma.”
• Incorrect: In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode “The Secret Box,” Patrick Star states that the operations of his mind “. . . are an enigma.”

Ellipses in the middle of quotes

Use an ellipsis if you are omitting material from within a single sentence of your quote.

• Original text: One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections. The bedding was hardly able to cover it and seemed ready to slide off any moment. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked.
• Example: Franz Kafka’s story The Metamorphosis begins by stating that “Gregor Samsa . . . found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin” (1).

If your quote omits an entire sentence or more, use an ellipsis, but add a period before it.

• Example: Franz Kafka’s story The Metamorphosis begins by stating, “One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. . . . His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked” (1).

Ellipses at the end of quotes

If your quoted material appears to be a grammatically complete sentence, use an ellipsis to signal to the reader that there was more to the original text.

If an in-text citation comes directly after an ellipsis at the end of your quote, then include an ellipsis before the closing quotation mark and place a period at the end of the in-text citation.

• Original text: The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!”
• Example: In On the Road, Jack Kerouac writes, “The only people for me are the mad ones . . .” (25).

If an in-text citation does not come directly after the ellipsis at the end of your quote, add a period before the ellipsis.

• Example: On page 25 of On the Road, Jack Kerouac writes, “The only people for me are the mad ones. . . .”
• Example: In On the Road, Jack Kerouac writes, “The only people for me are the mad ones. . . .” He goes on to describe how these people “burn” like fireworks (25).