Guest post by Julia McCoy
Something exciting has happened—and you want to tell the whole world about it, right? Naturally, you go to social media to announce your news.
You’re excited, knowing that your friends and family will be just as thrilled as you. You head to your Facebook or Twitter app and begin your new post with “Great news:” or “So, this happened:” or {insert your creative opener}.
Now you just need to end it.
Do you use an exclamation point? Do you use five or more? Is there really any limit to the number of exclamation points you can and should use?
I want to help you answer these questions. Thanks to Beth Dunn from HubSpot, we have a handy (and entertaining) flowchart. Next, I’m going to break this down for you and give you instant answers to your pressing exclamation point questions.
Exclamation Points & Their Overuse
All you have to do is log onto Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or whichever social channel you like and you’ll see people overusing exclamation points. People everywhere are using exclamation points at the end of every sentence and in abundance.
You’ve read the status that says, “OMG! This thing just happened to this person!!!! And it was so hilarious!!!!”
And if you’re any kind of decent grammar user like me, you probably cringe with each exclamation point you see overused.
This post is perfect for those of us who are tired of the exclamation point, as well as for those who might use it in each and every sentence. Take a journey with me to learn when to use one and when you should totally avoid it.
How Can You Use an Exclamation Point Properly?
You don’t always have to avoid using an exclamation point, but there are some super simple guidelines you can follow. To ensure exclamation success, ask yourself these questions (always) before hitting shift+1 on your keyboard at the end of a sentence.
1. Is What You’re Writing Very Important?
We all have important information we need to write about. It can take the form of emails, blog posts, or documents for clients or businesses. As you write something like this, you might be sorely tempted to use an exclamation point, but you need to ask yourself just how important the information is.
If it is something that is, as the flowchart says, vital to national interests, then you shouldn’t use that happy, excited little mark at all.
2. Is What You’re Writing Super Exciting?
First of all, before you ask if the thing you’re writing is super exciting, you need to ask yourself, “Am I easily excited?” If the answer is no, then chances are you won’t overuse the mark.
If you are easily overexcited, you need to make sure you really need the mark. Just because you’re excited about something doesn’t mean an exclamation point will make others excited.
In addition, if you use interjections such as “oh,” then you can use the mark. For example: “Oh! I didn’t realize that.”
Now, if you write about something that is exciting, well, there you go—exciting info is the best way to get readers excited.
3. Is What You’re Writing a Legitimate Emergency?
Yes? Then why the heck are you writing anything? In all emergencies, you should always call the proper authorities, right? And why are you still reading this?
Well, I guess if you do want to text someone about an emergency, in this case an exclamation point could be well worth it. That is, if you write something such as “hey” at the beginning of the message.
Again, just call emergency services instead of writing. Please.
When Should You Entirely Avoid an Exclamation Point?
As you can see, you can use an exclamation point (just one) when writing, but you need to be very careful.
Are you now wondering when you can’t use an exclamation point? Never fear—I am here to save the day.
1. Are You Writing a Highly Professional Email?
Professional emails can be a pain, can’t they? You’re always second-guessing yourself, and wondering if you should say one thing or another.
The one thing you shouldn’t second-guess is the use of an exclamation point. If you are writing a highly professional email, or even if you’re writing to a college professor about missing class, don’t use an exclamation point.
2. Are You Writing a Term Paper That Is 70 Percent of Your Grade?
Term papers are hard work, and you want every ounce of effort you put in to be appreciated. Whether the paper is 70 percent of your grade or only 20 percent, you still need to write it well and professionally.
As you write your term paper, you might just happen across some really exciting new information about the topic. Does this mean you can write about it and use tons of exclamation points to show how excited you are?
Nope.
Never use an exclamation point in your term paper—it could knock a few points off your overall grade.
3. Did You Already Use an Exclamation Point?
If you’re writing a blog post or something that isn’t highly professional, then you can use an exclamation point. But how do you know when you’ve used too many?
A great way is to read through and see if you’ve already used one—if you have, then you don’t need more. You’ll also notice that reading through your post or content will help immensely because you’ll start to realize that each place you put an exclamation point really didn’t need it.
Write Exciting Information. You Won’t Need a Billion Exclamation Points.
You don’t need to have exclamation points all throughout your content to convince people to be excited. Punctuation isn’t really going to impact them. However, when you write exciting content, people will read.
Get to work on some exciting information to share, and you are well on your way to creating content that will be enjoyable for every reader.
What are some of your experiences with the overuse of any punctuation mark? I’d love to hear in the comments.
from Grammarly Blog
http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2015/how-to-use-an-exclamation-point-properly-how-not-to-use-it/
No comments:
Post a Comment