Punctuation

Slash and Burn

This is a slash (/). It's like a Green Acres TV marathon; you don't need it often, but when you do, nothing else will fit the bill.

• Use slashes to separate lines of poetry. Leave a space before and after the slash to show when the line of poetry ends.

• Example: The opening of Robert Frost's poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” goes like this: “Whose woods these are / I think I know, / His house is in the village, though. / He will not see me stopping here / To watch his woods fill up with snow.”

• Use slashes to show choice.

• Example: Be sure to use the right temperature scale (Fahrenheit/Centigrade).

• Use slashes in fractions or formulas.

• Example: ¹/₂, ³/₄

Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style © 2003 by Laurie E. Rozakis, Ph.D.. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

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