copy desk

These little symbols might seem small, but they carry with them centuries of history and some pretty big personalities. Which punctuation marks hold a special place in your heart?

We should keep in mind the great advantages that the internet has given us, but not forget the importance of print papers to the journalism industry.

I think if I am a grammar symbol, I am the most humble one: the hyphen.

While I’m not suggesting that you get drunk to write all of your essays, the research I’ve done on this topic seems to show that it’s not such a bad idea.

Often kids like me are made to feel embarrassed about their differences, and smart kids with unique abilities can fall through the cracks if they don’t communicate in the expected manner.

Our audible solo conversations showcase our instinctive “voice” — not the one we’ve been trained to have, not the one we learned to sound erudite-but-approachable-and-definitely-super-unique-and-memorable for cover letters and college applications, but the ones that structure and articulate our most natural selves.

I would like to give a better answer to that question, which essentially amounts to: Why do you think copy editing is a meaningful aspect of the newspaper?

Why do we need a fancy symbol for this? Well, the continued existence of the ampersand seems to suggest we do. But this usage suggests a convolutedness that transcends this simple claim to efficiency.

Upholding grammatical conventions doesn’t really matter when it comes to our everyday speech. Personally, I get more satisfaction from people mistakenly attempting to look superior by misusing them or incorrectly correcting others.

More importantly, though, my sister has heart – the instinct to empathize, not overthink. In journalism, heart is the secret ingredient.