Punctuation, Part 1

In this blog post, I will be discussing three punctuation topics that I read about in Rules for Writers.

Screenshot from my computer, 10/17/15

: Colon :

The colon is a unique tool in that it allows you to set up a list. Since I'm not very confident in my usage of colons, I never really use them in my writing. After reading the section on colons, I will likely implement more commas where appropriate. 

; Semicolon ;

The semicolon is another tool that I rarely, if ever, use. I've never been confident in its usage so I just avoided it. However, since I use lots of compound sentences, the semicolon could be an invaluable addition to my writing. After reading the section on semicolons, I feel more confident in my ability to effectively use them.

!?. End Punctuation .?!

Of course, after years of using end punctuation, I am confident using them. Reading the section on end punctuation was good reinforcement of what I knew already, but having used end punctuation for so long, I didn't learn much new information from the section on end punctuation.

Reflection

After reading Bri's and Elliot's rough draft of the rhetorical analysis, I reinforced some of things I learned about punctuation. Within these two drafts I peer edited, neither colons nor semicolons were used. This is why I only looked at end punctuation examples.

Bri's use of end punctuation

"[H]ow do we fix the problem without causing more harm than good in the American economy?"

In this example, Bri effectively used a different type of end punctuation from the standard period. After posing a question, you need a question mark. This was not new knowledge to me, but seeing the question mark effectively used in Bri's rhetorical analysis reinforces its usefullness as end punctuation.

Elliot's usage of end punctuation

"Physics has many uses in fields from biology and chemistry all the way down to sociology."

This is a classic usage of end punctuation. After a declamatory statement, Elliot uses the period correctly. We've all practiced this thousands of times, so there's not much else to say. Elliot used end punctuation well throughout his entire draft.