PUNCTUATION TIPS
I. Parenthesis:
1. Comma outside ( .)
2. Period inside ( ),
3. Semicolon outside ( );
II. Quotation:
1. Comma inside “ .”
2. Period inside “ ,”
3. Semicolon outside “
III. Names and initials
John F. Kennedy Jr
John F. Kennedy, Jr.
J.F.Kennedy, Jr.
J F K, Jr.
IV. Horizontal list:
1. (1) Aaaaa, (2) bbbbb, (3) cccc.
2. (1) Aaaaa. (2) Bbbbb. (3) Cccc.
V. Vertical
list:
1. Aaaaaa.
2. Bbbbbb.
3. Ccccccc.
VI. Addresses:
133 Down Street, Seattle, Washington
VII. Dates:
March 3, 1994 (mm dd, yy)
March 1994 (mm yy)
3 March 1994 (dd mm yy) [military format]
3rd of March 1994
VII. Comma
and list:
1,2, and 3
1 and 2 and 3
while, where, since, after, yet, so always use comma before these words in all sentences.
Adverbial clause: use comma if it is ³ penta syllable.
IX. Semicolon:
IC;IC, if the ICs are closely related.
IC; conj. adv., IC
Ex- Self- 5-cm incision 3-week history
X. Hyphen:
1. Number - alphabets
2. Twenty-one—ninety-nine, use hyphen.
XI. Comma
and sentences:
1. IC DC (use comma with nonessential adjectival clauses)
2. DC, IC
3. [ss] IC conj. IC
4. IC, conj. IC
5. I, [DC], C
Adjectival clauses are clauses which begins with who, whom, which, and that.
XII. Numerals:
Grades Arabic
Stages Roman
Types Roman, except for diabetes
Class Roman, usually
RULES
1. Short hands functioning as full word don’t need periods. Eg. Exam/examination.
2. Acronym (pronounced as one word, even though it is an abbreviation) does not take period.
,e.g., ,i.e, ,that is,
3. Lower case,
non-English abbreviations would take period.
Eg. b.i.d.
4. English lowercase measurement units in metric system do not use periods. Eg: cm.
5. English caps abbreviations do not use periods. Eg; IV
6. Place a comma before and after abbreviations of Latin preposition phrases and
their English equivalents. Eg: ,e.g., OR ,i.e, or ,that is,.
Solu-Cortef
Darvocet-N 100
Theo-Dur
Slow-K
Micro-K
Slo-bid
Di-Gel
Ortho-Novum
10/11
enteric-coated aspirin
Pulmonary
File above-captioned
less than 2-week history of dry cough
one-third of the left lung
end-inspiratory wheezes on the left.
35-pound weight loss
Last-mentioned
10-cm abdominal mass
fine-needle aspiration
urinary burning of 2-2½
days' duration.
Cardiology
High-grade stenosis
Thigh-length TED hose
2- to 3-month
history
2-3
months’ history
5-6
seconds.
2-3
times per day
6-week supply
One-pack-a-day
cigarette smoker.
Long-term
chronic hypertension,
Full-blown
treadmill stress test
2 to 3+
pitting edema
Long-standing
history
2-3
fingerbreadths
Right-sided pleural effusion,
4-5
episodes
Subject-verb agreement.
New-onset atrial fibrillation
right-hand dominant.
Cardio test
Precordial-type
squeezing chest pain
24
hours'
Endocrine
2800-calorie
diet.
Epstein-Barr
studies,
Chemistry-2
3-year
Angiotensin-converting enzyme
inhibitors.
Fine-needle aspiration
Drug-induced hyperglycemia
Flare-up
Split-dose b.i.d. dosing regimen.
CPK-MB
Gastro
Gangrenous-appearing sites
Benign-appearing anterior wall
Coffee-grounds emesis
King-Armstrong
units
Mallory-Weiss lesion.
NSAID-induced
peptic ulcer disease
High-fiber
diet
Finger-to-nose test
Heel-to-shin
test
Pseudo-obstruction
Maturity-onset
diabetes.
Sliding-type
hiatal hernia
Short-term
memory
Mild-to-moderate
Right-handed.
Cranial
nerves II-XII
Tonic-clonic
movements
Frontal-dominant, 3 to 5 cycle-per-second spike
Acid-fast bacillus
C5-C6
L4-L5
Military-press
fashion
Large-cell carcinoma
Second-degree uterine prolapse
Pregnancy-induced
hypertension
SMA-20
CIN-III
Alpha-fetoprotein
First-trimester
bleeding
Polyurethane-type implants
Tru-Cut
Jackson-Pratt
Cul-de-sac
Long-term radiation effects
Vesical-vaginal
Second-degree cystourethrocele.
Second-degree uterine descensus.
Second-degree rectocele.
First-degree enterocele.
Fourth-degree extension
3-0 chromic sutures
Histalog-stimulated gastric analysis
Ulcer-like
symptoms
Demulen
1/35-28
normal-size uterus,
Double-J
stent
Left-sided
ureteral colic
Clean-voided
midstream urine
Red-hot ascending
pyelonephritis
A clean-voided urine shows 15-20 white blood cells per
high-power field,
20-g non-nodular prostate
Misspelled. .
. . . Gait, date
Trigger
point injection
This
patient is a 67-year-old Mexican-American female.
Has
a 3-year history of constant burning in the eyes.
This
is a 19-year-old single white female college student who is seen with reference
to vulvar pain and urinary burning of 2-2½ days' duration.
Gram
stain positive for gram-negative cocci.