The semicolon has been used since ancient Greek and Roman times, but gained popularity in the mid-1900s through Edgar Allan Poe's writing. A semicolon is used to connect two independent clauses that are closely related and could form complete sentences on their own. It is also used to separate items in a list if the items contain internal commas. Common misuses include using a semicolon between an independent clause and a dependent phrase or list.

1. By: Krystal Franck
Kreishna Bellamy
Colin Gudejko

2. History of the Semicolon
First used by:
 The Greeks and Romans in their writing
 First printing of the semicolon was by Aludus Mantius in 1495.
 Gain popularity in the mid 1900’s when used a lot by Edgar Allen
Poe
Definition of a semicolon :
A punctuation mark is used to connect
independent clauses and indicates a closer
relationship between the clauses than a
period does.

3. Proper Way to Use a Semicolon
 It is used when you are
trying to separate units
of a series in which you
are using commas.
 Example:
If you want to meet very important people in our
government, you would want to meet Barak
Obama, President of the United States; Joe Biden,
Vice-President of the United States; and Harry
Reid, Senate Majority Leader.

4. Use of the Semicolon
 A semicolon is used between
two independent clauses that
could be sentences on their own.
 Example:
I play volley ball; I love to play.

5. Use of the Semicolon
 A semicolon can be used before an
introductory word or phrase.
 Example:
If you go to a community college, you will want to
keep certain items in your back pack; for
example, highlights, pens, pencils, and a flash
drive.

6. Use of the Semicolon
 A semicolon is used when two sentences are joined by
a coordinating conjunction and one or more commas
appear in the first sentence.
• Example:
If you want to lose weight, you will eat sweet
potatoes instead of regular potatoes; and that is
why we had mashed sweet potatoes for supper.

7. Misuses of the Semicolon
 The most common misuse is when the semicolon is
used between and independent clause and a phrase.
 Example: While they were swimming; they saw dolphins
and sharks.
 Another misuse of the semicolon is when it is used
between and independent clause and a list.
 The store had many items on sale; toys, shoes, clothes,
and tools.

8. References
Braun, C. (2012, November 5). A Wild Run Through History: Semicolon Use. Retrieved from Casey Braun:
http://brauncmd.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/a-wild-run-through-history-semicolon-use/
College, J. C. (n.d.). Semicolon and Colon Rules. Overland Park, Kansas: Johnson County Community College.
Retrieved from http://www.ics.uci.edu/~dramanan/teaching/ics139w_fall10/semicolons_colons.pdf
Norquest, R. (n.d.). Grammar and Composition. Retrieved from About.com:
http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/g/semicolonterm.htm
Rosa, A. a. (2011). The Writer's Brief Handbook. Glenview, Illinois: Pearson Education.
Straus, J. (n.d.). Semicolons. Retrieved from grammerbook.com:
http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/semicolons.asp
Wikipedia. (2013, March 1). Semicolon. Retrieved from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semicolon