Dear E:

You wrote:

Thank you for all of your expertise. I just have a few more questions.

1. When using the virgule I always put a space before and after it because I believe it’s easier on the reader’s eyes and avoids confusion. However, I acknowledge that the space is nonstandard. In formal writing, is it correct if I put the space before and after the virgule, or should I just stick to tradition?

Actually, the only time you would use a virgule in formal writing is for and/or or with dates. In both of those cases, there should be little confusion by sticking to tradition. Look under “Virgule” in Grammar Slammer.

2. Should one use a semi-colon to introduce a long list of five items or more? e.g., Including; Practice, Exhibition, Season, Franchise, Tournament, and Xbox Live. Or, is the semi-colon unnecessary?

See “Colon with Lists” in Grammar Slammer. First of all, use a colon, not a semicolon. Use a colon only if the list is preceded by a complete sentence. If the list is merely a direct object or object of a preposition, then there is no purpose for the colon. In the example you gave, the list is probably the direct object of “including,” so you would not use a colon or any punctuation mark.

3. Should one use hyphens with prefixes such as pre-season, off-line, warm-ups etc. Or, should one omit the hyphen. Are both correct? I ask because I see writers use both the hyphen and not, so I just want to verify I am correct, especially in formal writing.

In the examples you give, there is no hard and fast practice. There are a few cases (e.g., before a proper noun like “pre-Columbian”) where the hyphen is always used.

However, in the examples that you give this is what generally happens. When the word is first coined, a hyphen is used to show the parts of the word. If the word becomes widely used, then editors begin dropping the hyphen. That is why you see all three words that you gave above done both ways.

In some cases, the hyphen remains necessary to distinguish it from other words, e.g. “co-op” from coop or “re-form” from reform.

E replied:

Once again thanks.

So let me get this straight; in formal writing, even if a company’s name uses a virgule or hyphen, I should use a substitute?

No, I think you misunderstood. In formal writing there are normally only two accepted uses for the virgule: with the expression “and/or” and with dates (e.g., 1731/1732). Clearly, if a company’s name uses a virgule, then you would have to use it in the name since that is how it names itself. Hyphens are much more common in standard writing, so that should not be a problem in most cases.