Why Scholars Don't Exclaim

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 Grammar and Mechanics 1 comment

What is the deal with exclamation points and why should I think twice about using them in academic writing?

We live in a world of excitement and emphasis. Great to see you! Well done!

See what the insertion of an exclamation did in the two previous sentences? It added a hint of volume, a sprig of passion. Depending on your outlook, this insertion can be a nice method of achieving a sort of textual breathlessness or, alternatively, it can induce in the reader a sort of nausea.

Indeed, the exclamation point has always been controversial. Chekov, for example, wrote an entire story in which a government employee is slowly reduced to insanity by the realization that he has not used an exclamation point in 40 years of writing.

But on to academic writing, where the use of this punctuation mark is an entirely different matter. Remember in the last paragraph when I wrote that exclamation points and their utility can vary depending on one’s outlook? Well, APA and the scholarly audience have a very clear outlook when it comes to exclamation marks, and the consensus is definitely against them.

Someecard (c) LizJostes

Because an academic tone strives to maintain the impression of objectivity, the exclamation point is considered almost entirely unwelcome in scholarly work. For sure, a student’s evidence-based ideas may inspire passion and excitement in the reader—but students should remember that those ideas and words alone must do the hard work of making impressions.

In academic writing, state your claim and then defend it with evidence. If the point you are making in your paper is that important, trust readers to determine it for themselves.

In his role as an instructor in the Walden Writing Center, Jonah Charney-Sirott aims to "provide the type of assistance that not only can fix a sentence, but make it shine." For more punctuation pointers, see this web page.