How to use ; and : in a essay?

[kiki.]

Hey everyone,
I've heard that it is good to use semicolons ( and colons ( in order to create a interesting essay. I was reading articles online how to use it but I'm still really confused. How is it different from a comma (,)?

For past English-ers, did you use colons and semi colons in your essay?

Thanks!

[zofromuxo]

I never used semicolons or colons because I didn't need to use them.
I wouldn't use them to "stand-out" if you aren't confident on the usage.

I think in the 2015 examiner report on Context, they mention how they would like a different introduction like a poem. But also illustrated an example on how if you do it poorly, it just looks bad.

Moral of the story: Don't use it to look cool/interesting, Do it because you know how to use it.

[Bri MT]

Hey everyone,
I've heard that it is good to use semicolons ( and colons ( in order to create a interesting essay. I was reading articles online how to use it but I'm still really confused. How is it different from a comma (,)?

For past English-ers, did you use colons and semi colons in your essay?

Thanks!

A semicolon is used to link two sentences that are closely related to each other; it is never compulsory to use one.
A colon provides also provides extra information to a sentence, but it doesn't link two sentences together

[K888]

For past English-ers, did you use colons and semi colons in your essay?

I used them, but not *super* regularly, compared to commas and em dashes (linguists please correct me if this isn't the correct term). I particularly loved (and doubtlessly overused) em dashes because they're pretty versatile.

Use a semicolon when you want to mark a break that's stronger than a comma, but not as strong or final as a full stop. A semicolon is there when you want to join clauses that could stand by themselves as sentences but you want to show the connection between the clauses.

You can use colons to introduce lists, to emphasise stuff, and to separate two clauses when the second one is like, following on from the first clause, or if it explains the first clause.

My advice would be: use them if you're comfortable and confident to use them, but otherwise, maybe steer clear - the assessors reading your essays won't mark you down for not using them (provided your piece is otherwise grammatically correct), but, if you use them incorrectly, that's gonna cost you marks.
If you want to incorporate them into your work - I'd recommend reading a bit about them (there's heaps of websites that provide pretty good explanations of grammatical stuff without using too much jargon), and then just practicing working them bit by bit into your writing.

[kiki.]

Thank you zofromuxo, miniturtle and K888!

[Lumenoria]

Yeah, I am literally the poster above, I use em dashes and semi-colons way more than anything else in essays—they're like my babies, HAHAH! The above people explained their usage well, but I just wanted to add a few ways I find them useful. I often find myself using it in the context of "Hall elucidates the medium of nature as a catalyst to Kate's newfound discoveries; however, she also portrays the way in which nature can inhibit an individual's potential for discovery—as revealed through her characterisation of Lucy". As you can probably tell, semi-colons are never compulsory to use—the example above could easily be split into two separate sentences whilst being grammatically correct; however, I find that doing so without the semi-colon diminishes the connection between the two. Also, sometimes the statement you intend to make after the "however" is too short to be a standalone sentence. Another way this can be seen is when you want to elaborate on something, for example, "I chose the colour red; it reminds me of the gorgeous flowers that rest within my home town". Anyways, to be frank, you shouldn't use them just for the sake of using them, rather your need for them should come naturally—as you would with any other punctuation, for example, a comma. As for colons, I don't use them as prominently as semi colons or em dashes, but sometimes I find myself using them prior to introducing a quote. For example, "Hall's use of metaphor: 'She was a rollercoaster' reveals _____". Another example would be to list things, such as "She embodies the values of an amazing waitress: she takes orders quickly, thinks fast on her feet and is immune to mistakes". I hope this made some sense and clarified a few things for you

[kiki.]

Thank you so much Lumenoria!!