4% because of spelling mistakes....

[Richie Allen]

Punctuation goes inside quotes in American publications.

Outside quotes in UK publications.

That might be correct because I've noticed the punctuation outside from a couple different British authors.

[cardsfansince82]

Richie: The period belongs outside the quotation marks when it is not a direct quote but rather any other word or phrase that needs quotation marks. Putting the period inside the quotes, whether at the end of a sentence or not, implies that someone said that and it is a complete thought on its own. Putting the period outside signifies that the quoted part isn't a complete thought but forms a complete thought in conjunction with the rest of the sentence. Does that make sense? So 18 years later, vindication at last.

/former copy editor

[New Pagodi]

From my highschool grammar book (don't ask me why I still have it):

Qutation marks are used with commas, semicolons, colons, and all the end marks. The location of the quotation marks in relation to the different punctuation marks varies. Below are rules to help you place the punctuation marks correctly.

Always place a comma or a period inside the final quotation mark.

EXAMPLES:
"Give us just another minute," called Mother.
Marge said, "We're all ready to leave now."

The rule for the use of semicolons and colons with quotation marks is just the opposite.

Always place a semicolon or colon outside the final quotation mark.

EXAMPLES:
We were just informed about his "willingness to move"; we are all pleased.
To convention gave her ideas its "strong endorsement": Most of the delegates promised to work hard for their adoption.

The use of question marks and exclamation marks with quotation marks is slightly more complicated...

I once got 9 points deducted on a 10 point question because I capitalized the L in log on a complex analysis test.

Grr. I love math, but that multivalued function nonsense just pisses me off. I don't care if that's how it's been done for over a hundred years, it's wrong.

[Arthur Dent]

It seems that there are a variety of opinions on the quotation mark punctuation issue. I'm going to conclude that the choice is arbitrary, and that anybody who complains about it is just being anal for no reason.

[New Pagodi]

It seems that there are a variety of opinions on the quotation mark punctuation issue. I'm going to conclude that the choice is arbitrary, and that anybody who complains about it is just being anal for no reason.

But how do you feel about multivalued functions?

[G. Keenan]

It seems that there are a variety of opinions on the quotation mark punctuation issue. I'm going to conclude that the choice is arbitrary, and that anybody who complains about it is just being anal for no reason.

It is arbitrary. All punctuation is arbitrary. The type of punctuation you use depends on the standards of your audience/publication. The three main formats are MLA, Chicago Manual of Style, and AP.

It's pretty easy. Find out what format is expected by who/what you are writing for and look it up in a manual.

[Arthur Dent]

It seems that there are a variety of opinions on the quotation mark punctuation issue. I'm going to conclude that the choice is arbitrary, and that anybody who complains about it is just being anal for no reason.

But how do you feel about multivalued functions?

I'm for them. Is there some way to get around using them?

[Arthur Dent]

It seems that there are a variety of opinions on the quotation mark punctuation issue. I'm going to conclude that the choice is arbitrary, and that anybody who complains about it is just being anal for no reason.

It is arbitrary. All punctuation is arbitrary. The type of punctuation you use depends on the standards of your audience/publication. The three main formats are MLA, Chicago Manual of Style, and AP.

It's pretty easy. Find out what format is expected by who/what you are writing for and look it up in a manual.

That's fine. When I used to write for the school newspaper, we had that AP style guide, and it was great. Whenever you had a question like this, you could just look it up, get a definitive answer, and stop worrying about it. Now, most of the writing I do is not tied to a particular style book, and I don't see much point in defining one. In that case, I don't think there's any need to worry about minor issues like whether the period comes before or after the quote mark.

[New Pagodi]

It seems that there are a variety of opinions on the quotation mark punctuation issue. I'm going to conclude that the choice is arbitrary, and that anybody who complains about it is just being anal for no reason.

But how do you feel about multivalued functions?

I'm for them. Is there some way to get around using them?

I think I'm in danger of threadjacking, but [nerdtalk]It's been a while since I've looked at the issue in depth, but I'm pretty sure most equations with multivalued functions can be restated as statements using existential quantifiers. That's always seemed to be a more precise (but more verbose) way of stating things.[/nerdtalk] Come to think of it, I really hated my complex variables and abstract algebra teachers, and I may have been using that as an excuse to focus my hatred on.

[AdmiralKird]

Promisory estoppel? WRONG!!!! Completely, no points. Promissory estoppal and I get full credit.
Unconscienable? WRONG!!!!! Again, no points. Unconscionable and I get full credit.

As a sophomore in college you'd think I would be graded on knowledge of the content and not on spelling of the content but you would be wrong. The majority of the grades you receive in college are based on how much you study, work, etc, blah blah blah but a significant amount comes from the professor you have. I think that's awful. I'll never sign up for another class without first checking http://www.ratemyprofessors.com.

You're taking Volpe aren't you.