Avoid complex punctuation like semicolons, parentheses, and dashes.<\/p>\n
Always put a comma after \u201cfor example\u201d. Put a comma before as well if it\u2019s part of a sentence.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/span><\/strong> The pay stub must give the pay period, for example, April 16 to May 1.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Use serial commas. They help avoid confusion.<\/p>\n Use:<\/span><\/strong> Your attorney can be a family member, a close friend, or anyone else you trust.<\/p>\n Not:<\/span><\/strong> Your attorney can be a family member, a close friend or anyone else you trust.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dashes are used to punctuate a break within a sentence. But for basic readers, this can be confusing. It\u2019s best to keep sentences short and limit them to one idea.<\/p>\n Do not hyphenate words so they break over 2 lines. This includes compound words. For example, for a word like \u201cstep-parent\u201d, do not make a break between \u201cstep-\u201d and \u201cparent\u201d.<\/p>\n As a general rule, do not<\/strong> use parentheses.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a common practice in legal writing use parentheses to:<\/p>\n But some people do not read text that\u2019s set inside parentheses. And if they do read it, they may not easily see its relationship with the rest of the sentence.<\/p>\n Write:<\/span><\/strong> Sign your tenancy agreement. This is also called a lease.<\/p>\n Not:<\/span><\/strong> Sign your tenancy agreement (lease).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Use \u201cdouble\u201d not \u2018single\u2019 quotation marks.<\/p> For print<\/strong> materials, use smart or curly quotes.<\/p>\nUse serial commas<\/h3>\n
Dashes<\/h2>\n
Hyphens<\/h2>\n
Parentheses<\/h2>\n
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Quotation marks<\/h2>\n