“Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind.” – Terry Pratchett
Have you ever realized that just because someone passes multiple English classes doesn’t mean they know how to spell correctly or use common punctuation properly? I have. I admit that I don’t know everything about the English language (and I’m completely okay with that), but good grief, I know how to use an exclamation mark.
I think it’s pretty ridiculous when an exclamation mark ends every sentence in a paragraph or on a page. More ! does NOT equal more excitement in this case. Also, why do people insist on putting 10 marks at the end of a sentence in a normal email, bulletin, or story? Because we love it, that’s why!!!!!!! <insert rolling of the eyes> The people at SparkNotes.com say that exclamation points should be used sparingly and if you use a ton, you will sound hysterical or ditzy. I agree.
If you are are guilty of the two crimes mentioned above, stop and think about this for a moment, please: Do people really take you seriously when they see exclamation marks everywhere in sight? And what are you going to do when you actually really do have something exciting to say – how are you going to get people’s attention? By adding just one more “!”? DON’T DO IT. Resist. Resist the devil (in this case, shift+1), and he will flee from you.
I will leave you with one more statement that I stumbled upon (I wish I could take credit for it):
An exclamation point is like profanity: the more you use it, the less subtle its effect. Go now and exclaim no more.
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telcontarrulz said
But sometimes people use exclamation marks to sound hysterical on purpose. Would it be a crime to use it then? However, I agree, sometimes too many exclamation marks are simply annoying, and it really signifies that someone is lazy because they cannot be bothered using words to describe their excitement/hysterical-ness etc.
Allen said
Preach it. You forgot to mention the adorable use of multiple punctuation marks at the end of sentence. Can you believe you forgot to do that?!?! Nothing screams, “I failed ninth grade comp” like hyper punctuation.
ben4rest said
I would have added an “!” after “DON’T DO IT”. How can you raise your voice without using an exclamation mark?
I also think it’s frequent use depends on whether it is in a publication or web and the purpose of it’s content. Grammatically speaking, whether it is appropriate or not for the writer, there are readers who unknowingly appreciate it.
ben4rest said
Yea – so in my previous comment, “it’s” should have been “its” – I discredit myself. I’m sure there are other mistakes too. Be kind.
peachyperspective said
i agree with both your comments, ben. how ’bout we make this a standard rule for people who love shift+1 – when in doubt, do not use an exclamation mark.
Bill Hampton said
Oh my little Peachy Perspective. . . I love your blog. Read it often, then today I come across this post. A person’s personality should be reflected in their writing. It has nothing to do with proper English or writing style. Your writing should be a reflection of your personality or the person that you are writing about. For example, just hypothetically speaking of course, you may write, for a living let’s just say, for someone who is high energy. Runs around a lot when they talk and uses huge hand gestures. When writing for that person (who’s hypothetical of course) you should use exclamation points. I don’t mind if you don’t use several at one time but you should use them and b/c it reflects his high energy personality they should be used often. . . hypothetically speaking of course.
peachyperspective said
since you are referring to a completely hypothetical situation, i can agree with some of your points.
Bargain Queen said
LOL at Bill Hampton’s comment.