The Guardian UK – The Exclamation Mark!

May 7, 2009

Big red exclamation markGo to article…

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Neal Whitman May 7, 2009 at 8:12 pm

GSR folks,

Thank you for posting this article. You serve your readers so well. I welcome the reminder that punctuation is a tool that can serve writers well or not at all well. Words may be our stock-in-trade. But, oh! “Punctual as a Star” Emily Dickinson.

Amicus poeticae,

Neal

Kristina Baer May 8, 2009 at 12:01 pm

Too, too delicious!
1. Except in poetry, exclamation points should be used sparingly.(Fowler)
2. Women use more exclamation points than men. (Waleski)
No doubt someone, somewhere is building a database of exclamation point usage in poems by women!!!!
BTW: A “haha” is also the name of the ditch separating the groomed grounds from pasture and woodland on the English estate (ca. 18th-century). No need to post “No Trespassing!” signs. The haha served a dual purpose: It kept guests in and the livestock out. Very practical!

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