AMWA Punctuation for Clarity and Style Book and CDROM by Lynn M. Alperin

New softcover book with CDROM! Resource for Medical Communicators.

Designed for communicators whose professional writing experience and grammatical savvy range from minimal to moderate, this review of the most useful punctuation rules and options—from the serial comma to the dash—will focus on emphasis, variety, and consistency.

Included with this self-study workbook is a quiz for credit towards the AMWA Essential Skills Certificate and a laminated quick reference guide. Enrollment in the ES Certificate program is not included with the purchase of individual workbooks, but it can be added in the future should you decide to pursue the ES Certificate.

Every mark on the page makes a difference. Punctuation goes hand in hand with good grammar in ensuring clear communication. It’s fairly common, even for experienced medical writers and editors, to feel unsure of the rules of punctuation. It’s helpful to brush up on the essentials because punctuation helps medical writers achieve clarity and precision that are critically important when conveying scientific concepts.

Essential Concepts of Punctuation
Sentences have an anatomy; punctuation is the connective tissue that holds everything together. Understanding the basic anatomy of sentences is key to mastering punctuation. 

Learning to punctuate correctly begins with understanding:

Subjects and predicates
Clauses and phrases
Restrictive vs nonrestrictive elements
Types of sentences

Mastering the following skills will help you improve your punctuation for clarity and style. 

Recognizing common grammatical constructions involving punctuation
Harnessing useful editing techniques to eliminate awkward or excessive punctuation
Varying punctuation to enhance clarity, emphasis, and liveliness
Using appropriate medical style conventions
Another benefit of learning (or relearning) the rules of punctuation is knowing when it’s acceptable to break a rule. For. Dramatic. Effect.

What Do We Mean by Style?
Style for medical communication means using a full range of punctuation marks to keep one’s writing lively and varied. It also means following conventions that are unique to medicine. 

Style manuals are essential tools for writers, and every medical writer should have one handy. Some organizations and businesses develop their own style guides, which reflect the “house” style and outline the rules for writing and punctuating.

Contents
*Exercises and answers are presented at the end of chapters 1 through 9.

Chapter 1: Essential Concepts
Chapter 2: The Comma
Chapter 3: The Semicolon
Chapter 4: The Colon
Chapter 5: Dashes
Chapter 6: Parentheses and Square Brackets
Chapter 7: The Hyphen
Chapter 8: The Apostrophe and the Forward Slash
Chapter 9: Quotation Marks and Ellipses
Chapter 10: Ending with Style

ISBN-10 0757533817
ISBN-13 978-0757533815
Edition 1st
Publisher Kendall Hunt Publishing
Publication date October 16, 2006
Language English