According to the UAB Writing Center, “punctuation can make an enormous difference in the meaning of whatever it is you’re writing.” Improper punctuation can result in miscommunication, misrepresentation or worse. Do you know anyone who was denied employment because they used incorrect punctuation? That’s what could happen if you apply for a writing position with grammatical errors.
When you speak to someone face-to-face, you have the opportunity to clarify or restate your intention—this is not the case with writing. For the most part, you are not present when someone reads your work, which means that clarity is absolutely essential. A misplaced comma or period could alter the entire meaning of your sentence. For example, if you write “Don’t stop” instead of “Don’t, stop,” you might end up saying the opposite of what you intended.
The Importance of Punctuation by The Write Corner shows how punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence. If you write “He was bitten by a dog which hurt him” or “He was bitten by a dog, which hurt him,” the meaning becomes unclear and the sentence could become misleading. The comma after “dog” changes the meaning of the sentence. The first statement means the dog hurt him, whereas the second sentence means the bite hurt him.
Improper punctuation can damage well-intentioned writing. The most commonly used punctuation marks in writing are periods, commas, exclamation marks and question marks. In the wrong place, an innocuous comma has the power to mislead your reader, whether that is your professor or your client.
Sometimes we forget to use the correct punctuation, which means that we must take extra care when writing for someone else’s eyes. Make sure to indicate where you want your reader to slow down, to pause, and to stop.
Between 1984 and 1992, I had the opportunity to work in the Word Processing Department for the Army. We were assigned to read, properly punctuate and occasionally rewrite sentences. Everything we read had to be perfect because we were editing training material for the soldiers. This is just one context of many in which professional writing has to be perfect.
If you are looking for a writing career, look no further. The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a resource which offers many types of occupations. The handbook reads, “What Reporters, Correspondents, and Broadcast News Analysts Do.” The job description went on to say, “These workers are often responsible for editing interviews and other recordings to create a cohesive story and for writing and recording voiceovers that provide the audience with the facts of the story.”
If you are considering becoming an editor, then you must be prepared to use punctuation correctly. The handbook’s description says editors typically do the following:
- Read content and correct spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
- Rewrite text to make it easier for readers to understand.
Punctuation is of the utmost importance for freelancers, who often work alone and must proofread their own work. Since they write for different companies, the text must be edited to reflect the tone for each. Freelancers must therefore be careful when rereading their content to ensure it comes across properly.
Professional Writing courses prepare students for the real world of writing. Be careful, read and reread everything you write. Knowing how to punctuate correctly is essential for anyone pursuing employment as a professional writer. Former UAB Professional Writing student, Olalekan A. Dada, shares his experience in Professional Writing. Olalekan says, “Writers are needed in a variety of fields, from engineering to the tech industry.”
A few careers that involve high levels of linguistic accuracy can be found at nonprofit organizations, publishing companies, manufacturing plants, medical institutions and legal offices. With that being said, you should always be willing to write well—no matter which path you decide to take.
