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The Best Punctuation Book, Period: A Comprehensive Guide for Every Writer, Editor, Student, and Businessperson Paperback – April 15, 2014
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Punctuate with Confidence—No Matter the Style
Confused about punctuation? There’s a reason. Everywhere you turn, publications seem to follow different rules on everything from possessive apostrophes to hyphens to serial commas. Then there are all the gray areas of punctuation—situations the rule books gloss over or never mention at all. At last, help has arrived.
This complete reference guide from grammar columnist June Casagrande covers the basic rules of punctuation plus the finer points not addressed anywhere else, offering clear answers to perplexing questions about semicolons, quotation marks, periods, apostrophes, and more. Better yet, this is the only guide that uses handy icons to show how punctuation rules differ for book, news, academic, and science styles—so you can boldly switch between essays, online newsletters, reports, fiction, and magazine and news articles.
This handbook also features rulings from an expert “Punctuation Panel” so you can see how working pros approach sticky situations. And the second half of the book features an alphabetical master list of commonly punctuated terms worth its weight in gold, combining rulings from the major style guides and showing exactly where they differ. With The Best Punctuation Book, Period, you’ll be able to handle any punctuation predicament in a flash—and with aplomb.
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTen Speed Press
- Publication dateApril 15, 2014
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.69 x 8.2 inches
- ISBN-109781607744931
- ISBN-13978-1607744931
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now
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From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Review
—Mignon Fogarty, author of Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
“Invaluable reference work for professional proofreaders, editors, and writers because it is the only book that presents Chicago, AP, APA, and MLA conventions side by side. (Acronym-free translation: for each use of each punctuation mark, this book clearly explains and illustrates the practices used by book publishers, the news media, social science publications, and nonscientific academic papers and journal articles.)”
—Amy Einsohn, author of The Copyeditor’s Handbook
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Punctuate this:
In general the writer who did well in college earning As and Bs knows that a young aspiring middle grade novelist has an equally good reason to join the writers group because what it is is a line up of super creative people who for conscience sake treat it like a sub group of their audience to gauge the readers sensibilities and practice copy editing something they started in the 1960s and 70s because it was in the founders words far out
Did you put a comma after in general? Did you put commas after writer, college, Bs, and group? Did you put apostrophes in A’s, B’s, writers’, conscience’, readers’, ’70s, and founder’s? Did you put hyphens in middle-grade, super-creative, and sub-group? Did you put a dash before something? Did you put quotation marks around far out but insert a period between the word out and the closing quotation mark?
If so, your passage probably looks a lot like this:
In general, the writer, who did well in college, earning A’s and B’s, knows that a young aspiring middle-grade novelist has an equally good reason to join the writers’ group, because what it is is a line up of super-creative people who for conscience’ sake treat it like a sub-group of their audience to gauge the readers’ sensibilities and practice copy editing—something they started
in the 1960s and ’70s because it was, in the founder’s words,
“far out.”
And you might think your polished, carefully punctuated passage is perfect. But you’d be wrong.
The Los Angeles Times would disagree with your apostrophes in A’s and B’s. Per that newspaper, it should be A’s and Bs. The Chicago Manual of Style would disagree on different grounds: in that style, it should be As and Bs. Any book editor would swiftly change your copy editing to copyediting. Then there’s your punctuation of “far out.” Most editors outside the United States would swap the places of your period and closing quotation mark.
It gets worse: your punctuation marks could even be creating factual errors. The writer, who did well in college refers to someone different than does the writer who did well in college. That comma changes the identity of the subject and even the number of people it represents because the writer who did well in college can refer to every student who did well in college.
Are you really sure that just one founder called it far out? Or could those be the founders’ words? How sure are you that you’re talking about the readers’ sensibilities and not the reader’s sensibilities? Are you certain you want to leave line up as two unhyphenated words? Are you confident that an em dash is a better choice for setting off that final thought than parentheses or a colon? How would you explain your choice to leave a comma out of what it is is?
How would you feel if, after leaving a comma out of young aspiring middle-grade novelist, you saw a highly respected publication use the same phrase except with a comma after young?
