Please tell my client that five exclamation points (or exclamation marks, if you prefer) in six sentences is too many.
Last week I edited an annual report written by a non-profit group. Knowing the group wanted “donor-centric” copy, I deliberately left tone and style alone. Instead, I did things that aimed for consistency, accuracy and ease of reading a sentence, like fixing typos and adding capital letters and commas where they were needed and removing them where they weren’t.
But then I came to five! exclamation marks! in just six sentences! I suggested changing three into periods, which I thought showed restraint.
The client resisted, saying that she thought being conversational (meaning those exclamations) meant that “a lot of traditional grammar will be going right out of the window.”
I respectfully disagreed. Grammar is important even in a friendly, conversational piece. Done correctly, it doesn’t get in the way of conversational; it just helps the structure get out of the way of the meaning.
One of the problems with so many exclamations — besides annoying many readers — is it dilutes the importance of these sentences. The Canadian Writer’s Handbook says the exclamation point is appropriate for:
“emphatic surprise, emphatic query, or strong emotion,” but cautions, “Try to make your sentences appropriately emphatic without resorting to this sometimes artificial device.”
Lynne Truss, in Eats, Shoots & Leaves, says:
“grammarians have warned us to be wary of the exclamation mark, mainly because…it still shouts, flashes like neon, and jumps up and down…I suppose the rule is: only use an exclamation mark when you are absolutely sure you require such a big effect.”
She quotes H.W. Fowler as saying,
“An excessive use of exclamation marks is a certain indication of an unpractised writer or of one who wants to add a spurious dash of sensation to something unsensational.”
My friend and colleague Amy Sept calls the overuse of exclamation marks “hyperventilating” (a term I love). She quotes an email she received with a four-sentence paragraph in which every sentence ended with an exclamation, saying, “After one brief paragraph, I felt like I was facing a too-perky barista waiting for my morning coffee — and they weren’t handing it over.”
CP Style, as Amy notes, says to use the exclamation mark “to denote great surprise, a command, deep emotion, emphasis and sarcasm” and not “to end a mildly exclamatory sentence.” Hear, hear!
Related reading:
Is it curtains for the ‘full stop’?
F. Scott Fitzgerald said “Cut out all those exclamation marks. An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own joke.”
Terry Pratchett said, “Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind.”
If you had one exclamation mark to use in your whole life, when, where would you use it? Don’t know who said it but it is worth considering every time you place an exclamation mark.
Good ones, Mary! Having just one to use your entire life is pretty restrictive, though.
Thanks so much for the link back to my related post – although you already had me at your title. You’re right: some people think exclamation points create conversational writing. I hope you were able to successfully argue the point with your client!
I hope so, too! I haven’t seen the final yet but will get a copy in a day or two.
I like to compare exclamation marks to the F word. Use rarely for dramatic effect. Or frequently to sound tacky. Nice post.
Thanks for commenting, Barb. I like that comparison; I’ve also heard similar to encourage people not to use the vague word “very.”