SEMICOLON

Use to link coordinate clauses. (I can’t eat strawberries; they give me a rash.)
Use with conjunctive adverbs such as however, therefore, hence, further, etc.. (John’s vacation was canceled; therefore, we had to change our plans.)

COLON

Use before a series of words or phrases when they are NOT preceded by an introductory word or phrase like "as follows" or "including the following." (I am taking three classes: history, math, and biology.)
Use to introduce quotations that are not worked into the text. (The sports article should say something like this: "The team has several problems with the coach.")
Use between titles and subtitles. (Research Papers: A Beginner’s Manual)
Use after salutations in letters. (Dear Sir)
Use between hours and minutes. (11:30)
Use between proportions. (5:3:1)
The colon can be used to separate independent clauses in formal writing in place of a semicolon.

ELLIPSIS

Use to show the omission of one or more words in a quote. The end punctuation (period, question mark) comes after the ellipsis if the last words in the quotation are left out. (Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth . . . a new nation . . . ."

HYPHEN

Use to divide a word at the end of a line.
Use in compound words. (Mother-in-law)

DASH

Indicates a shift in thought. (Power—not freedom—was important to him.) Since this is used for emphasis, it should be used sparingly or it will lose its impact.

PARENTHESES

Use around additions in sentences that add facts but do not alter the meaning. (The neighbor’s son (who spent all afternoon at the mall) came home around midnight.)
Use to enclose numbers. (The additions may be (1) illustrations, or (2) graphs.)
Commas and other punctuation marks are outside of parentheses unless the entire sentence is in parentheses.

UNDERLINING

Underline the titles of books and long poems.
Underline foreign expressions that have not been anglicized.
Underline words you want to emphasize, but, again, use sparingly or it loses its impact.

QUESTION MARK

Use at the end of a question. (Are you ready?)
Use when something is uncertain. (John Smith, born in 1932 (?).)

PERIOD

Use at the end of a sentence.
Use after an abbreviation. (We live on Sutter Dr., in a blue house.)
Use between dollars and cents. ($5.44)
Use before decimals. (6.78%)

QUOTATION MARKS

Ue quotes around titles of short stories, poems, articles, and chapters of books. ("The Wasteland")
Use around words that are used as words—not for meaning. (The word "bluff" is old in the English language.)
Use around quoted material. If the quote is more than one paragraph, put quotes at the beginning of each paragraph, but at the end of the last paragraph only.

DIVISION OF WORDS

Divide words between syllables.
It is almost always permissible to divide between double consonants.
Never leave only on letter on a line.
Don’t divide words of one syllable.
Both parts should be pronounceable.


(Some examples were taken from Index to English, sixth edition, by Wilma R. Ebbitt and David R. Ebbitt.)