On the surface, punctuation is simple stuff: a system of clear, well-documented rules we all learned in school. But when you sit down to write an article or a story or a business email or a blog post, suddenly it’s not so simple. One after another, situations arise in which the basic rules you thought you knew are no help at all. If you start looking for answers, it can get even more confusing. One of the most well-respected and influential style guides in the country will tell you to put just one comma in red, white and blue. But if you take that as gospel, you’ll be lost when you notice that nearly every book you pick up prefers to throw in another comma before the and, writing it red, white, and blue.
And heaven help you if you start paying attention to how professional editors use hyphens. The truth is, punctuation can be very difficult. Professional writers don’t know it all. Even professional editors look things up, debate them with colleagues, and are sometimes still left guessing.
No one knows everything there is to know about every punctuation mark, and no one is expected to. But that leaves any amateur or professional writer to ask: So what am I expected to know? Will I look stupid if I put a comma here or an apostrophe there? Or do even professional editors share my confusion on this matter?
A lot of people assume that there’s a single correct answer for every punctuation conundrum. Either a comma belongs in a certain spot or it doesn’t. Either the possessive of James is formed by adding an apostrophe plus an s, or it’s formed by adding the apostrophe alone.
The good news here is also the bad news: often there’s more than one right answer. Whether to use a certain punctuation mark can be a matter of choice—the writer’s way of emphasizing his meaning, creating rhythm, or making the words more pleasing to the eye. Other times these questions boil down to a matter of style—the kind with a capital S that’s laid down by one of the publishing world’s official playbooks. Still other times, there is only one correct choice, and if you fail to choose it, you can inadvertently change your meaning.
The goal of this book is let you punctuate every sentence, even those that fall into the gray areas of punctuation rules or style differences, with complete confidence.
Product details
- ASIN : 1607744937
- Publisher : Ten Speed Press
- Publication date : April 15, 2014
- Edition : First Edition
- Language : English
- Print length : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781607744931
- ISBN-13 : 978-1607744931
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.69 x 8.2 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #20,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7 in Creative Writing Composition
- #18 in Grammar Reference (Books)
- #22 in Words, Language & Grammar Reference
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

June Casagrande is author of the weekly syndicated "A Word, Please" grammar column that runs in newspapers in Southern California, Florida, and Texas. She runs the GrammarUnderground.com grammar tips website. She has worked for the Los Angeles Times' community news division as a reporter, features writer, copy editor, and city editor. She currently copy edits Special Sections of the Los Angeles Times and teaches copy editing online for UC San Diego Extension.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this punctuation guide comprehensive and easy to understand, with clear explanations and a well-organized structure. The book serves as a great reference for writers, helping them improve their writing skills and providing clear rules for different styles. They appreciate how it references differences in punctuation usage, and one customer notes it's particularly useful for SAT test preparation.
AI Generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the punctuation guide helpful and practical, with one mentioning it's particularly useful for novelists, while another notes it serves as a handy quick-reference tool.
"Very useful, especially for explaining the different Styles...." Read more
"Well written, easy to read and very helpful book! I do proof reading and editing and there are lots of times I need to look up punctuation questions...." Read more
"Good resource!" Read more
"An indispensable book for college students, writers, editors, and proofreaders" Read more
Customers find the punctuation guide informative and comprehensive, with detailed explanations throughout, making it a great reference guide for writers, editors, students, and businesspeople.
"...The comparisons are not only interesting, but informative, thus making the book much more interesting, helpful and understandable for its reading..." Read more
"This is really a comprehensive, user-friendly punctuation book. It is great for proofreaders, and anyone who is doing formal writing." Read more
"Solid Information! This book is very useful for Editing, Proofreading, and Writing." Read more
"...He was thrilled and said it would be a great reference guide." Read more
Customers find this punctuation book to be a perfect guide that references differences in usage and is great for brushing up on grammar skills, with one customer noting how each section breaks down the uses of each punctuation mark.
"...punctuation book, period." It should be called, "The best punctuation book, period. Exclamation point!"" Read more
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"good grammar book." Read more
Customers find the punctuation guide easy to understand and read, with clear explanations.
