Re: Editor on Board (TECHWR-L Digest - 4 Jul 1999 to 5 Jul 1999 ( #1999-80))

[Donald Le Vie <dlevie -at- VLINE -dot- NET>]

Parenthetical material usually clarifies information that precedes it
without altering its meaning. While parenthetical material may not be
critical to the sentence structure, it can certainly interject interesting
information to readers...are you questioning the use of the parenthesis
themselves or the use of parenthetical material?

...in the same vein...why even use quotation marks around dialogue? Some
novelists don't use them. Are they trying to be "novel" or just stroking
their own egos? Try reading a novel (not a short story) that's full of
dialogue but doesn't use quotation marks and see how far you get before
you're selling that book in a garage sale...

IMHO, I think we have bigger fish to fry...

Donn Le Vie
Integrated Concepts

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael S Larson [SMTP:mike_l3 -at- JUNO -dot- COM]
> Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 1999 10:31 PM
> To:   TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject:      Re: Editor on Board (TECHWR-L Digest - 4 Jul 1999 to 5 Jul
> 1999 (#1999-80))
>
> I've never understood the reason for/concept of having it all one way or
> all the other.  If someone quotes an entire sentence:
>         "I can't believe were're discussing rules for using quotes."
> it doesn't seem to make sense to apply the same rule as when someone
> quotes only one word:
>         The use of quote marks in that case was deemed "silly".
> It seems in the first case that the period is clearly part of the quoted
> text while in the second it is just as clearly not part of the quoted
> text.  I know that we don't apply different rules, but I don't know why.
>
> Which leads to the question, is there a reason for the rule (or is it
> entirely an arbitrary creation of the Gods of English).
> (And is the use of parentheses any different?)
>
> Mike Larson
>
> Lisa:
>
> I recently queried this myself with my old editing instructor. This
> person is
> always my absolute source as she's been editing for many years in many
> genres.
> Anyway, she says if you have made the stylistic desicion to put your
> punctuation
> inside the quotes then it is always inside the quotes, even for single
> words. If
> you have decided to put punctuation outside the quotes, then it's always
> outside.
>
> Barbara Hubert
>
>
> Is there an editor on board?  I have a pet peeve, and I want to know if
> it is based in fact or opinion.
> I have often seen periods used outside of quotation marks as in the
> following example:
>         The girl said "Arrrgh".
> This has appeared so often that I am now questioning my own understanding
> of puntuation rules which, as I recall, say that periods must be placed
> within the quotation marks at the end of a sentence as in this example:
>         The girl said "Arrgh."
> Pondering the greater questions of life in St. Louis...
>
> Lisa Miller
> Technical Writer
> lisa -dot- miller -at- anheuser-busch -dot- com
>
>
> From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=
> =
>


 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=