Punctuation: Slash and Burn
Slash and Burn
This is a slash (/). It's like a Green Acres TV marathon; you don't need it often, but when you do, nothing else will fit the bill.
- Use slashes to separate lines of poetry. Leave a space before and after the slash to show when the line of poetry ends.
- Example: The opening of Robert Frost's poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” goes like this: “Whose woods these are / I think I know, / His house is in the village, though. / He will not see me stopping here / To watch his woods fill up with snow.”
- Use slashes to show choice.
- Example: Be sure to use the right temperature scale (Fahrenheit/Centigrade).
- Use slashes in fractions or formulas.
- Example: 1/2, 3/4
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style © 2003 by Laurie E. Rozakis, Ph.D.. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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