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Bibliography Policy

punctum style follows the Chicago Manual of Style v. 17. The policy outlined here includes authors' common mistakes according to CMoS use, reminders for uncommon CMoS use, and punctum-specific amendments to the CMoS. 

Punctuation (CMoS 6.0)

Punctuation relative to surrounding text (CMoS 6.2)
  • In text, commas and periods do not follow an exclamation or question mark. 
    • E.g., "What's the rush?" she wondered.
  • In bibliography/reference, for source titles, commas and periods do not follow an exclamation or question mark.
    • E.g., Braidotti, Rosi, and Rick Dolphijn. "Deleuze's Philosophy and the Art of Life, or, What Does Pussy Riot Know?" In This Deleuzian Century: Art, Activism, Life, edited by Rosi Braidotti and Rick Dolphijn, 13–36. Leiden: Brill, 2014.
  • In footnotes, for source titles, commas and periods do follow an exclamation and question mark.
    • E.g.,  Rosi Braidotti and Rick Dolphijn, "Deleuze's Philosophy and the Art of Life, or, What Does Pussy Riot Know?," in This Deleuzian Century: Art, Activism, Life, edited by Rosi Braidotti and Rick Dolphijn (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 13.
  • For block quotes: in-text author-date citations follow the text and the text's final punctuation. No punctuation follows the citation. Note too that block quotes are absent surrounding quotation marks. Any secondary quoted material within the block quote is in double quotation marks.
    • E.g., Block quote. (Lastname 1990, 90)
  • Ellipses and punctuation: in order to ensure that the quoted material is consistent with the author's syntax, the author should include the punctuation that either precedes or follows the omitted quoted material.
    • E.g., "This force of blood [...] exists nowhere but in tragedies and romances [...]. To imagine any such mysterious affection would be ridiculous." or, "from within a century-long history of struggle against compulsory heterosexuality, [...]"
Slashes

Never between words. Not and/or; so forth.

Between line in poetry and lyrics: space / space; between stanzas: space // space

Commas

Oxford comma/serial comma is god. We have all sworn a blood oath and are prepared to die on this hill. (Except when original quotations do not contain them.)

  • Commas with "etc." and "et al." (CMoS 6.20). A comma should precede "etc." but not "et al." Punctum style insists these are not italicized.

    • Exception to comma before et al. In bibliographic entries, when et al. appears with the editor, author, creator, etc., a comma will appear. NB: et al. should rarely, if ever, be included in the bibliography, and all names should be listed. There are two exceptions: first, if there are more than seven co-authors and second, if there are creators, authors, and illustrators, a practice that occurs most regularly in comic books.
      • E.g., Byrne, John, et al. Superman: The Man of Steel. New York: DC Comics, 1986. 
    • NB: "etc." is used for objects and things; "et al." is used only for people.
    • NB: "etc." is used for finite objects and things in a list (e.g., "my kitchen has a sink, refrigerator, etc."). "And so forth" or "and so on" are used for nonfinite lists (e.g., "sovereigns, emperors, popes, Orthodox patriarchs, and so forth," signaling that the list can go on). "And the like" serves a similar purpose when the items in the list are specifically related (e.g., "semicolons with 'however,' 'therefore,' 'indeed,' and the like," signaling that the terms that follow are of a related class).
Semicolons and colons (CMoS 6.56)

No one knows the rules for colons and semicolons, so it is best that editors limit their use as much as possible. These are the few instances where they are consistently used correctly.

  • Traditionally, semicolons sometimes precede conjunctive adverbs, such as, "however," "hence," "indeed," "accordingly," "besides," and "therefore." A comma will follow that adverb. However, a period it is punctum style to use a period and a period is always more appropriate.
  • XXXX VINCENT!!
  • punctum style: to avoid excessive brackets on the initial letter of a quotation (e.g., the past to guide the living in the present, “[t]he Master said, ..."), the editor should change the punctuation that precedes the quotation if the quotation that follows is not consistent with the syntax of the sentence within which it is embedded. One exception to this rule, which is that the capitalization must be consistent in the syntax of the sentence, usually following "that," "as," "like," "because," or conjunctions, but not limited to these.
    • e.g., the past to guide the living in the present, “the Master said, ..."
    • e.g., the past to guide the living in the present: “The Master said, ..."
    • e.g., however, the past to guide the living in the present, that “[t]he Master said, ..."
    • e.g., however, the past to guide the living in the present, as “[t]he Master said, ..."
  • Colons can introduce a list if this list is not consistent with the preceding sentence's grammar.
    • Correct: "I bought eggs, cheese, and fish." "I loved what I bought today: eggs, cheese, and fish."
    • Incorrect: "I bought: eggs, cheese, and fish."

