clearness, to make the meaning of the writer plain; and a pleasing
appearance that will make a favorable impression upon the reader
In formulating the rules, two things should be kept in mind--
clearness, to make the meaning of the writer plain; and a pleasing
appearance that will make a favorable impression upon the reader.
The sole purpose of punctuation marks is to help convey a thought so
clearly that it cannot be misunderstood and experienced writers
learn to use the proper marks almost intuitively. The rules are
applied unconsciously. Many correspondents in dictating designate
the beginning and the close of each sentence but others leave this
to the intelligence of the stenographer, and there is no better rule
for those to whom such matters are left than to be liberal in the
use of periods. Avoid long, involved sentences. There is little
danger of misunderstanding in short sentences.
