Mar 22, 2017 punctuation, such as the semicolon and colon, is a key ingredient of writing. The numbers of the sections may be used as references in correcting manuscript. Do not use a colon if the two parts of the sentence are not logically connected. In writing these chapters, i came to a realization that has slowly been dawning on me during my 15 years as a technical editor. This book will help you improve your language skills through encouragement, not. The colon can also be used to introduce a grammatically independent sentence. Colons, question marks, quotation marks, parentheses, apostrophes. Use the colon after a complete sentence to introduce a list of items. Generally, you can think of a colon as a punctuation mark that anticipates something additional coming.
In modern english writing, a colon follows an independent clause, and is then followed by something that answers or explains that clause. Place semicolons and colons outside quotation marks. The book covers only a small portion of the field of english style, but the experience of its writer. The vocabularyand the structures have been planned chapter by chapter, fromsimple to more complex, and the lessons build on each other. The speaker ofthe house began with the following words ladies and gentlemen. Grammatically, dashes are identical to colons when used this way correct. Books, paper, pencilsmany students lacked even the simplest. Learning how to use colons correctly, along with other punctuation rules, can give your writing more clarity. Writing from prompts writing skills book 2 grades 78 planning and prewriting sentence structure and variety grammar for writing basic paragraph structure expanding paragraphs audience and purpose types of writing summarizing essays editing and revising writing from prompts writing skills book 3 grades 912.
Colon worksheet please plac e a c olon where it belongs in each sentence below. They tell readers to pause between words or groups of. This is writing with semicolons and colons, section 18. It often sets up and draws the readers attention to the ideas that come after it. After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. The colon is like a sign on the highway, announcing that something important is coming. Rules and conventions of academic writing the details in this handout are based on material first developed by hazel hall at queen margaret university college in november 1998. A colon is also used between hours and minutes, titles and subtitles of books, city and publisher in bibliographies, in biblical citations between chapter and verse, and for salutations in business letters and other formal letter writing. Jul 30, 2019 as for the book itself, its not surprising that, using the semicolon as a springboard, it dove into the deeper matter of communication itself, taking a look at grammar rules along the way, and our delight in consistently ignoring them as soon as they are published.
Colons and semi colons apostrophes academics are often accused of being pedantic about grammar, spelling and punctuation, but all these seemingly endless rules are actually about effective communication expressing yourself clearly, accurately and precisely. Use a colon to introduce the formal expression of a rule or principle. Thegoal of this book is to take the student from the mechanics of ba sicsentence writing to the ability to construct a simple paragraph. Use a colon to introduce an item or list, if the list comes after a complete sentence or independent clause. The colon the colon can be used in the following 7 ways. If each point is a complete sentence, capitalize the first word and end the sentence with appropriate ending punctuation. Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. The colon can be used after the first word of a sentence or just before the final word of a sentence. Whether youre writing an essay, a nonfiction book, or a blog post, therell be times when you want to quote someone else at some length more than a sentence or two. The man who hasnt read good books has no advantage over.
Usage basic punctuation rules utah valley state college writing center correct punctuation is essential for clear and effective writing. Prohibited punctuation in fiction the editors blog. For punctuation concerns related to referencing, please ask a writing consultant for material specifically on how to reference. Remember that using too many semicolons and colons can make a paper look. Amy tan has written novels, and adapted them for the screen. However, the semicolon is a stronger mark of punctuation. While a semicolon normally joins two independent clauses to signal a close connection between them, a colon does the job of directing you to the information following it.
No punctuation is needed when the quotation is integrated into the syntax of your prose. The baseball coach claimed that his teams success stemmed from three things. Colons come after the independent clause complete sentence and before the word, phrase, sentence, quotation, or list they are introducing. Jan 01, 2014 the book is clear, with examples of how to use and not use each punctuation mark, and i love that there is information about which style guides use which rules. Wartime inventions b now name the types of sentences used in the paragraph above. Semicolons and colons intimidate many people because writers do not. This handout probably merits consideration for the worlds top ten of boring documents. Click here for stepbystep rules, stories and exercises to practice all english tenses. When to use a colon in your writing professional writing.
These basic rules can strengthen your sentences with the punctuation they deserve. Our tool box contains the following a hammer, a wrench, and a chisel. The goal of this book is to take the student from the mechanics of basic sentence writing to the ability to construct a simple paragraph. Good punctuation makes a sentence clear and easy to read and understand, because it shows the grammatical structure of the text, its meaning, and often the relationship. Dec 18, 2017 for now we will stick to when to use a colon in the body of your writing. The colon is used to separate two independent clauses when the second explains or illustrates the first. Jul 10, 2018 kurt vonneguts caution against the use of semicolons is one of the most famous and canonical pieces of writing advice, an admonition that has become, so to speak, one of the rules. Writing with semicolons and colons 2012 book archive. After reading the handout, you will be better able to decide when to use these forms of punctuation in your own writing.
It is especially important when writing formal academic essays, such as for the ielts, toefl, sat, cae, etc. Now before you run away from reading the rest of this article, you first need to know the rules about colons, in order to make an appropriate choice about when to use a colon. Since we would be returning late anyway, we stayed to watch the sunset. While you can also use a semicolon or a period between two independentyetrelated clauses, the colon is a little softer than the period, but a little harder than the semicolon. When to use a colon within a sentence or paragraph. Note that most of these questions can be answered visually. For thisreason, the students will probably benefit the most if they do the.
