There seems to be a lot of confusion these days about the proper way to use an exclamation point, and much to the chagrin of some of the creative staff here at deep, we are sometimes irritated when we receive communications from people who use exclamation points with what we would consider great fervor.
That’s why we’re dedicating today’s blog post to the exclamation point. Not because we want to be grammar fiends necessarily, but more because we want our writers to feel loved and important.
With that said, here’s a quick lesson on the right way to use the exclamation point. The Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers says that their use is totally OK for “a strong command or emphatic declaration.” So basically, if your friend gets run over by a chair during “Race our Chairs Around the Office Day” and you’re emailing your BFF to tell him or her, you could write, “Mark got run over by a chair and his wig ripped right off in the middle of the race! Who knew that was a wig?!”
Notice, if you will, that carefully place interrobang, which, though not found in the Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers (nor in other conventional English books), makes many writers a bit giddy with glee.
And finally, please, avoid the overuse of the exclamation point. As stated in the Handbook for Writers, “In academic writing, your words, rather than exclamation points, should communicate the strength of your message. Reserve exclamation points for occasional emphatic dialogue. Use them only very rarely for a short emphatic declaration within a longer passage. If you use exclamation points too often in academic writing, your reader will think that your judgment of urgency is exaggerated. Your choice of words, not (!) should communicate amazement or sarcasm.”
We think they’re right!!!!! Or maybe we’re being sarcastic? Hmmm…
It is with a mixture of sadness and great joy that we at deep wish Senior Art Director Matt Stewart the best of luck as he heads to the land of yellow shoes. Matt is leaving Springfield for Orlando, where he will join Disney’s internal advertising agency, Yellow Shoes Creative Group. There, he’ll be using his incredible talent to make magic happen with pretty much everything Disney touches.
