SEMICOLONS COLONS HYPHENS DASHES ELLIPSIS POINTS Punctuation

Using Semicolons Semicolons help you connect closely related ideas when a style mark stronger than a comma is needed. By using semicolons effectively, you can make your writing sound more sophisticated.

semicolons Connect closely related ideas Link two independent clauses to connect closely related ideasindependent clauses Some people write with a word processor; others write with a pen or pencil. Link clauses connected by conjunctive adverbs or transitional phrases to connect closely related ideasconjunctive adverbs transitional phrases But however they choose to write, people are allowed to make their own decisions; as a result, many people swear by their writing methods.

dashes Using Dashes Dashes, when used sparingly and correctly, can be used to make your writing sound more sophisticated.

dashes Indicate sudden changes in tone or thought within a sentence To emphasize the contradiction between ideas There is an illness in many foreign services--the people in them are only good at following instructions.* I am under the impression that she has no instructions at all--and doesn't need any.* The exuberant--I should say lunatic--quality of his ravings electrified the crowd. *

dashes Set off some sentence elements To insert parenthetical commentary while emphasizing their importance (Parentheses tend to diminish the importance of what's enclosed in them) Over a candlelit dinner last month at Spaso House, the ambassadorial residence in Moscow, Robert Strauss and his wife Helen listened as two Senators--Republican Robert C. Smith of New Hampshire and Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts--agreed that the way to bring American audiences "out of their chairs" these days was simply to say, in Smith's words, "We won the cold war, and we're not going to send one dime in aid to Russia."* Strauss favors--as does, sotto voce, the Administration--early admission of Russia to the International Monetary Fund.*

dashes Create emphasis To connect ideas strongly to each other. To feed, clothe, and find shelter for the needy--these are real achievements

colons Colon Used to Further Explain or Introduce a List Further Explanation with Two Sentences: Mary's dinner reminded her of the back yard: both contained many wonderful colors and smells. Further Explanation with a List: Mary's dinner consisted of the following: salad, soup, chicken, and toast. Further Explanation with a Quotation: The words Ivan spoke were very kind: "Mary, I made this dinner especially for you, dear."

Ellipsis points You might see an ellipsis used as an indication of a place where the writer or speaker has paused or lost their train of thought. Such as: Well yes, Dorian, the retrieval of post-modern socie … is that a bunny?

Ellipsis Marks Use ellipsis marks when omitting a word, phrase, line, paragraph, or more from a quoted passage. Example: Original sentence: The regulation states, "All agencies must document overtime or risk losing federal funds." Rewritten using ellipses: The regulation states, "All agencies must document overtime..."

hyphens Generally, hyphenate between two or more adjectives when they come before a noun and act as a single idea. Example: friendly-looking man (compound adjective in front of a noun) When adverbs not ending in -ly are used as compound words in front of a noun, hyphenate. When the combination of words is used after the noun, do not hyphenate. Examples: The well-known actress accepted her award. Well is an adverb followed by another descriptive word. They combine to form one idea in front of the noun. The actress who accepted her award was well known. Well known follows the noun it describes, so no hyphen is used. A long-anticipated decision was finally made. He got a much-needed haircut yesterday. His haircut was much needed.