All that pesky punctuation PART 2 (semi-colons, colons, hyphens/dashes, ellipses, brackets)

Today, we're finishing our discussion about punctuation marks. If you can grasp these concepts, you'll never have a problem with punctuation again. Let's start with a little levity. This is a classic routine by someone you may not know—but you should! It's a bit lengthy, but it's worth watching.

Okay. Let's look at the rest of the most common punctuation marks.

Semi-colon

People seem to think that semi-colons are confusing, but there are really only three uses for them.

First, they're used to connect two independent clauses that are closely related (more about this in my blog about sentence structure):

Joe asked Sue to marry him; she said yes!

Second, they're used to connect two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb (again, I give more detail about this in my sentence structure blog):

I was going to France; however, I decided to go to Australia instead.

Finally, they're used clarify items in a list when other punctuation marks are included:

The cast members include: John, a talented, well-trained singer; Mary, a graceful, adventurous dancer; Marty, a wonderful, hilarious comedian; and Georgia, a versatile, enthusiastic actor.

That's it!

Colon

Colons have just a few uses, as well.

First, they're used to introduce lists (see the sentence above about "cast members ...").

Second, they're used to introduce further explanation:

Sarah finally found her dream home: it's a quaint Victorian cottage with a wraparound porch.

Third, they're used to separate hour from minute, as in "It's 3:15 a.m."

Fourth, they're used to introduce quotes:

When I'm feeling stressed, I always remember: "That which does not kill me makes me stronger."

Finally, they're used in salutations for formal letters, as in Dear Mr. President:

Hyphens

Hyphens should really only be used one way in academic writing: to create compound words, especially modifiers for nouns:

my well-intentioned friend
her newly-purchased car
his five-year-old daughter

Dashes

Dashes are used to set off parenthetical elements. By using dashes instead of commas, the information stands out to your reader. You can use either "en-dashes," which have spaces between them and your words, or "em-dashes," which are longer dashes with no spaces. NOTE: em-dashes tend to provide for a smoother appearance to your writing.

en-dash: Two main characteristics - a sense of humor and loyalty - are most important to me.
em-dash: Two main characteristics—a sense of humor and loyalty—are most important to me.

Ellipses

Ellipses are used in two ways.

First, they're used to indicate deletion from a quote. For example, the original quote is:

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
—George Orwell

If you want to use just a portion of this quote, you would indicate your deletion like this:

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle ... One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
—George Orwell

Second, they're used to indicate a deliberate interruption in thought:

I'm thinking about making lasagna for dinner ... but then again, maybe not.

NOTE: MLA requires a space between words and dots.

Brackets

Brackets are mainly used (in academic writing, at least) to indicate when you're using your own words to add clarity to someone else's quote. The original quote is:

"Joe Smith overcame his circumstances to become a standout in his field."

You want your reader to know who Joe Smith is, so you might write:

"Joe Smith [president of ABC Company] overcame his circumstances to become a standout in his field."

You may also use them to change words to make a quote flow more smoothly. If the original quote is:

Joe Smith stated, "I overcame my circumstances to become a standout in my field."

To incorporate this quote into your own writing, you might write:

Joe Smith "overcame [his] circumstances to become a standout in [his] field."

Well ... that's about it for punctuation. Again, review these rules and incorporate them in your writing.

Keep pen to paper!

Prof. Rinehart

P.S. For the foreseeable future, I'll be posting biweekly. Come back on September 20 when I'll be discussing how to write a thesis and outline. I hope to "see" you then!