Writing "for" EMPHASIS!

Sorry I didn't blog last week. I was unexpectedly and unavoidably out of the office. If I get around to writing a column about it I'll post it here.

Today's topic:
We frequently get letters with lots of exclamation points, all caps, quotation marks and underlining, mostly used arbitrarily. At first glace the letters look like those fundraising appeals from public policy and charity groups. The difference is, those groups at least use the punctuation in ways that make sense.

The letters look something like this:

Dear Editor,
I'm "one" of those PATRIOTS who doesn't "appreciate" the way most "AMERICANS" fly the AMERICAN FLAG!! Sometimes the FLAG is flown in "poor" condition or when it is "NOT" illuminated!!!!!! Why???????? It is "disgraceful"!!! Don't AMERICANS "care" about their FLAG and what it "stands" for???!!!!! I didn't fight in a "war," but I am a "veteran"!! Let's show "pride" in being AMERICANS for a "change"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've never figured out what the extra exclamation points and question marks accomplish.

I previously belonged to a newspaper association whose director could not write anything without underlining, all caps, bold print and exclamation points. We teased him about it, but he was CONVINCED that the only way to get people's attention was to make it OBVIOUS which words and phrases were MOST IMPORTANT! Mind you, everyone who read the newsletter was a JOURNALIST!

When should you use exclamation points? With an interjection:
Hey! What are you doing? (Hey)
Oh, what a pain you are! (Oh)
When I saw your desk, all I could say was "Wow!" (Wow)

But do not use an exclamation point merely for emphasis:
You start work tomorrow!
I'm stuffed!
John McCain wants to turn over our country to illegal aliens!

People who use exclamation points after every sentence must read the comics every day! That's just what they do!

When should you use all caps? Never in serious writing, but it works in humor writing for emphasis.

Underlining? Underlining on a type-written page means the same as italics in published text. It can used for foreign phrases; book, magazine, album and movie titles; quotes; emphasis; or other purposes, but is best used sparingly. Some advertisers like underlining, even though it clutters their ads and makes them harder to read. It is best avoided.

I think sometimes a writer uses quotation marks to signal that he is not sure he has selected the "correct" word. But use of quotation marks is as specific as use of any other punctuation. The one use that leaves some discretion to the writer is around words that might be preceded by "so-called" or when the connotation is something other than the words literal meaning. Example:
He was a "blue-blood" after all.

Quotation marks are also used for actual quotes and portions of quotes, and book chapters and song titles. In some style books they can also be used for book, magazine, movie and album titles instead of italics.

Some style books call for using italics for the whole (book, magazine, album, movie, play), quotation marks for the part (chapter, article, song, act). Many publications leave it to the writer's discretion.