Overuse of the Exclamation Point In plain English

Overuse of the Exclamation Point!!!!!

In plain English… • An exclamation point indicates extremes of anger or excitement. This one mark can change the feeling of a sentence, giving a sentence an emotional context. Exclamation points also help onomatopoetic words make more of a splash! When an exclamation point is overused, however, its effectiveness is lost.

Food for thought • “In the family of punctuation, where the full stop is daddy and the comma is mummy and the semicolon quietly practices the piano with crossed hands, the exclamation mark is the big attention-deficit brother who gets over-excited and breaks things and laughs too loudly. ” • Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves

Food for thought • “Exclamation marks are like maraschino cherries: Too many make you sick. ” – Jeff Anderson, Mechanically Inclined

Mentor Text Across the top of the flyer writ in big letters were the words LIMITED ENGAGEMENT, then the letters said, “Direct from an S. R. O. engagement in New York City. ” Underneath that in big letters again it said, “HERMAN E. CALAWAY and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!!” Those six exclamation points made it seem like this was the most important news anyone could think of, seems like you’d have to be really great to deserve all those exclamation points all stacked up in a row like that. (pp. 6 -7) -- Christopher Paul Curtis, Bud, Not Buddy

• On what occasions do you use exclamation points?

• • Sit down!!!