Semicolon - Academic Mode

The semicolon is a punctuation mark that separates independent clauses, or to repair a comma splice. As a close link between two clauses suggests, it appears mainly in academic writing; however, it is not popularly used in informal prose writing. the phrase, “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there ”(The Go-Between, by L. Hartley), the underlined semicolon separates two clauses.

Difference between semicolons and colon
Both two periods and a semicolon indicate a connection between two ideas ; however, the function of these two brands is somewhat different. A semicolon separates the main components of a sentence, while joining two independent clauses. For example, in the sentence, “They drive Jaguar; We drive Ferrari ”, both independent clauses have been joined with a semicolon.

On the other hand, a colon introduces a list of things, a quote, an explanation or an expansion. It comes after a separate clause. For example, in the sentence "He taught us the basic rules of the language: style, grammar, pronunciation, and punctuation," the colon introduces a list of the basic rules. This usage is different from that of a semicolon.

Examples of semicolons in Literature
Example # 1: Lights off for the territory (by Iain Sinclair)
“The angled umbrellas, canes, and rolled newspapers of Frank's shady financiers are wands non-functional office; they are used to measure distance, to maintain a decent interval between intimate strangers competing for the same fate. "

In this example, the underlined semicolon separates two main parts (clauses) of the sentence, connecting two independent clauses.

Example # 2: Hunger for memory: the education of Richard Rodríguez (by Richard Rodríguez)
“I liked everything about our sessions: the smallness of the room; the sound of the janitor's broom hitting the edge of the long hall outside the door; the green of the sun, illuminating the wall; and the face of the old woman blurred in white with a beard. ”

Rodríguez has used three semicolons in this extract. They all provide a pause in long prayer, keeping the thought flowing. They are stronger than commas, and connect the ideas of

Example n. 3: Did he say 'Meep'? (by Michael J. Nelson)
“Part of the appeal of going to a small, not-so-great college is that a certain percentage of the teachers are quite crazy and therefore colorful. In my opinion, having attended one of these universities myself, the one with those professors who were crazy, the demographics went haywire something like this: a third had always been crazy; a third had been professors in other better universities, where they went crazy and were sent to the minors; and the final third were crazy people pretending to be a teacher. "

The author has used semicolons twice in this example. They are all independent clauses, but the semicolon joins them through a common idea.

Example # 4: Stranger in the village (by James Baldwin)
“ There are children who make those delicious, funny, sometimes shockingly serious friendship proposals in the unpredictable way of children; other children, having been taught that the devil is a black man, scream with genuine anguish when I approach. Older women never pass without a friendly greeting, they never pass, in fact, if it seems that they will be able to engage me in conversation; other women look down or away or rather they smile with disdain. ”

Here, the semicolon highlights the relationship between two clauses. For example, the author talks about two categories of children, in two separate clauses.

Example # 5: Leave it to Psmith (by P.Wodehouse)
“The air was full of the smell of things growing nto; Strange, timid creatures came and went around him… But Baxter had temporarily lost his sense of smell; he feared and dismissed the strange and shy creatures; the nightingale left him cold; and the only thought that inspired the imposing castle was that it seemed that someone would need half a ton of dynamite to enter it.

Wodehouse has given an excellent example of the use of semicolons in this passage. They keep clauses separate and still convey what Baxter likes and dislikes.

Function of Semicolon
A semicolon works well when a sentence needs shifting or modification. Stronger than commas and weaker than periods, they play an important role in putting independent clauses together to give a sentence the right meaning. They also help remove sentence fragments and comma splices in writing to make it cohesive and well connected.