I was the grammar nerd in my high school; it was my jam. In college, we journalists memorized the AP style book and in newspapers, our editors seared grammar into our craniums. enduring mocking by my newspaper editors.
Reading the world’s blogs, I see not everyone has been blessed with grammar by my editors. Let’s look at one of the founding rules in punctuation: Where do you place end marks with quotes?
“How can you leave Michael Anthony out of a Van Halen reunion,” shouted one angry fan. “He is the band!“
This fan’s heart is in the right place, as is his punctuation. When do punctuation marks stay inside the quote marks? Always.
Imagine planting a vegetable garden. You have fresh soil, a handful of seeds and a nifty wire fence to keep out the rabbits. Where do you place the seeds? Inside the fence.
If you leave your seeds or punctuation, outside the fence, the rabbits will eat them up. It makes no sense.
Digital marketing demands attention from readers. Readers demand the same attention from writers and editors.
– Tom Sakell