Ellipses show users that ideas or words are missing from a sentence or a quote. Don’t use ellipses to change the intent of the original source.
The ellipsis (plural ‘ellipses’) is a character of exactly 3 dots.
Use the ellipsis:
Quotation marks draw attention to words and reference certain kinds of titles. Write most direct speech in single quote marks. For long quotes, use block quotes without quotation marks.
Single quotation marks are also known as ‘quote marks’, ‘quotes’, ‘speech marks’ or ‘inverted commas’.
Use them to:
Double quotation marks aren’t Australian Government style. Use them only for quotations within quotations.
Short quotations of direct speech are enclosed in single quotation marks.
Users expect direct questions and requests to end with a question mark. Indirect questions, commands and rhetorical questions can take other punctuation.
Like other punctuation marks, question marks stay with the text they refer to. Usually, this is immediately after the last letter of the last word of the sentence.
For brackets and quotation marks, place the question mark:
Semicolons link sentences. They complicate sentences for users if overused. Do not use them at the end of bullet and numbered list items.
Short, simple sentences are easier to read. Overusing semicolons makes writing more difficult to understand.
Semicolons can create a break that is stronger than a comma but weaker than a full stop. They can link 2 sentences that share or develop an idea. The information must be closely related.
Brackets can help users scan text more easily. Only use brackets if you can remove the enclosed text and the meaning does not change.
Brackets can help you break up information. They enclose parts of the sentence that aren’t essential to the meaning. Sentences must be grammatically correct if you remove the text in brackets.
The most commonly used brackets are:
Use brackets sparingly for:
Exclamation marks show emphasis and convey emotion. Only use them in informal content.
Exclamation marks aren’t part of government voice. Don’t use exclamation marks in formal content, such as government reports or briefings.
In general use, exclamation marks can emphasise:
Commas separate parts of a sentence so the meaning is clear. Sentence structure determines their correct use.
A comma separates introductory words, phrases and clauses from the main clause of the sentence.
Many introductory phrases can be moved to the end of sentences without changing the meaning. In these cases, you don’t need a comma before the phrase. This simpler structure can be easier to read.
Forward slashes are useful in a small number of situations. Users are familiar with them in mathematical expressions, dates, web addresses and in some shortened forms.
The forward slash is also known as the ‘solidus’ or just the ‘slash’.
Use forward slashes:
Full stops mark the end of sentences which aren't questions or exclamations. Users need them to scan text and to recognise decimal values.
Full stops mark the end of a sentence that is not a question or an exclamation.
Following the same rule, use full stops at the end of the last item in a list that’s made up of sentence fragments.
Apostrophes show possession and contractions. Don’t use them in descriptive phrases or to make nouns and shortened forms plural.
When the first of 2 consecutive nouns has an apostrophe, it means those nouns have a relationship. If the first noun in a noun phrase has an apostrophe, it means the noun is related to the other words in the phrase.