See this example, where I'll knock out a bunch of rules:

This is what I propose to develop in this chapter by looking at the three components of that she calls the family paradigm: 1) Family is a privatized system of household-based social reproduction; 2) the couple is a cultural form; and 3) biogenetic-centered kinship is privileged.

First, the list is introduced with a colon because what follows is not syntactically consistent with the introducing clause. (Compare to "I went to the store to buy eggs, milk, and pizza." This list is consistent with the syntax of the sentence.) Second, semicolons separate complete sentences when in a list. Third, the F in "Family" is capitalized because it is a complete sentence that follows with other complete sentences in a list.

Hyphens and Dashes (CMoS 6.75)
  • Use en dashes for number ranges, either date, page, and so forth. For example, (Earth: punctum books, 2016), 14–45. Or, Visions of Excess: Selected Writings, 1927–1939, edited by Allan Stoekl.
  • punctum style allows for either the en dash ( – ) [Mac: option + hyphen] or the em dash (—) [Mac: shift + option + hyphen]. Their use must be internally consistent throughout the manuscript, even across essays in an edited collection. 
  • En or em dashes should rarely be used and should not take on the role of other punctuation when there are regular commas and periods in the world. There are a few common instances to use en or em dashes appropriately:
    • En and em dashes are used to signal interjecting thoughts.
      • E.g., "Auracticity is a sort of indefinite emotional response, akin to the sublime but prolonged—ignorance’s mediation."
      • E.g., "So I understand the bluster of wind and rain not as representation per se but means to hint toward truer—obscured, alas!—subjects worth attention."
    • En and em dashes are most commonly used in a "that is" or "namely" phrase. If "that is" or "namely" is used, it should not be used in conjunction with a dash because that would be redundant.
      • E.g., "Jazz is a mechanical—akinetic, or disembodied—language that nevertheless strives in nineteenth-century style for its tonal resolution. Classical is the sated lion, capably fanged—kinetic, or corporeal—but harmless just the same."
Parentheses
  • punctum style: for parentheses use, say it or don’t. Parentheses should only be used when it’s grammatically necessary. The reader should be able to draw their own emphasis and significance from the writing. When a comma or en or em dash will do, the author should consider opting for those. Parentheses should be used only when the sentence within the parentheses is otherwise ungrammatical with the surrounding text. Parentheses should very rarely be used, outside of translation; for example, "livraison rapide" ("fast delivery").
Quotation marks
  • Scare quotes (CMoS 7.57): “Quotation marks are often used to alert readers that a term is used in a nonstandard (or slang), ironic, or other special sense. Such scare quotes imply 'this is not my term' or 'this is not how the term is usually applied.' Like any such device, scare quotes lose their force […] if overused.” Further, CMoS 7.60: "Quotation marks are rarely needed for common expressions of figures of speech (including slang). They should normally be reserved for phrases borrowed verbatim from another context or terms used ironically."
  • punctum style: like italics, scare quotes are so rarely necessary and should not be used to manipulate readers. The reader should be able to draw their own emphasis and significance from the authors' writing.
  • Quotation marks should not be used for emphasis.
  • When altering initial capitalization at the beginning of quoted text, use brackets.
    • E.g., As Joshi has written, “[t]he true horror…”
Numbers
  • Ages are not spelled out unless they begin a sentence. Numbers in ages should be hyphenated when used as an adjective.
    • E.g., They were 32 years old. (No hyphens.) They turned 33. They were a 33-year-old accountant. (Hyphens.) Thirty-three was the age they got their first dog.
  • In percentages, use the number and spell out percent unless it begins a sentence.
    • E.g., There was a 4 percent increase.
  • Number ranges should be punctuated with an en dash, not a hyphen (e.g., 94–95). Number ranges should begin omitting the first number of the second number in a range in ranges starting after 99 (e.g., 8–14, 103–77, 125–55, 136–37, 187–204, 1034–99, and so on). An exception to this rule is when the number preceding the final number is a "0" (e.g., 103–9). Year ranges are done the same.
  • Numbers zero through ninety-nine should be spelled out and hyphenated when necessary.
  • Centuries should be spelled out (e.g., nineteenth century, twentieth-century art, mid-twentieth-century art)
  • The suffix (st, nd, rd, th) on nominal numbers should not be in superscript formatting.

