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November 14, 2023 | Blog
Apostrophes (’) may seem minor in the grand scheme of academic writing, yet their correct use is central to the writer’s respectability. At best, misusing an apostrophe will confuse your readers and dilute the effectiveness of your work. At worst, it will prompt your audience to stop taking you seriously altogether. Learning how to use apostrophes is critical to ensuring the professionalism of your academic work.
This comprehensive guide explains the ins and outs of how to use apostrophes correctly.
Apostrophes serve two primary functions in English: indicating possession and forming contractions. While this seems straightforward enough, knowing exactly where to place an apostrophe can be challenging.
More complex rules governing edge cases often don’t make it into how-to guides and are therefore not widely understood, even by native English speakers.
Singular possession
For singular nouns and indefinite pronouns, add an apostrophe followed by an ‘s’ (e.g., the student’s book; anyone’s guess).
Plural possession
For plural nouns ending in ‘s’, add only an apostrophe (e.g., the students’ books). For plural nouns not ending in ‘s’, add an apostrophe and ‘s’ (e.g., children’s playground). Avoid errors like womens’ and childrens’.
Joint possession
Use an apostrophe on the final noun to show joint ownership (e.g., Alice and Bob’s research means that Alice and Bob are doing their research together).
Separate possession
Place apostrophes on both nouns to indicate separate ownership (e.g., Alice’s and Bob’s lab coats means that both Alice and Bob have lab coats – each person has their own).
Contractions
Apostrophes are used to show omitted letters in contractions (e.g., do not becomes don’t). Academic writing tends to avoid contractions to maintain a formal tone, so use these sparingly, if at all.
Elision
When an apostrophe marks the omission of an initial or a final letter, the apostrophe is preceded or followed by a full space (e.g., rock ’n’ roll). When the apostrophe replaces a letter that appears mid-word, no space is used (e.g., ma’am).
I know, I know – this runs counter to everything you’ve ever been told about apostrophes and plurals – but hear me out. In a few very clearly defined edge cases, we use apostrophes to create plurals because omitting them would create confusion. Let’s look at each of these cases in turn.
Plurals of lowercase letters
When lowercase letters must be referred to in plural form, apostrophes add clarity (e.g., when children first learn to write, they often confuse their b’s with their d’s).
Plurals of capital letters
For the same reason, we can add apostrophes to capital letters when referring to them as objects. This helps prevent miscues (e.g., she couldn’t tell whether the marks were A’s or arrows).
Plurals of lowercase abbreviations
When we refer to lowercase abbreviations in plural form, apostrophes help prevent miscues (e.g., academic writers sometimes have trouble telling their e.g.’s from their i.e.’s).
Plurals of capitalized abbreviations containing periods
When referring to the B.B.C.’s and the A.E.G.’s of the world in plural form, we use apostrophes. Omit the apostrophes, though, if your style guide calls for BBCs and AEGs without periods (British English tends to leave out the stops).
Plurals of symbols
When you’re in need of a plural symbol, use an apostrophe (e.g., she replaced all the &’s with “and”).
Plurals of single-digit numerals
Single-digit numerals, when referred to as objects, can take apostrophes to aid clarity (e.g., find all the 6’s in that pile of number tiles).
You might occasionally be called on to write something like the ’90s, where the apostrophe precedes the balance of the text. Microsoft Word will autocorrect the apostrophe to an opening quotation mark, leaving you with the ‘90s. The apostrophe is now facing the wrong way and is therefore no longer an apostrophe at all. Spotting and correcting this kind of thing puts you in the 99th percentile of editors – an editing ninja.
Word processors also don’t distinguish between apostrophes and single closing quotation marks. When a word ends in an apostrophe, no period or comma should intervene between the word and the apostrophe. Be mindful of this when running global find and replace actions, for instance to change a document from British punctuation style to American punctuation style.
When a singular or plural name or term is italicised, set the possessive apostrophe s that follows in roman text: the Telegraph’s chief editor; the Titanic’s maiden voyage.
Avoid forming the possessive of an abbreviation that is followed by a spelled-out form in parentheses (or vice versa). Write the long history of NASA (the National Aeronautical and Space Administration), not NASA’s (the National Aeronautical and Space Administration’s) long history.
The names of many large businesses originally ended in possessive apostrophes that have, over time, disappeared. These are now written as though they were plurals (e.g., Macys, Harrods, Barclays Bank, Publishers Weekly). Other institutions (e.g., Levi’s) have retained their apostrophes. Never change a consistently applied style without checking with the author. Always check whether the names of places or organizations that end in s ought to have an apostrophe. It’s impossible to tell without consulting the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers or Editors, the institution’s own website, or a gazetteer or encyclopedic dictionary, as there’s no real rhyme or reason here.
The board has OK’d our proposal.
These expressions receive apostrophes, or not, according to euphony. Thus, we have for goodness’ sake but for expedience’s sake.
Apostrophes, tiny as they are, play an outsize role in clear and respectable writing. When in doubt, consult a reputable style guide or seek advice from an experienced editor. Our editors can provide clarity on obscure rules and ensure that your writing stands out for the right reasons.
Anne Waddingham | New Hart’s Rules: The Oxford Style Guide
Bryan A. Garner | The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation
Chicago University Press | The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition
Grammarbook | Apostrophes
Oxford University Press | New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors
Want to learn more about academic writing? Learn how to use abbreviations in academic writing.
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