writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

When the main clause of a sentence is preceded by a phrase or a subordinate clause, use a comma to set off these elements.

If a conjunction is inserted, the proper mark is a comma.

If two or more clauses grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction are to form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon.

The abbreviations etc., i.e., and e.g., the abbreviations for academic degrees, and titles that follow a name are parenthetic and should be punctuated accordingly.

Use a dash only when a more common mark of punctuation seems inadequate.

The colon also has certain functions of form: to follow the salutation of a formal letter, to separate hour from minute in a notation of time, and to separate the title of a work from its subtitle or a Bible chapter from a verse.

Exceptions are the possessives of ancient proper names ending in -es and -is,

Two-part sentences of which the second member is introduced by as (in the sense of "because"), for, or, nor, or while (in the sense of "and at the same time") likewise require a comma before the conjunction.