In the realm of professional communication, especially email, punctuation plays a crucial role. Proper punctuation demonstrates competence and attention to detail, assuring customers and colleagues of your professionalism. Neglecting punctuation can undermine your message and create a negative impression.
Test your punctuation prowess with the following quiz:
**Instructions:** Indicate whether the punctuation in each phrase is Correct (C) or Incorrect (I).
Quiz:
C I 1. You’re our first choice for this job.
C I 2. Its a beautiful city.
C I 3. They’re is a videoconference tomorrow.
C I 4. Please send the information by Monday May 5.
C I 5. The teleconference was held in September 2005.
C I 6. In June 2006, we launched a new product.
C I 7. Call before noon, or you won’t be able to obtain a dinner reservation.
Solutions:
1. Correct. ‘You’re’ is a contraction of ‘You are.’
2. Incorrect. ‘Its’ should be ‘It’s’. ‘It’s’ is a contraction of ‘It is.’
3. Incorrect. ‘They’re’ means ‘They are.’ The correct word for this sentence is ‘There’.
4. Incorrect. The correct punctuation is: ‘Monday, May 5.’ A comma separates the day of the week from the month. A comma is also required to separate the day of the month from the year, as in ‘May 2, 2006.’
5. Correct. No commas are needed when including only the month and day (June 1) or month and year (June 2006).
6. Correct. Same reason as above.
7. Correct. A comma is needed because the conjunction ‘or’ connects two independent clauses. The subject in the first clause is the ‘understood you,’ implied in the command.
Scoring:
7/7: Punctuation Perfectionist! Your emails are models of clarity.
5-6/7: Solid Skills. A few tweaks could elevate your communication.
3-4/7: Room for Improvement. Sharpen your punctuation for impactful emails.
Less than 3/7: Punctuation SOS! Focused attention will make a difference.