Colons punctuation rules the blue book of grammar and. Objectives of the style guide we have three main objectives in writing this style guide. Semicolons are used to separate main clauses that are closely. Fundamentally, there are two formats when you will use a colon in your writing. Academics are often accused of being pedantic about grammar, spelling and punctuation, but all these seemingly endless rules are actually about effective communication expressing yourself clearly, accurately and precisely. Thus, it is one of the most powerful punctuation marks. The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes tenth edition jane straus. When multiple answers are grammatically correct and express the same essential information, the shortest one will virtually always be correct. It is true that language is dynamic, so conventional rules about grammar and punctuation change all the time. Colons can be confusing, thats true, but their function is actually quite straightforward. As with the semicolon, do not capitalize the first word after the colon unless the word is ordinarily capitalized.
This book will show you how to improve your grammar and writing, step by step. This book is licensed under a creative commons byncsa 3. An independent clause can stand alone as a complete sentence. Rule 3 a colon followed by a complete sentence should have the first letter after the colon be capitalized example. Kurt vonneguts caution against the use of semicolons is one of the most famous and canonical pieces of writing advice, an admonition that has become, so to speak, one of the rules. Colon worksheet please place a colon where it belongs in each sentence below. There are many different types of paper, including. Semicolons, colons, and parentheses purdue writing lab. There are also sections which offer advice on using punctuation when writing direct speech, lists, or abbreviations. You may find some aspects of punctuation harder to grasp than others for example, when to use a semicolon or a colon.
However, if you want to do well in your assignments you need to get the basics. Using commas, semicolons, and colons within sentences. In writing, we use colons and semicolons to make connections and introductions. Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence.
Clicking on each heading will take you to a page with more details and full information. It is also used in titles and subtitles of books, business or formal letters, to distinguish hours from minutes when specifying time, and in a number of other cases. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. The style guide is intended to be read as an interactive pdf, where it can. This violates the rule that the material preceding the colon must be a complete thought. Generally, capitalize the first letter of the word following the. Use a colon to introduce a list when no introductory words like namely, for instance, i.
Semicolons and colons quiz 1 the blue book of grammar. This handout explains the most common uses of three kinds of punctuation. London has many tourist attractions museums, palaces, and monuments. Commas commas are used to separate parts of a sentence. Colons can introduce a word or words, a phrase, a list or a quotation. Appendices include an irregular verb list, grammar rule index, and answer keys. Capitalization and punctuation are optional when using single words or. Rule 2a a hyphen is frequently required when forming original compound verbs for vivid writing, humor, or special situations. Semicolons and colonsprovides students with the correct punctuation rules for using colons and semicolons in their writing. The video also explains incorrect ways in which people mistakenly use these punctuation marks. Subject pronouns are used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence. Semicolons, colons, quotation marks, dashes, parentheses and apostrophes the semicolon. After a word introducing a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series.
Punctuation, such as the semicolon and colon, is a key ingredient of writing. So use this pretest for a general idea of how much of whats in this book. On semicolons and the rules of writing the millions. Erika suffern is the head of book publications at the mla. The colon is one of the easiest form of punctuation in the english language. It is also often used after the salutation of a business letter. The main function of a colon is to introduce what follows it. Never use a colon after a verb that directly introduces a list. When listing items one by one, one per line, following a colon, capitalization and ending punctuation are optional when using single words or phrases preceded by letters, numbers, or bullet points. If, however, you have additional sentences following the sentence with the colon and they explain the sentence prior to the colon, capitalize the first word of all the sentences following the colon. When to capitalize after colons colons introduce words, phrases, or a series of words or phrases that explain or amplify what came before. If you use semicolons in your writing, use them sparingly and apply the rules correctly. A colon introduces an element or series of elements that illustrates or amplifies the information that preceded the colon. Because of the rules and examples of each, students who view the video.
In such usage, the colon functions in much the same way as the semicolon. Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list, quotation, definition, explanation, etc. The book was known on the campus in those days as the little book, with the stress on the word little. However, knowing how to use colons properly requires the knowledge of the following rules.
Rule 2b when writing out new, original, or unusual compound nouns, writers should hyphenate to avoid confusion. There are five key rules for colon usage that should always be followed. As you work through each set of questions, youll be gaining a solid understanding of basic grammar and usage rules. Home writing center use a colon to signal a series of words, phrases, or clauses after a complete sentence.
It is true that language is dynamic, so conventional rules about grammar and. The following list contains some of the most critical punctuation rules. Fragments occur when youve written only part of a sentence. The oxford university style guide aims to provide a guide to writing and formatting. The students book if a singular noun ends with an s or z sound, you may just add an apostrophe or an apostrophe and s. Using a colon after such as, including, especially, and similar phrases. Students writing research papers or newspapers quoting parts of speeches will often employ ellipses to avoid copying lengthy text that is not needed. Colon worksheet please place a colon where it belongs in. Colon worksheet please place a colon where it belongs in each.
My ten golden rules for writing a book that will never sell. The best punctuation book, period by june casagrande. Thomas book or thomass book in both cases the book belongs to thomas. All the grammar, punctuation, and usage rules and examples on the website plus dozens of quizzes with answers.
The style guide is not intended for public or external use, and does not purport to compete with oups professional writing guides and dictionaries. Colons with lists grammar blog blue book of grammar. Follow our five rules of colon usage and youll be a master in no time. The editors blog is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to. In modern english writing, a colon follows an independent clause, and is then followed by something that answers or explains that clause a good way to think about colons is that they lead to more information or tell the reader that more details are coming in the sentence. A colon is a form of punctuation used in several different situations. More on these rules later, but first the infamous quote in question.
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