(48) A few matters of form

一些写作形式问题

Highlights from Chapter 3 <<The Elements of Style>> by Strunk and White

1. Headings:

1) Leave a blank line, or its equivalent in space, after the heading.
2) Omit the period after a title or heading.

2. Hyphen:

1) When two or more words are combined to form a compound adjective, a hyphen is usually required.

Example: She entered her boat in the round-the-island race.

2) Do not use a hyphen between words that can better be written as one word:

bell-boy -> bellboy; wild-life->wildlife; bed-chamber->bedchamber

3. Margins:

Keep righthand and lefthand margins roughly the same width.

4. Numerals:

Do not spell out dates or other serial numbers. Write them in figures or in Homan notation, as appropriate.

Examples: August 15, 2010; Rule 3; Part XII

5. Parentheses:

A sentence containing an expression in parentheses is punctuated outside the last mark of parenthesis exactly as if the parenthetical expression were absent. The expression within the marks is punctuated as if it stood by itself, except that the final stop is omitted unless it is a question mark or an exclamation point.

6. Quotations:

1) Formal quotations cited as documentary evidence are introduced by a colon and enclosed in quotation marks.
2) A quotation grammatically in apposition or the direct object of a verb is preceded by a comma and enclosed in quotation marks.
Ex: Mark Twain says, “A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”
3) When a quotation is followed by an attributive phrase, the comma is enclosed within the quotation marks.
Ex: “I can’t attend,” she said.

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