A page-turning, existential romp through the life and times of the world's most polarizing punctuation mark. The semicolon. Stephen King, Hemingway, Vonnegut, and Orwell detest it. Herman Melville, Henry James, and Rebecca Solnit love it. But why? When is it effective? Have we been misusing it? Should we even care? In [this book, the author] charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the world...

When all the punctuation marks in Mr. Wright's class decide to take a vacation, the students discover just how difficult life can be without them.

Presents an illustrated guide to the punctuation marks of parentheses and ellipses. Features descriptions and examples of how to use them properly, as well as practice activities.

See how using (or not using) a comma can change the meaning of a sentence.

Explains the grammatical function of the period in a sentence.

Explores five marks of punctuation including the apostrophe, the comma, the exclamation point, the period, and the question mark through the story of Mark Monday and his disinterest in using punctuation.

"Few punctuation marks elicit quite as much love or hate as the exclamation point. It's bubbly and exuberant, an emotional amplifier whose flamboyantly dramatic gesture lets the reader know: here be feelings! F. Scott Fitzgerald famously stated exclamation points are like laughing at your own joke; Terry Pratchett had a Discworld character say that multiple !!! are a 'sure sign of a diseased mind'. So what's the deal with ! ? AN ADMIRABLE POINT recuperates...

Presents an illustrated guide to apostrophes and quotation marks. Features descriptions and examples of how to use them properly, as well as practice activities.

Explains the characteristics of different types of sentences and punctuation. Contains activities that allow readers to familiarize themselves with punctuation's uses. Includes color photographs.