Style

Italics
  • CMoS 7:49, “Italics as such are used for emphasis, key terms or terms in another language, words used as words, titles of works, and so on.”
  • The author should not use italics suggestively that might manipulate a reader’s reading on a subject (e.g., “this would seem to follow Stahl’s emphasis on function”).
  • Italics are used for words in a language other than English, unless that phrase is in Merriam-Websters Dictionary.
  • Italics should be used when the author is coining a term at that term's first occurrence, using an unfamiliar phrase in another language, in book titles, and other cases where the italicized word or term followed CMoS 7:50, “Use italics for emphasis only as an occasional adjunct to efficient sentence structure. Overused, italics quickly lose their force. Seldom should as much as a sentence be italicized for emphasis, and never a whole passage.” See also
  • Italics: The author should only use italics unless they are:
  • emphasizing a very specific something in the main text, only in the first occurence (e.g., a concept they’re coining),
  • emphasizing a word or a phrase in quoted material that they will immediately discuss,
  • using a word in a language other than English that is not in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (In this case, the English translation should appear in parentheses after the italicized original word.
  • punctum style: the use of italics is so rarely necessary. Italics should not be used to manipulate readers; the reader should be able to draw their own emphasis and significance from the writing.
Capitalization
  • punctum style: as mentioned above, to avoid excessive brackets on the initial letter of a quotation (e.g., the past to guide the living in the present, “[t]he Master said, ..."), the editor should change the punctuation that precedes the quotation if the quotation that follows is not consistent with the syntax of the sentence within which it is embedded. One exception to this rule, which is that the capitalization must be consistent in the syntax of the sentence, usually following "that," "as," "like," "because," or conjunctions, but not limited to these.
    • e.g., the past to guide the living in the present, “the Master said, ..."
    • e.g., the past to guide the living in the present: “The Master said, ..."
    • e.g., however, the past to guide the living in the present, that “[t]he Master said, ..."
    • e.g., however, the past to guide the living in the present, as “[t]he Master said, ..."
Abbreviations
  • "i.e." and "e.g." are abbreviated only within parentheses. Outside of parentheses, they are spelled out as “that is” and “for example.”
  • punctum style: "etc." is appropriate in all cases, though one might prefer "and so on," or something of the like outside of parentheses.
Author Information In Text
    • On the first occurrence, the author should include the first and last name of a cited author. Afterwards, the author may refer to the cited author by the last name. This goes for famous authors and philosophers as well. (E.g., Immanuel Kant, Kant; Georges Bataille, Bataille. Jennifer Mench, Mench)
    • For names that contain initials, do not put a space in between the letters (e.g., H.P. Lovecraft).
US English
  • English US is preferred unless the author is wholly and consistently in UK or AUS English including both puctuation, diction, and grammar, which is very rarely if ever the case.
Limit Excessive Punctuation

The following is a shortcut statement to authors that use excessive punctuation, especially when the punctuation above is so overused, sentences lose their force or effect and, most significantly, cloud the author's meaning. 

punctum style discourages excessive use of parentheses, colon, semicolon, en-/em-dash, and scare quotes use. Their use should be grammatical and sparse. Parentheses are used when the sentence within the parentheses is otherwise ungrammatical with the surrounding text and when the sentence cannot be revised otherwise. Colons are used when introducing a list, and this list is not consistent with the preceding sentence's grammar. Semicolons may precede conjunctive adverbs, such as, "however," "hence," "indeed," "accordingly," "besides," and "therefore." Often, then, a comma will follow that adverb. En or em dashes should rarely be used and should not take on the role of other punctuation when a comma or period would be suitable. Further, en and em dashes are used to signal interjecting thoughts, and are most commonly used in a "that is" or "namely" phrase. If "that is" or "namely" is used, it should not be used in conjunction with a dash because that would be redundant. Scare quotes are used to alert readers that a term is used in a nonstandard (or slang), ironic, or other special sense. While this punctuation is acceptable in moderation, these devices lose their force if overused.

Photo Credits

Fig. XX. _____. Credit ____. In text mention of a figure (fig. XX).

Table XX. ____. In-text of a table (table XX) of (t. XX).

Plate XX. ___. In-text mention of a plate (pl. XX).

Document Control

Document ID POL-002
Document Owner Vincent
Version 1.0
Last Date of Change November 10, 2025
Next Review Due Date
Version & Change Tracking
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