Punctuation: Less Is More? ERIC Digest.

Punctuation, the original purpose of which was elocutionary, evolved a syntactic purpose as silent reading became more common. Despite the great similarity of punctuation rules among handbooks and manuals, punctuation has not been completely standardized. Punctuation practices vary from genre to genre, and the "best" fiction and nonfiction writers punctuate according to their needs, not according to the rules. If punctuation is looked at as a process rather than as product--that is, looked at as a matter of writer's intent--only two principles are needed to explain research on punctuation: (1) punctuate only to achieve clarity and/or effectiveness; and (2) use a hierarchy of six marks to show the nature and degree of separation. Systematizing the rules and emphasizing principles promises to make punctuation easier to learn. (RS)