Quick Help: Editing for semicolons

Quick Help: Editing for semicolons

Editing for semicolons

  • Use semicolons only between independent clauses—groups of words that can stand alone as sentences (55a)—or between items in a series. (55b)
  • If you find few or no semicolons in your writing, ask yourself whether closely related ideas in two sentences might be better expressed in one sentence with a semicolon.
  • If you find too many semicolons in your writing, try deleting some of them. Would making some clauses into separate sentences make your writing smoother or less monotonous? (55d)