The 'Period', 'Full Stop' or 'Point'
Introduction
The period (known as a full stop in British English) is probably the simplest of the punctuation marks to use.
You use it like a knife to cut the sentences to the required length. Generally, you can break up the sentences using the full stop at the end of a logical and complete thought that looks and sounds right to you.
Note: The main issue with them in academic writing is that many students do not use them enough. There is an assumption that long sentences are more academic. This is not true. Some academic concepts are difficult to describe in a simple sentence but the majority of sentences do not need to be complicated or overlong.
Use the full stop
1. to mark the end of a sentence which is not a question or an exclamation.
- Rome is the capital of Italy.
- I was born in Australia and now live in Indonesia.
- The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.
2. to indicate an abbreviation
- I will be in between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
- There’s a wide range of sandwiches, pies, cakes, etc. at very reasonable prices.
Note: Dr and Mr and Mrs and Ms do not take a full stop nor do most abbreviations taken from the first capital letters such as MA Phd CNN
3. special case - three dots
Often you will see a sentence concluding with three dots. This indicates that only part of the sentence or text has been quoted or that it is being left up to the reader to complete the rest of the sentence.
- The Lord's Prayer begins, 'Our Father which are in Heaven...'
3. To mark the end of a group of words that don’t form a conventional sentence, so as to emphasize a statement:
- I keep reliving that moment. Over and over again.
4. fullstop after a single word
Sometimes a single word can form the sentence. In this case you place a fullstop after the word as you would in any other sentence.
Note: This is often the case when the subject is understood as in a greeting or a command such as "Stop."