Commas: Always use a comma in thousands (1,000 on
up) in text. In figures or tables, use a comma for >5 digits; if the manuscript
includes no numerals that are >5 digits, you can omit the comma for 4-digit
numbers in figures and tables.
Use a comma before "and" when three or more items are listed in series.
Hyphens and dashes: Hyphenate if a pair of nouns or a noun and adjective together (not each) modify some other word. However, if a pair is standard without the hyphen, such as real estate, don't hyphenate it.
Lists: Every list should have an intentional and apparent order. If there is no inherent order, such as chronology or mass number, use alphabetic order. If there is inherent order, mention it (for instance, declining importance).
Parentheses: Use the order {[()]} for stacked parentheses in text.
Quotation marks: Use quotation marks for quotes and when a term is being referred to as a term; don't use them to set off slang. Slang is almost never appropriate.
Place punctuation outside quotation marks unless it is part of what is being quoted.
Sentences: Leave one space after sentences. This may not be what you learned when you started typing, but as electronic publication and fonts have evolved, it has become the new convention.
Other: Prefer decimals to fractions. If referring to a subpart of the whole, as in "two-thirds of the samples were sacrificed", spell out the fraction. Use a colon (":") to mark a ratio.
For multiplication, use parentheses as first choice; use a vector dot
to indicate multiplication of separate subparts of an equation. Use a "thin
x" multiplication sign (2 ´
4) in dimensions.
