We love commercial copywriting. Spinning witty web taglines out of inauspicious indices and fashioning propitious paragraphs from maudlin prose is our bread and butter at Yorkshire’s Tight Jeans and Jelly Shoes.
We thrive on weaving assonance and eloquence in each and every reference. Our homophones have overtones so subtle they elude reproach. Compound adjectival phrases, a leap of faith across the pages, collocation and pronunciation, articulation and punctuation. (Sorry we digress).
There are a number of basic rules which govern commercial copywriting as with any sort of writing that is intended to be read and understood. You’ve got to ensure that your grammar and punctuation are spot on so that people can easily apprehend your meaning and derive the impression you intend them to derive from what you’ve written.
Standard punctuation allows copywriters a certain amount of freedom to stylise their prose. Separating a list of items with semi colons instead of commas for example, or using a colon instead of a comma within a sentence enables you to either elevate the tone or create dramatic tension.
In general however, rules are rules and if you want to be clearly understood by your readers you need to use standard punctuation in a commonly accepted way.
There’s only really one punctuative character which divides copywriters, editors and readers across the English speaking world in terms of its correct usage, and that’s the humble hyphen.
Read more about the plight of the hyphen at the home of Yorkshire's commercial copywriting lovelies Tight Jeans and Jelly Shoes.
