Book Editing Book Editor Trainer 3

Question 1

In US punctuation style, where do periods and commas go relative to closing quotation marks?

Accepted Answer

Always inside the quotation marks

Answer

American style places periods and commas inside the closing quotation marks.

Question 2

Which is the correct use of an em dash?

Accepted Answer

To set off an abrupt break or parenthetical aside

Answer

The em dash marks an interruption, emphasis, or strong parenthetical break.

Question 3

An en dash is most appropriately used to:

Accepted Answer

Indicate ranges such as pages 10–20

Answer

The en dash connects ranges of numbers, dates, or times.

Question 4

Which sentence correctly uses a serial (Oxford) comma per Chicago style?

Accepted Answer

We bought apples, oranges, and pears.

Answer

Chicago recommends a comma before the final 'and' in a series.

Question 5

The word 'their' used for 'there' is an error a spell-checker typically MISSES because it is:

Accepted Answer

A correctly spelled but wrong word (homophone)

Answer

Homophones are spelled correctly, so spell-checkers pass them even when the wrong one is used.

Book Editing Practice Test