Punctuation checklist

Keep it simple.

• Stick to short, simple sentences. Sentences that contain lots of punctuation tend to be complex and hard to read.

• End all sentences with a period, even if they're only two words.

• Use only one space after periods, question marks, exclamation marks, and colons.

• Include a colon at the end of a phrase that directly introduces a list.

  • If one or more list elements complete the introductory phrase preceding the colon, use a period after every list element. 
  • If all list elements are short phrases (three words or fewer), don’t end them with periods, even if they form a complete sentence together with the list introduction. 
  • If one or more list elements are complete sentences, use a period after every element, even if a list element contains three or fewer words.

• Include commas after every item in a series, including the last one.
  Example networks, storage, and virtual machines

  You might know that extra comma as the Oxford comma. Learn more.

• Use a comma following an introductory phrase, to join independent clauses with a conjunction, and to surround the year when you use a complete date within a sentence. Learn more.

• Use an apostrophe to indicate a missing letter in a contraction (such as don’t) and to form the possessive case of a noun (as in Insider’s Guide). Don’t use an apostrophe for the possessive of it (its) to avoid confusion with the contraction it’s. Learn more.

• When you use a colon in a sentence, lowercase the word that follows it unless it's a proper noun or the first word of a quotation. Learn more.

• A sentence that contains a semicolon might be complex. Try to rewrite the sentence as multiple sentences or break it into a list. Learn more.

• Use exclamation points sparingly. Save them for when they count.

• Use question marks sparingly. Customers expect us to give them answers. Learn more.

• Place closing quotation marks:

  • Outside commas and periods.
  • Inside other punctuation.

  Exception If punctuation is part of the quoted material, place it inside the quotation marks.

• In general, don’t use hyphens unless leaving them out could result in confusion. Learn more.

• Don’t use spaces around em dashes (—). Learn more.

• Don’t use a slash (/) to indicate a choice or as a substitute for or. Learn more.

• In general, format punctuation in the same font style as the main content of a sentence or phrase unless it's part of an element such as a command, option, keyword, placeholder, link, pop-up text, or user input.

Learn more about punctuation.