Parentheses Parentheses  (  )  serve  the  following  functions  as shown in each example: To set off material not intended to be part of the main  statement  or  that  is  not  a  grammatical element  of  the  sentence,  yet  important  enough  to be included Examples:  It is not customary (at least in the areas  mentioned)  to  stand  at  attention.  “That proposal,” he said, “and one by (Prime Minister John) Major are being studied.” To facilitate further identification that is not part of the official name Example: The Springfield (Virginia) Historical Society. To set off letters or figures in a series Examples:  The  order  of  importance  will be   (a)   general   acceptance,   (b)   costs   and (c) opposition. The water is (1) tepid, (2) muddy from silt and (3) unpalatable. Dash As shown in each example, the dash (—) is used in the  following  cases: To indicate a sudden change and interjection I mean? — approved it. If that man gains control Examples: The commander—do you know who started —  God  forbid  —  our  troubles  will  have  just After dateline and before the first word of a story Example:  NEW  YORK  —  five  people  were injured.  ... Note  that  a  dash  consists  of  two  strokes  of  the hyphen (or minus sign) key on your computer keyboard. Hyphen The hyphen (-) is used to separate compound words, figures,  abbreviations  and  figures,  double  vowels  in some cases and to divide a word at the end of a line. The   general   rule   for   hyphens   is   that   “like” characters take the hyphen; “unlike” characters do not. Note the following examples: 6-12 Examples: Secretary-Treasurer (compound word); 20-20 vision (figures); bell-like (use a hyphen to avoid tripling  a  consonant). Other  uses  of  the  hyphen  and  examples  are  as follows: Adjectival use of hyphens must be clear. Examples:   The  6-foot  man  eating  shark  was killed  (the  man  was).  The  6-foot  man-eating shark was killed (the shark was). Ordinarily,  in  prefixes  ending  in  vowels  and followed by the same vowel, the hyphen is used. Example:  pre-eminent.  (Check  dictionary  for exceptions  ‘such  as  cooperate,  coordinate,  etc.) The hyphen also serves to distinguish between meanings of similarly spelled words. Example:  recover  (from  illness),  re-cover (couch). The  hyphen  separates  a  prefix  from  a  proper noun. Examples: un-American, pre-Christian era Do  not   use   a   hyphen   between   “vice”   and “president” or other such titles, or with adverbs ending in “ly.” Note the following examples: Examples:  badly damaged car, frilly informed public, newly elected official. CAPITALIZATION In   newswriting,   capitalization   is   correct   in   the following cases, examples and exceptions: The first word of a sentence Example: Good grammar is essential. Titles  and  ranks  (rates)  followed  by  a  proper noun,  but  lowercase  titles  standing  alone  or following a name Example:  Secretary of State C. R. Dryden, but C. R. Dryden, secretary of state. Exception: The President of the United States is always capitalized. Pope and the titles of foreign religious leaders, when used as a formal title before a name, but lowercase   when   titles   stand   alone   or   follow names