The Key Components of Grammar and Punctuation

Having consistent grammar and punctuation rules across your content is key to ensuring alignment. The terms are often used interchangeably, but they're quite different. Grammar is the structure of language. It's how you order and choose your words to create meaning. While common grammatical errors around the misuse of words, like "they're," "their," and "there," along with "your" and "you're" are universal, others, like the use of passive vs. active voice, and dependent vs. independent clauses can vary by company and should be a primary consideration when editing.​

​This is because the grammar you use directly affects your voice and tone. The words you choose and the structure of your sentences drive your message and determine a user's perception and comprehension of your content. Grammatical consistency is crucial to maintaining alignment across your content, and is an important part of a style guide.​

​Passive and active voice are a primary example of why establishing grammatical consistency is important to maintaining credibility. These two structures play a key role in how content is perceived by the consumer. Passive voice is less authoritative and can be difficult to understand. It's when a subject is acted on by a verb. Active voice comes across as affirmative and actionable, and is when the subject performs the verb's action. Let's review an example to make this easier.​

​"A document was reviewed by an editor" is written in passive voice. "An editor reviewed the document" is written in active voice. Can you tell the difference? In the first sentence, the verb (reviewed) acted on the subject (editor), making the preposition (by) necessary. Whereas in the second sentence, the subject (editor) performed the verb (reviewed), removing the preposition.​

​The active voice is strong, direct, and clear, while the passive voice is not.​

​A good rule to follow is to put the majority of your sentences in the active voice, unless you truly can't write your sentence in any other way. Examples of this include instances when the actor is unknown or irrelevant. For example, the passive sentence, "The newspaper was published in the 1970s," can't be made active since we don't know who published it. Check the resources section for more on this topic from Grammarly.​

​When reviewing sentence structure, it's important to think about dependent vs. independent clauses. Can you tell what I did there? Let me say it again. When reviewing sentence structure, it's important to think about dependent vs. independent clauses. This is an example of a dependent clause preceding the independent clause, or main point of the sentence. A dependent clause can't stand on its own, since it's not a complete thought. Leading with a dependent clause makes the sentence less direct than leading with an independent clause. "It's important to think about dependent vs. independent clauses when reviewing sentence structure" is the more direct version. The independent clause comes first and is a complete thought on its own. Preferences for sentence structure will vary by company, but it's worth keeping in mind.​

​Concentrate not only on the words used but their order, pace, and rhythm. It's okay if these aren't defined at your company. You can set the standards going forward, or work with your manager to do so.​

​Punctuation also contributes to how an individual perceives your voice and tone. It refers to the symbols you use to clarify meaning. Do you use exclamation points to try to generate enthusiasm? If so, do they actually create that excitement, or do they strike a false note that is off-putting to the consumer? What about semicolons to indicate a close relationship between two independent clauses or complete sentences? Are they necessary or are they distracting to readers? Each punctuation mark you choose to use ties in with your grammatical structure — affecting how you sound to your users. Defining your grammar and punctuation rules in your style guide is key to expressing voice and tone, and creating alignment in your content.​

​Now, let's discuss the most debated punctuation rule: the comma. For example, you may want your content to use the Oxford comma — a technique used when separating elements in a series. The sentence "There were writers from California, Colorado, and New York" has an Oxford comma before the last element. The Oxford comma isn't universal, so you'll need to double check whether your company uses it.​

​The serial comma also needs clarification when separating independent clauses. Some companies use serial commas to separate independent clauses that are joined by "and," "but," "for," "or," "nor," "so," or "yet" while others don't. For example, the sentence "The editor provided comprehensive feedback, and I learned a lot from them" has two independent clauses that can stand alone. Your company's guidelines should outline whether a sentence like this needs to be divided by a comma. If you're unsure, you can either follow the AP Stylebook or set the standard going forward.​

​Take note that commas are often used incorrectly to make comma splices. The most common instance of this is the run-on sentence which occurs when two independent clauses or complete sentences are joined with a comma instead of a period or a conjunction. For example, "I'm an editor, I spend my day reading" is incorrect. It either needs to be split into two separate sentences, or it needs to have a conjunction, like "so" or "and" before the second independent clause.​

​Another key component to be mindful of within your organization is capitalization, especially when it pertains to headings and titles. Does your company capitalize all nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns in a heading? What about prepositions, articles, or conjunctions? Or how about someone's job title, like if they're a director or vice president of marketing? There's no universal rule around these instances, so it's up to your company to set the standards and for you and your content creators to follow them.​

​While grammar and punctuation rules can be extensive, these key components should help you get started with creating alignment amongst your content. Be sure to check out the resources section for more tips and grammatical errors to avoid.