Punctuation Matters: Style and Punctuation in Scientific, Technical and Medical Writing (Routledge Study Guides)

Punctuation Matters gives straight answers the queries raised most frequently by practitioners in computing, engineering, medicine and science as they grapple with day-to-day tasks in writing and editing. The advice it offers is based on John Kirkman's long experience of providing courses on writing and editing in academic centers, large companies, research organizations, and government departments, in the UK, Europe and in the USA. Sample material discussed in the book comes from real documents from computing, engineering and scientific contexts, giving the guidelines an immediately recognizable, "true to life" relevance, which is both down-to-earth and up-to-date.

The book is clearly set out in three parts:

· Part 1 states a policy for clear and reliable punctuation

· Part 2 gives a series of alphabetically arranged guidelines, to be "dipped into" for guidance on how to use the main punctuation marks in English

· Part 3 contains appendices on paragraphing, word-division, and how conventions of punctuation differ from country to country.

Punctuation Matters is the essential guide for technical writers, editors and communicators, with clear explanations on punctuation, what it does and how to use it.