Punctuation

Punctuation should be used with care. Poorly used punctuation can make text harder to read and understand.

This is especially important for people using a screen reader. Screen readers are inconsistent, they work in different ways. Some will:

• read out punctuation that others ignore
• pause for certain punctuation, whilst others won't
• misinterpret punctuation

Do not use:

• ampersands (&), use 'and' instead
• asterisks (*) to indicate a definition will follow, rewrite the text to include the definition instead
• dashes (–), use a comma or colon instead or write a shorter sentence
• exclamation marks (!)
• unnecessary full stops (.), for example use 'Ms Jones' not 'Ms. Jones'
• hyphens (‐), unless leaving them out would confuse people
• plus (+), minus (−) or equals (=) signs
• semicolons (;), use a comma or rewrite the sentence instead
• slashes (/), use 'or' or 'to' instead, for example '2025 to 2026' not '2025/2026'

Avoid using brackets where possible. Not all screen readers will read them out, instead reading the text inside the brackets alongside the text outside the brackets, which could be confusing. Rewrite the sentence or use commas to break it up instead.

If you need to split up a title, use a colon not a hyphen, dash or comma. For example, 'Tenancy agreements: a guide for landlords'

Use accents for people and company names. Do not use them on words that are common in English, such as 'cafe'.