Apostrophes
For the use of apostrophes to show possession, see Possessives.
For the use of apostrophes with dates and years, see Dates.
Commas
CalArts uses the serial, or “Oxford” comma: the final comma in a list of three or more items, placed immediately before the coordinating conjunction (usually “and” or “or”): Steve’s Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Em-dashes
Use an em-dash (Mac: option + shift + hyphen; Windows: alt + 0151) to indicate a significant change in thought or meaning—a significant pause—whether the change is in the middle or at the end of a sentence. Do not include spaces before or after the em-dash.
Example: True to CalArts’ founding ethos, artists in our community—students and faculty alike—work across metiers in dialogue with one another. Note that AP style does not use the en-dash.
Hyphens
Use a hyphen to indicate indicate ranges: June 23-27, 6-9 p.m. If the range is preceded by “from” in a sentence, spell out “to” instead of using a hyphen: From June 23 to 27, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Use hyphens in phone numbers: 661-255-1050
Hyphens are often used to create compound adjectives. If two or more words combine to describe a noun, they are generally hyphenated: ruby-red slippers, know-it-all critic. Words that are very commonly used together do not require a hyphen: high school valedictorian, health care provider. When in doubt, check Merriam-Webster.
Periods
Omit periods in most uppercase abbreviations and acronyms: US, LA, NY, CAP, REDCAT, MFA
Use periods in most lowercase abbreviations: i.e., e.g.
Quotation marks
Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks, whether or not they’re part of the quotation.
Colons and semicolons go outside the quotation marks.
Question marks and exclamation points go inside the quotation marks if they’re part of the quotation, and outside if they’re not.
Example:
The director called the opening night “a total disaster”; however, the lead actor asked, “Wasn’t my performance good enough?”
Was the critic who attended fair when she wrote, “Despite opening-night stumbles, the cast’s performance was sublime!”?
Avoid the use of single quotation marks, with two exceptions:
- Quotes within quotes: If a quotation appears within another quotation, use single quotation marks for the interior quotation: The critic wrote, “Although the director said the opening night was ‘a total disaster,’ I still highly recommend this play.”
- Headlines: AP uses only single quotation marks in headlines.
- Headline: Mayor says ‘no’ to new tax plan
- Body of story: The mayor said “no” to the new tax plan.
For quotation marks with titles of essays, stories, songs, etc. see Titles.