A-manual-for-writers-of-research-papers-theses-and-dissertations

Special elements such as abbreviations, quotations, and citations have their own guidelinesfor punctuation, which are treated in relevant chapters in this book.If you are writing a thesis or dissertation, your department or university may have specificrequirements for punctuation, which are usually available from the office of theses anddissertations. If you are writing a class paper, your instructor may also ask you to followcertain principles for punctuation. Review these requirements before you prepare your paper.They take precedence over the guidelines suggested here. For style guides in variousdisciplines, see the bibliography.21.1 PeriodA period ends a sentence that is a declarative statement, an imperative statement, or anindirect question. A period can also end a sentence fragment, if the context makes itsrhetorical function clear. But this usage is rare in academic writing. In all these cases, theperiod is a terminal period and should be followed by a single space.Consider the advantages of this method.The question was whether these differences could be reconciled.Put a period at the end of items in a vertical list only if the items are complete sentences(see 23.4.2). Otherwise, omit terminal periods, even for the last item, and do not capitalize thefirst words.The report covers three areas:1. the securities markets2. the securities industry3. the securities industry in the economyIndividual periods can also be used in other contexts, including abbreviations (see especially24.1.3) and citations (16.1.2 and 18.1.2), and also in URLs (20.4.2, 17.1.7, and 19.1.8), wherethey are often called dots. Strings of periods, or dots, can be used in quotations (see 25.3.2),where they are called ellipses, and in tables (26.2.6) and front matter pages (A.2.1), wherethey are called leaders.Do not use periods after chapter and part titles and most subheadings (see A.2.2) or aftertable titles (26.2.2). For periods in figure captions, see 26.3.2.21.2 CommaCommas separate items within a sentence, including clauses, phrases, and individual words.They are especially important when a reader might mistake where a clause or phrase ends andanother begins:Before leaving the members of the committee met in the assembly room.www.itpub.net