As part of my month-long anniversary series, some posts will include information covered previously. Hopefully this way new readers get to see things they missed and older readers might be reminded of things they have forgotten. (This “forgetting” thing happens to me, too!)
When you type on your iPad or iPhone, and you need to insert punctuation, you have to TAP the 123 button, then TAP the selected punctuation, and then TAP the ABC button so that the keyboard will return to the alphabet.
That’s 3 taps for each time you need to punctuate. Whew. That’s a lot of tapping.
Here is how to accomplish inserting your punctuation with just ONE tap:
When you get to the moment that you need punctuation, place your finger on the 123 button and HOLD. Now, SLIDE your finger to the punctuation you need, and then RELEASE. Tap – Slide – Release
Poof!
Your punctuation appears in your text, and your keyboard returns to the alphabet so that you can continue typing.
Give it a try: Touch the 123 ….. keep your finger on the screen ….. slide to the punctuation you want…. and release. Cool, huh? 
Grinning face: “:D” or “:-D” or “:grin:”
Sad face: “:(” or “:-(” or “:sad:”
Eek! face: “:o” or “:-o” or “:eek:” (this is made with a small case letter “o”)
Questioning face: “:?” or “:-?” or “:???:”
Mad or angry face: “:x” or “:-x” or “:mad:”
Plain, neutral face: “:neutral:”
Winking face: “;)” or “;-)” or “:wink:”
Crying face: “:cry:” 
Evil face: “:evil:”
Laughing face: “:lol:”
Embarrassed face: “:oops:”
“:roll:”
