IBM Style Guide: Punctuation review skill

Review documentation for punctuation issues: colons, commas, dashes, hyphens, parentheses, periods, quotation marks, semicolons, and slashes.

Precedence: For Red Hat documentation, the Red Hat Supplementary Style Guide (SSG) takes precedence over IBM Style Guide rules where guidance conflicts.

Checklist

Colons

• Colons introduce lists only after a complete sentence
  • Correct: "The tool supports three languages: Python, Go, and Java."
  • Wrong: "The tool supports: Python, Go, and Java."
• Text after a colon is not capitalized unless it begins a complete sentence or proper noun

Commas

• Serial (Oxford) comma is used before "and"/"or" in lists of three or more
• Commas follow introductory phrases
• No comma before "that" in restrictive clauses
• Comma used before "which" in nonrestrictive clauses

Dashes

• Em dashes (—) are used for emphasis or asides, with no spaces around them
• En dashes (–) are used for ranges: "pages 10–15"
• Hyphens (-) are not used where em dashes or en dashes belong
• No more than one pair of em dashes per sentence

Ellipses

• Ellipses are not used to trail off or imply something
• Ellipses indicate omitted text in quotations or "more input needed" in UI only

Exclamation points

• Exclamation points are not used in technical documentation
• Multiple exclamation points ("!!!") are never used

Hyphens

• Compound adjectives are hyphenated before a noun: "command-line interface"
• Compound adjectives are not hyphenated after a noun: "the interface is command line"
• Adverb-adjective compounds with "-ly" are not hyphenated: "newly created file"
• Prefixes before proper nouns or numbers are hyphenated: "pre-2020," "non-IBM"
• Common prefixes are not hyphenated: reuse, coexist, noncompliant, preinstall, multicloud

Parentheses

• Parentheses are used sparingly; important content is integrated into the sentence
• Parentheses are not nested
• Punctuation is placed outside parentheses (unless the entire sentence is parenthetical)

Periods

• One space follows a period (not two)
• Periods end complete sentences in lists
• Periods are not used in headings, subheadings, or button labels
• List items are consistent: all periods or no periods, not mixed

Quotation marks

• Double quotation marks are used for direct quotes and titles
• Commas and periods are placed inside quotation marks (US style)
• Colons and semicolons are placed outside quotation marks
• Quotation marks are not used for emphasis (use bold or italic)
• Code terms use monospace formatting, not quotation marks

Semicolons

• Semicolons are avoided; sentences are split instead
• Semicolons are used only in complex lists where items contain commas

Slashes

• Slashes for "or" are avoided; "or" is written out: "Linux or macOS" not "Linux/macOS"
• "and/or" is not used; "and," "or," or rephrasing is preferred
• Slashes are acceptable in established terms: "client/server," "TCP/IP," "I/O"

How to use

1. Review only changed content and necessary context
2. For each issue found, cite the relevant IBM Style Guide section
3. Mark issues as required (incorrect punctuation) or [SUGGESTION] (style preferences)

Example invocations

• "Review this file for punctuation issues"
• "Check comma and hyphen usage in this module"
• "Do an IBM punctuation review on the changed files"

References

For detailed guidance, consult:

• IBM Style Guide: Punctuation sections