Writing Tip: With Exclamation Points, Less is More

One of the best editors I've ever known once told me that you should limit yourself to three exclamation points in your entire lifetime. It was an exaggeration, of course, but he was making a good point.

When writing for school or work, a plain old period is the perfect choice for most sentences.

Mind you, this advice isn't as imporant for casual writing. Feel free to shout away at your friends and family in e-mails and texts. They'll love you for it. (Not.)

For more on when to use exclamation points, see Taking it Old School: Interjections! by Grammar Rock

Good stuff: LL Cool J on The Electric Company

You're never too young to get the basics right. Here's a fun video for early elementary school kids who are just starting to learn about punctuation marks. This old Electric Company clip shows a young LL Cool J rapping about periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points.

Taking it Old School: Interjections! by Grammar Rock

Yay! Boo-yah! Wow! It's time for another dose of nostalgia. This oldie but goodie from Grammar Rock explains how to use interjections to show excitement or emotion. They're generally set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point or by a comma when the feeling's not as strong.