Academic Skills Advice
Punctuation:
Colons and Semi-colons
This workshop will:
− Refresh your understanding of colons and semi-colons, and their function
− Provide tips for the appropriate use of colons and semi-colons
− Provide practice and follow-on activities for you to be able continue to
improve your use of punctuation
Teaching points:
1. What a colon does
2. What a semi-colon does
3. Applying the correct punctuation
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Academic Skills Advice
Colons and semi-colons do a variety of different jobs, and you may have seen them
used in a number of ways. This workshop will focus on their basic uses so you gain
confidence when applying them. If you want more advanced support with
punctuation, please visit The Language Centre on…
http://www.bradford.ac.uk/study/languages/
1. What a colon does
With the semi-colon, colons keep sentence length down which is really handy when
you are over your word count for assignments. You need to make it easier for your
tutor to follow what you are trying to say so either use shorter sentences or break
down longer ones using colons or semi-colons.
The colon’s uses include working as a…..
Signal: It can be used to indicate an additional piece of information follows the first
half of a sentence. By doing this, it also acts as a substitute to replace various
expressions such as:
Namely
For instance
On the other hand
In other words
For example
In particular
info to come about
the ‘two ways’
Example: As he grew older Joseph found he became more paranoid in two main
ways: his dislike of spending his own money, and his dislike of others spending his
money.
substitute for
‘which are’
info to come about
the ‘the way ahead’
Example: The way ahead for the organisation was quite clear: to reorganise,
regroup, and rethink their strategy.
substitute for
‘that is’
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Introduction: It can also introduce lists and the start of quotations
Example: Other factors included: rising costs of fuel and feed, labour costs, and the
demographic changes in the region.
Example: The backlog in orders continued to build. One person familiar with the
system likened it to a sponge: “It could take so much water and then no more”.
Separation: It can separate the main part from subtitles in texts.
Example:
The colon: uses and application
Let’s read the sentences below and insert colons in the
appropriate place. If the act as a substitute as well, underline the words they
replace.
A. This leads us to another very important development in town planning which
is the arrival of out-of-town shopping centres.
B. Shuffle or wilt a reluctant jogger’s guide to running.
C. Tomlinson was correct when he made the statement ‘urban planners should
always aim to avoid demolishing historic buildings.’
D. Among town planners today, there is one buzzword and that is sustainability.
E. The respondent claimed “The feedback can be a bit vague and difficult to
understand.”
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2. What a semi-colon does Just deliverer
Its main use is to act as a …
Link: between long phrases or sentences in a list. Please note that you must
include ‘and’ with the last item just as you would in a list with individual items
Example: The communication of this strategy to the satellite companies involved a
great number of slogans; ‘continuous improvement’; ‘benchmarking’; ‘learning
organization’; ‘common approach’; and ‘we’re in it for the long haul’.
We will insert any necessary semi-colons (you will get more
practice later). Deliverer leads
A. In some societies, homes need to be built to accommodate a range of family
structures that include extended families nuclear families and single-parent
households.
B. Fares were offered to Corfu, the Greek island Elba, in the Mediterranean and
Paris.
C. Ingredients for a tasty fruit salad must include just-ripe bananas crunchy Cox
apples red seedless grapes sweet strawberries and soft-to-the-touch kiwis.
3. Applying the correct punctuation
Now you have learnt what a colon and semi-colon do and where they go, try the
activities below.
Activity 1: Punctuation in the right place
Read the sentences, identify whether a colon, semi-colon or both are required and
add them. You may have to use them as a substitute for phrases in the sentences
and/or combine sentences. Consult with one neighbour and check each other’s work,
and then check with the other neighbour.
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A. Jones (2015) would have us believe the student loan system “ensures money
generated through taxation can be spent on those that have need of it.”
B. He likes to play video games and his favourite is Pong.
C. To make the perfect jam sandwich you need three things bread, butter and
raspberry jam.
D. The report focuses on three issues how reliable public transport systems are
what measures would be most effective in reducing traffic congestion and
whether parking facilities are adequate.
E. This brings me to my final point, which is that the repercussions of local
government initiatives have not always been carefully considered.
F. Student engagement influences, definition and consequences.
G. The problem was not confined to one area. In fact, it was widespread
throughout the country.
H. In later life, Kerry-Anne found there were three qualities she disliked in other
people Britishness superior airs and a lack of interest in her red hair
Activity 2: You’re the tutor
Read the following paragraph and identify the mistakes. You may need to add,
change or delete colons and/or semi-colons and/or commas. When you have
finished, swap your answer with a neighbour to see if they have the same as you.
The Thomas Jefferson Building, one of the three buildings which constitutes the
Library of Congress, is one of the loveliest buildings on Capitol Hill; its architecture
and the art within its walls help contribute to the beauty of this magnificent building.
Of course, the Library of Congress is mostly famous for one thing, its incredible
collection of books. It acquires more than 10, 000 new items per working day! As
mentioned previously, there are three buildings that make up the Library of
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Congress the Thomas Jefferson Building, named after Thomas Jefferson, the Adams
Building, after John Adams: and the Madison Building, named after James Madison.
