1. Periods, Questions marks and Exclamation points

2.  Use a period at the end of a statement.  This English class is my favorite class this term.  Use a period at the end of a command.  Hand in the essays no later than noon on Friday.  Use a period at the end of an indirect question.  The teacher asked why Maria had left out the easy exercises.  Use a period with abbreviations:  Dr. Espinoza arrived from Washington, D.C., at 6 p.m.

3.  Although it is tempting, we DO NOT use periods in acronyms.  An acronym is an abbreviation that we pronounce as a word instead of as individual letters.  SCUBA (self contained underwater breathing apparatus)  NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

4.  Abbreviations we pronounce by spelling out the letters may or may not use periods.  If you are unsure in that specific case, look up the abbreviation in a dictionary.  FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) Notice we say “F-B-I” but there are no periods  U.S.A. (United States of America) Notice we say “U-S-A” but there are periods  LSHS (Lake Shore High School) Notice we say “L-S-H-S” but there are no periods

5.  Use a question mark at the end of a direction question.  He should quit smoking, shouldn't he?  If a question mark is part of an italicized or underlined title, make sure that the question mark is also italicized:  My favorite book is Where Did He Go?  When a question ends with an abbreviation, end the abbreviation with a period and then add the question mark.  Didn't he use to live in Washington, D.C.?

6.  When a question constitutes a polite request, it is usually not followed by a question mark.  Would everyone in the room who hasn't received an ID please move to the front of the line.

7.  Use an exclamation point at the end of an interjection  Wow!  Use an exclamation point at the end of a strong command  Sit down!  If an exclamation mark is part of an italicized or underlined title, make sure that the exclamation mark is also italicized or underlined:  My favorite book is Oh, the Places You'll Go!