So, how to write and not sound like an oaf. Be careful of the seemingly humble point.
It’s not just a sentence-tidy when writing. A full stop can make your writing sound bloody-minded, assertive, curt, arrogant and rude.
It can affect your tone of voice or the way you’re saying something. This makes it something you need to handle with care when it comes to writing copy.
It can make your writing clear
And it could make what you’re writing sound final. Indeed, it can make what you’ve said in your writing a fait accompli.
No, wait, in fact it is a fait accompli. It is, if you think about it, and don’t think it’s just me showing off my limited French.
And when you’re talking about massively long and tiresome sentences that go on and on, and on a bit more, before finally staggering and lurching to a halt, it’s a relief. Often a welcome relief.
Stand back for that clamouring question.
So what is the point?
Yes, yes, we know it’s a little punctuation mark, usually roundish, which makes it a dot. I guess you could say it’s the impression of a point, where the point is like the point of a pencil. Or spot or fleck or speck.
Woah, now before you start, let’s leave aside the zillions of other points in the universe like ones to do with hunting, sailing, decimalisation, advance guards, cricket, red setters and printing and just concentrate on this one here: .
And anyway, this is my blog and I decide what I write in it. So there. (Gosh, it works doesn’t it, if you’re now feeling a bit riled. Or is it roiled.)
And, and, if you’re American, your word for point is, anyway, period. Or full stop. And let’s please not go into all the other periods we can think of and try and stay on track. Got it? Good. See what I did there?
Actually, think I prefer slam dunk to fait accompli.
Anyhow, our point, our period, has more aliases than a prolific spy. Like stop, full stop, full point.
It is, in essence, regardless of how you write, most commonly a mark that shows the end of a declarative sentence in your copywriting. Wow, that took a while getting out, but got there in the end.
But my favourite use of it is, oddly, when it isn’t a mark at all but spoken instead, as in, “We aren’t going to the party, full stop [or period].”
By now you’ll be asking yourself what’s the point of this article.
I rest my case and am going for a lie down.
Three points about points for you
- Don’t have a double space after your points in copy that you’ve written. Why? Because it’s passé and out of date are reasons enough.
- Do enjoy using a point to make a statement of a question when you write. Now that isn’t too difficult, is it.
- If you want a holiday from them altogether, pick up a copy of Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann.
Thanks for being here.
Gx
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