Ampersands
The use of ampersands should be avoided unless it is part of a company's title.
Apostrophes
An apostrophe indicates the possessive, contractions, and missing numbers.
The City of Tacoma's Police Department provides phenomenal service.
I read that book in the '90s.
They couldn't find the document.
Colons
A colon is used after a complete sentence and precedes another sentence that completes the first sentence's topic.
My cat has two favorite hobbies: clawing the couch and sleeping.
Exclamation Marks
Resist the urge to place exclamation marks in your content. All of your content is important and it is not advisable to yell at your department's web page users.
Question Marks
As with exclamation marks, limit the use of question marks. For the most part, save them for a proper frequently asked questions page. They may be used outside of a frequently asked question page but use them sparingly.
Quotation Marks
They are used only for quotes. Semicolons are placed outside of quotes. Colons are to be placed outside of quotation marks unless it is part of the quote itself. Periods and commas always reside within quotation marks.
He said, "I would really like to visit Tacoma."
Semicolons
Semicolons separate two main ideas that are related to each other even though they can stand on their own as separate sentences.
The rain fell hard; my dog decided it was time to come inside.
Questions
The Media and Communications Office is here to help. If at any point you need assistance with the content of your pages, feel free to contact Goldin Doles at (253) 573-2506 or via
email.