"Provided me what I needed to become a better writer. Easy to understand. I was not overwhelmed with too much info." Read more
"...The book is very useful and easy to use, everything is carefully crafted and explained. I highly recommend it!" Read more
"Well written, easy to read and very helpful book! I do proof reading and editing and there are lots of times I need to look up punctuation questions...." Read more
"It IS the best punctuation book ever! Easy to read and follow and understand." Read more
Customers find this punctuation guide essential for writers, providing answers to many questions and helping them improve their writing skills.
"This book is written with clarity and is an excellent review for someone of any age or station in life. I will get a copy for my college age daughter." Read more
"Well written, easy to read and very helpful book! I do proof reading and editing and there are lots of times I need to look up punctuation questions...." Read more
"This is an excellent book and answers a lot of questions for writers, editors, and proofreaders...." Read more
"Perfect for my job, essays, and just writing in general. Highly recommend." Read more
Customers find the book well organized, with one mentioning its simple-to-use layout.
"...The Best Punctuation Book is well organized, well thought out, and easy to use...." Read more
"The book is well organized and an excellent resourse." Read more
"It really is the best punctuation book, ever! I love the way the book is organized...." Read more
"...This book is well and logically organized. Thank you, Ms. Casagrande!!!" Read more
Customers appreciate the punctuation guide's comprehensive approach, with one customer noting how it breaks down rules by style, while another mentions how it clarifies style-triggered rules.
"...There is a useful Appendix with great definitions and examples covering parts of speech: clauses, phrases, sentences, and sentence fragments...." Read more
"...It has great rules and tips. This book also has the rules according to different styles: CMOS, APA, etc...." Read more
"...What I particularly like is that it handles different rules for different situations: books, newspapers, scientific papers, and academic research...." Read more
"Very well organized review of basic grammar. The rules are broken down by style, so you can concentrate on learning the rul es for your style of..." Read more
Customers find this punctuation guide to be a good reference book.
"Great reference" Read more
"...This is a great reference to keep me working in the right Style...." Read more
"It's a reference book for me; one that should be in every writer's library." Read more
"This was a good reference book for me. I just wish it explained some rules in more detail...." Read more
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Great quick and easy resource!
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2024Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseVery useful, especially for explaining the different Styles. As a proofreader/copyeditor, it can be confusing jumping between Styles on different jobs. This is a great reference to keep me working in the right Style. I expect it would be useful to anyone writing pretty much anything, as so far I have not had any punctuation question for which this book did not have an answer, and the answers have been amazingly easy to find. This book is well and logically organized. Thank you, Ms. Casagrande!!!
- Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2020Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI purchased this book as well as "Grammar 101" (hardcover) from Amazon. While I prefer the print quality and simplicity of the "101" book better for quick references, this is an indispensable tool, and if you write across various styles, it's the better of the two for sure.
This book breaks down grammatical and punctuation references and if there are variations in preference between styles, say AP and MLA or Chicago, it offers a handy quick-reference tool to illustrate those differences.
I've been a sports and humanitarian photojournalist for nearly two decades and frequently use AP and MLA styles. In addition, I've begun dabbling in novel writing and the book styles are becoming increasingly helpful.
If you just want a quick writing reference, I recommend "101" for it's simplicity and elegant layout. If you need to dig deeper into writing variations, grab this one. Better yet, get both!
- Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2025Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI swear my writing has gotten better thanks to this book. Each section breaks down the uses of each punctuation and how you' use them in a plethora of situations. Love how it breaks down the types of jobs and how they would use said punctuations. There's even a glossary at the end showing slang and lingo you may need to know.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2020Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis is a great book if you want something for a quick answer. I am a writer and although I have the Chicago Manual of Style, it is a large book with a wealth of knowledge: that doesn't mean I want to use that hefty book every time I am unsure about something. So this is a convenient companion to that Bible for writers. Casagrande's rules and recommendations are based on: The Chicago Manual of Style, Associated Press Stylebook, Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, and Webster's New World College Dictionary.
She defines punctuation marks, tells you how to use them, then gives examples for how they are used in book editing, news media and business writing, science, and academic styles.
There is a useful Appendix with great definitions and examples covering parts of speech: clauses, phrases, sentences, and sentence fragments. A Punctuation A-Z chapter which is like an index or cheat sheet for further usage examples.
Also, in case you need more evidence of how invaluable this book is, she used the help of a panel of experts. They are professional editors, copyeditors, and agents.
