When we speak, much of our meaning is conveyed by facial expressions, gestures, volume, tone of voice, pace and pauses. When we write, our meaning is made by incorporating punctuation marks such as full stops, commas, question marks, apostrophes and speech marks. Punctuation is the written code for the signs and sounds of spoken English. Two punctuation marks which can be a little confusing in terms of their use are the semicolon (;) and the colon (:). When a teacher recently asked me about the differences between the two, I thought it useful to include in this week’s newsletter. 

Semicolons indicate pauses which are longer than commas but shorter than full stops. In most cases, a semicolon could be replaced by a full stop, but this would not highlight the connection between the two statements. The uses of the semicolon are as follows:

1. The main purpose of a semicolon is to emphasise the link between clauses which could have been separate sentences. 

Laura likes poetry; it’s so powerful. 

Steve Waugh was the selector’s first choice; he was focused, intelligent and determined to succeed.

2. A semicolon can be used when items on a list need to be clearly separated. 

Bring a jumper; a pair of jeans; your toothbrush; a hat with a broad brim and some sunscreen. 

Those on the senior debating team were Noah, the English Advanced representative; Annabelle, the English Standard representative; and Declan, the English Studies representative. 

3. A semicolon is also used when a clause begins with words such as 'that is',            'however', 'for instance', 'moreover,' 'therefore', ‘indeed’, ‘consequently’. 

We want to go trekking in Nepal later this year; however, we have made no definite plans. 

I just love everything about this place; for example, the way you can float down the mountain at dusk. 

A colon is like a gate in a sentence: it opens the way for a further explanation. Colons are used to do the following: 

1. separate a statement from one which explains or expands on it

Check your bag to see if you have the following: a notebook, a pen, a pencil, a ruler and some blank sheets of paper. 

2. introduce a list

I gave Anna four books: The Stranger by Albert Camus, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

3. introduce a quotation

As Stephen King says: ‘Books are a uniquely portable magic’.

I chose this Stephen King quote because I agree wholeheartedly with its message. Books are most definitely unique, portable and magical. A Chinese proverb uses a simple yet beautiful simile to capture this portability and magic: ‘A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.’ As we reach the end of a very busy term, it would be wonderful if, during the break, we all picked up a book and let it work its magic. I plan to reread Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as I will be introducing this text to Year 8 Emerald at the start of next term. The last time I read this book was about fifteen years ago. It will be interesting to see what type of experience this reading will provide. While the book is obviously the same, I have undoubtedly changed. In the reading of any book, we co-author the text by bringing to the words on the page our own worldview, life experiences, beliefs and assumptions. I’m looking forward to seeing what might unfold in this next reading. I may share my encounter with Mark Twain’s book next term in Literacy Links. Happy reading! 

Mrs Clare Murphy
English Coordinator and Literacy Instructional Coach