Think a Semicolon is a Surgical Procedure?

Time to sharpen your commas, quote marks and semicolons. Monday, August 22, 2005, is National Punctuation Day (http://www.NationalPunctuationDay.com), a holiday listed in Chase's Calendar of Events as a celebration of the lowly comma, correctly used quotes, and other proper uses of periods, semicolons, and the ever mysterious ellipsis.

Pinole, California (PRWEB) August 12, 2005 -- Time to sharpen your commas, quote marks and semicolons. Monday, August 22, 2005, is National Punctuation Day (http://www.NationalPunctuationDay.com), a holiday listed in Chase's Calendar of Events as a celebration of the lowly comma, correctly used quotes, and other proper uses of periods, semicolons, and the ever mysterious ellipsis.

This year marks the second anniversary of the official tip-of-the-hat to punctuation awareness.

Jeff Rubin, owner of Put it in Writing, a newsletter publishing company based in Pinole, California, founded National Punctuation Day to draw attention to the importance of proper punctuation in business, education and everyday communications.

"As a journalist, I take the English language very seriously, including all its rules. I'm sad to see a decline in writing skills; we communicate so much by phone and e-mail, where writing skills are virtually nonexistent. I founded National Punctuation Day because punctuation is essential to good writing, and I'm passionate about good writing."

So are many other people, based on the number of contemporary style books on store shelves. Taking their places next to the venerable Elements of Style, Chicago Manual of Style, and The Associated Press Stylebook, are the best-selling Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss; The Elephants of Style and Lapsing Into a Comma, both by Bill Walsh; and Woe is I, by Patricia T. O'Conner.

A visit to the official National Punctuation Day website offers punctuation information, grammar resource links, National Punctuation Day celebration ideas and whimsical T-shirts for sale, including Any Questions?, An Ellipsis is Not When the Moon Moves in Front of the Sun and A Semicolon is Not a Surgical Procedure. For more information visit www.NationalPunctuationDay.com.

"People judge us by the way we present ourselves - how we act, how we look, how we speak and how we write," says Jeff. "When we are professional in all of these areas, we get our foot in the door for our choice of college, scholarship, job, promotion or business deal. National Punctuation Day reminds us that writing skills enrich our lives."

Contact Jeff Rubin, National Punctuation Day founder, for a feature story on punctuation do's and don'ts; how to celebrate National Punctuation Day; the drive to promote punctuation awareness; why punctuation matters in business; and the origin of his perfectly punctuated T-shirts.

"People want to hire individuals and do business with individuals who they perceive as knowledgeable and competent," Jeff says. "Applying writing skills - the use of proper grammar and punctuation - is a great opportunity to showcase your professionalism and become a vendor of choice."

Jeff Rubin owns Put It In Writing, a newsletter publishing firm based in Pinole, California (http://www.put-it-in-writing.com). He's written and designed more than 1,600 company newsletters since starting his business in 1981. Jeff is a member of the National Speakers Association and speaks frequently on writing, marketing, and integrity.

Contact: Jeff Rubin, National Punctuation Day founder; toll free (877) 588-1212; http://www.NationalPunctuationDay.com.

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