How to use exclamation mark?

An exclamation mark (!) is used to describe strong emotions or feelings like surprise, anger, grief or joy. They are usually used within quotes. Though they enhance expressing emotions and also add hues to the text, one should avoid using them in formal writing, unless absolutely necessary.

Exclamations marks are not used abundantly. There are certain rules behind their usage. One should keep these rules in mind before deciding whether to use an exclamation mark in a sentence or after a particular word or not. Some of them are as follows:

1.    If you want to describe strong or extreme feelings, then use exclamation mar. For example:
-    She exclaimed, “What a beautiful painting!”
-    “Help!”

2.    Interjections are words used in interjections are usually followed by an exclamation mark. For example:
-    “Hi! How are you?”
-    “Eww! That’s really dirty.”

3.    When ‘what’ or ‘how’ are not used to question, they are often an exclamation and requires an exclamation mark. For example:
-    “What a lovely house!”
-    How great he looked in that movie!

4.    More than one exclamation mark is sometimes used in very informal writings. For example:
-    Listen, don’t be late tonight ok!!!
-    I don’t understand you!!

5.    It is also permissible to use an exclamation mark to draw attention to an interruption. For example:
-    On the (rare!) occasion when you use an abbreviations, be sure to punctuate it properly.

6.    Try to avoid exclamation mark in formal english writing.