"Punctuation Matters" gives straight answers the queries raised most frequently by practitioners in computing, engineering, medicine and science as they grapple with day-to-day tasks in writing and editing. The advice it offers is based on John Kirkman's long experience of providing courses on writing and editing in academic centers, large companies, research organizations, and government departments, in the UK, Europe and in the USA. Sample material discussed in the book comes from real documents from computing, engineering and scientific contexts, giving the guidelines an immediately recognizable, "true to life" relevance, which is both down-to-earth and up-to-date.
The book is clearly set out in three parts:
- Part 1 states a policy for clear and reliable punctuation
- Part 2 gives a series of alphabetically arranged guidelines, to be "dipped into" for guidance on how to use the main punctuation marks in English
- Part 3 contains appendices on paragraphing, word-division, and how conventions of punctuation differ from country to country.
Punctuation Matters is the essential guide for technical writers, editors and communicators, with clear explanations on punctuation, what it does and how to use it.

Effective communication is vital to science, engineering and business management. This thoroughly updated second edition with a new chapter on the use of computers and word-processors gives clear, practical advice illustrated with real-life examples on how to select, organize and present information in reports, papers and other documents.

"Punctuation Matters" gives straight answers the queries raised most frequently by practitioners in computing, engineering, medicine and science as they grapple with day-to-day tasks in writing and editing. The advice it offers is based on John Kirkman's long experience of providing courses on writing and editing in academic centers, large companies, research organizations, and government departments, in the UK, Europe and in the USA. Sample material discussed in the book comes from real documents from computing, engineering and scientific contexts, giving the guidelines an immediately recognizable, "true to life" relevance, which is both down-to-earth and up-to-date.
The book is clearly set out in three parts:
- Part 1 states a policy for clear and reliable punctuation
- Part 2 gives a series of alphabetically arranged guidelines, to be "dipped into" for guidance on how to use the main punctuation marks in English
- Part 3 contains appendices on paragraphing, word-division, and how conventions of punctuation differ from country to country.
Punctuation Matters is the essential guide for technical writers, editors and communicators, with clear explanations on punctuation, what it does and how to use it.

Good Style explains the tactics that can be used to write technical material in a coherent, readable style. It discusses in detail the choices of vocabulary, phrasing and sentence structure and each piece of advice is based on evidence of the styles prefered by technical readers and supported by many examples of writing from a variety of technical contexts.

John Kirkman draws from his many years of experience lecturing on communication studies in Europe, the USA, the Middle East and Hong Kong, both in academic programmes and in courses for large companies, research centres and government departments.

Good Style has become a standard reference book on the shelf of students of science, technology and computing and is an essential aid to all professionals whose work involves writing of reports, papers, guides, manuals or on-screen texts. This new edition also includes information on writing for the web and additional examples of how to express medical and life-science information.

Effective communication is vital to science, engineering and business management. This thoroughly updated second edition with a new chapter on the use of computers and word-processors gives clear, practical advice illustrated with real-life examples on how to select, organize and present information in reports, papers and other documents.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203473108

Good Style explains the tactics that can be used to write technical material in a coherent, readable style. It discusses in detail the choices of vocabulary, phrasing and sentence structure and each piece of advice is based on evidence of the styles prefered by technical readers and supported by many examples of writing from a variety of technical contexts. John Kirkman draws from his many years of experience lecturing on communication studies in Europe, the USA, the Middle East and Hong Kong, both in academic programmes and in courses for large companies, research centres and government departments. Good Style has become a standard reference book on the shelf of students of science, technology and computing and is an essential aid to all professionals whose work involves writing of reports, papers, guides, manuals or on-screen texts. This new edition also includes information on writing for the web and additional examples of how to express medical and life-science information.