Though all three of these buildings are visually distinct, all have the same primary
purpose to house books, films, maps, and other forms of information for the United
States. Whilst being given a tour in 1995, Louise Livesey, the incumbent President,
said, “I’ve got a headache just thinking about all the books here.”
Extract adapted from Pearson Education (2014, 576-577)
Whilst a sign of a mature academic writer is the proper use of punctuation marks,
such as colons and semi-colons, if you are still unsure about how to use colons and
semi-colons, try to reconstruct the sentence so you do not use them.
If you would like help with your grammar or apostrophes, we run workshops on
these subjects. Please visit our website.
Suggested websites for more information and activities:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/ and search for the punctuation type you want
http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/languageartsworksheets/punctuationworksheet
s/ and search for the punctuation type you want.
References
Clip art – colon/question
Drawingcoach.com (2010) Drawing a Friendly Cartoon Panda. [online] Available at:
http://www.drawingcoach.com/cartoon-panda.html [Accessed 2.7.2014]
Harrison, M., Jakeman, V. and Paterson, K. (2012) Improve your grammar.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
How Stuff Works. (2012) 10 Completly wrong ways to use a comma. [online]
Available at:
http://howstuffworks.tumblr.com/post/24471189949/10-completely-wrong-ways-touse-commas-commas-are [Accessed 2.7.2014]
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Academic Skills Advice
Lucy and Maeve. (2009) Colon. [online] Available at:
http://www.lucyandmaeve.com/punctuation/colon.html [Accessed 2.7.2014]
Lucy and Maeve. (2009) Semi-colon. [online] Available at:
http://www.lucyandmaeve.com/punctuation/colon.html [Accessed 2.7.2014]
Pearson Education. (2014) Commas, Semicolons and Colons. Harlow: Pearson
Higher Education. [online] Available at:
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/showcase/sims1e/assets/Sims_ch25.pdf
[Accessed 22.4.2015]
Savage, D. (2007) Endangered. [online] Available at:
http://www.savagechickens.com/tag/semicolon [Accessed 16.6.2014]
Schwartz, B (2013) Search Engine Roundtable. [online] Available at:
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-advice-17354.html [Accessed 2.7.2014]
Truss, L. (2005) Eats, shoots and leaves. 2nd ed. London: Profile Books Ltd.
University of Bristol. (2012) Using the comma. Bristol: University of Bristol. [online]
Available at:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_45.htm
[Accessed 16.6.2014]
Answers
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Colons
This leads us to another very important development in town planning:
which is the arrival of out-of-town shopping centres.
Shuffle or wilt: a reluctant jogger’s guide to running.
Tomlinson was correct when he made the statement: ‘urban planners
should always aim to avoid demolishing historic buildings.’
Among town planners today, there is one buzzword: and that is
sustainability.
The respondent claimed: “The feedback can be a bit vague and difficult to
understand.”
7
www.brad.ac.uk/academic-skills
Academic Skills Advice
Semi-colons.
A. In some societies, homes need to be built to accommodate a range of family
structures that include extended families; nuclear families; and singleparent households.
B. Fares were offered to Corfu, the Greek island; Elba, in the Mediterranean;
and Paris.
C. Ingredients for a tasty fruit salad must include just-ripe bananas; crunchy
Cox apples, red seedless grapes; sweet strawberries; and soft-to-thetouch kiwis.
Activity 1: Punctuation in the right place
A. Jones (2015) would have us believe the student loan system: “ensures money
generated through taxation can be spent on those that have need of it.”
B. He likes to play video games: his favourite is Pong.
C. To make the perfect jam sandwich you need three things: bread, butter and
raspberry jam.
D. The report focuses on three issues: how reliable public transport systems
are; what measures would be most effective in reducing traffic congestion;
and whether parking facilities are adequate.
E. This brings me to my final point: the repercussions of local government
initiatives have not always been carefully considered.
F. Student engagement: influences, definition and consequences.
G. The problem was not confined to one area: it was widespread throughout
the country.
H. In later life, Kerry-Anne found there were three qualities she disliked in other
people: Britishness; superior airs; and a lack of interest in her red hair.
Activity 2: You’re the tutor
The Thomas Jefferson Building, one of the three buildings which constitutes the
Library of Congress, is one of the loveliest buildings on Capitol Hill: its architecture
and the art within its walls help contribute to the beauty of this magnificent building.
Of course, the Library of Congress is mostly famous for one thing: its incredible
collection of books. It acquires more than 10, 000 new items per working day! As
mentioned previously, there are three buildings that make up the Library of
Congress: the Thomas Jefferson Building, named after Thomas Jefferson; the
Adams Building, after John Adams; and the Madison Building, named after James
Madison. Though all three of these buildings are visually distinct, all have the same
primary purpose: to house books, films, maps, and other forms of information for
the United States. Whilst being given a tour in 1995, Louise Livesey, the incumbent
President, said: “I’ve got a headache just thinking about all the books here.”
8
www.brad.ac.uk/academic-skills