Punctuation contributes substantially to the effectiveness of a piece of writing, and its successful use calls for an awareness of the sound of written language. For centuries, debates have existed over whether punctuation is determined by grammar, or whether its primary function is to signal the "prosody"--the patterns of pitch and stress and hesitations--that authors intend and that readers attribute to a piece of writing. One reason for the inconclusiveness of these debates is the fact that prosody and grammar often support each other. Much 19th-century writing included punctuation that was not in accord with grammatically based rules. However, other literature (for example, certain unpunctuated sequences in James Agee's "A Death in the Family") shows how punctuation, or the lack of punctuation, does not reflect the way the writing sounds. These styles of writing are distinguished by the degree to which their punctuation captures the prosody of the inner voice. Reading aloud can make the inner voice overt by turning written language into spoken language, but whereas reading aloud is subject to various physical and psychological constraints, the inner voice is not. In teaching writing, the importance of listening to what is written should be stressed. In addition to being sensitized to their inner voices, students can benefit from knowing the range of available punctuating options. (Five references are appended.) (MM)