This is a great book to add to your home library. If it had exercises at the end of each chapter, I would have given it 5stars.
4.0 out of 5 starsThis is a great book if you want something for a quick answer. I am a writer and although I have the Chicago Manual of Style, it is a large book with a wealth of knowledge: that doesn't mean I want to use that hefty book every time I am unsure about something. So this is a convenient companion to that Bible for writers. Casagrande's rules and recommendations are based on: The Chicago Manual of Style, Associated Press Stylebook, Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, and Webster's New World College Dictionary.Great quick and easy resource!
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2020
She defines punctuation marks, tells you how to use them, then gives examples for how they are used in book editing, news media and business writing, science, and academic styles.
There is a useful Appendix with great definitions and examples covering parts of speech: clauses, phrases, sentences, and sentence fragments. A Punctuation A-Z chapter which is like an index or cheat sheet for further usage examples.
Also, in case you need more evidence of how invaluable this book is, she used the help of a panel of experts. They are professional editors, copyeditors, and agents.
This is a great book to add to your home library. If it had exercises at the end of each chapter, I would have given it 5stars.
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2015Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseJune Casagrande addresses the different punctuation rules to apply according to the different style guides (i.e., book style, MLA, APA). The comparisons are not only interesting, but informative, thus making the book much more interesting, helpful and understandable for its reading audience. Her layout in the book is excellent and easy to follow. In addition, the author also employs a panel of experts to discuss some gray areas when addressing punctuation rules. I gleaned much information that I was not formally aware of before reading this book. For example, after reading the book more closely, I learned that the apostrophe rule differs in academic writing after reading the book more closely. (My last review was incorrect about apostrophes.) This will serve as a great reference guide I can reference. I also plan to write out a few of the rules so I can remember them more clearly. This book deserves more than 5 stars! Excellent!
- Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2023Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseIn the past I have spent much time trying to google answers to the complexities of punctuation, but it's all here in this one book. Plus the recognition that different audiences, i.e books, new, academic, and science often have different rules. No serious writer should be without this book. Not only is each topic explained with examples, but the second part is an encyclopedia. So glad I bought the paperback, it now resides right next to me when I am editing. Congratulations to the author who seriously researched all these topics and explained each in a very, understandable way. Thanks!!!
- Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2019Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI love that this book starts by asking you to add punctuation to an unpunctuated paragraph. This is a great example of how a comma here, an apostrophe there, isn’t necessarily right or wrong depending on the style guide you use.
Each punctuation mark has its own chapter. The rules that pertain to that punctuation mark are broken down by the four major style guides: book (CMOS), news (AP), scientific (APA), and academic (MLA). I like this format because it allows you to see the different styles in juxtaposition. You’ll find examples of correct and incorrect ways to punctuate a sentence, and a panel of editors were consulted for their punctuation preference on the more ambiguous rules.
The second section is an alphabetized list of commonly confused words and is incredibly helpful when it comes to understanding whether to hyphenate, open, or close a compound word.
The Best Punctuation Book is well organized, well thought out, and easy to use. Anyone who wants to improve their punctuation skills will want to add this book to their library.
Top reviews from other countries
AarónReviewed in Mexico on July 27, 20225.0 out of 5 stars Great book. Easy to use
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI recommend this book. It is very easy to understand.
Karen MaceReviewed in Australia on September 15, 20205.0 out of 5 stars An Essential on My Desk
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI have a number of books to help me with editing and proofreading, as well as online resources. However, even though I've only had this book for a couple of days, it is now, along with Strunk and White, an essential item on my desk. Highly recommended.
Lise ZulakReviewed in Canada on June 15, 20245.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Resource!
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI bought this as an addition to a course I am taking and I would highly recommend getting this book for anyone who is a word nerd. I am training to be a proofreader and editor and this book has some great information in it on the basics and beyond. It is very easy to read and understand--I have at least half of it highlighted now haha.
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Cliente AmazonReviewed in Italy on March 12, 20195.0 out of 5 stars Consigliato
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseOttimo testo
Sharon BanesReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 20185.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseGreat book in print and on Kindle, very useful for my business. Shipped rapidly and received ahead of schedule.


























