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Colons |
Colons: when to use them
Mainly we use colons to introduce lists. Some formal copy editors insist
that colons only follow complete sentences, but in normal practice this
isn’t necessary.
Here’s a complete list of rules for when to
use colons:
- To introduce lists.
To complete the objectives, we plan to take these steps:
- Perform secondary research
- Develop a basic design
- Refine the design using these
calculations:
- Stress
- Sheer
- Fatigue
- Build the scale model
- Test the scale model
- Write the results.
** Remember to use
parallelism with lists. (Note how all
the elements in the list above start with verbs—action words.)
- To separate
clauses and give emphasis.
His reason for accepting the lowest-paying job offer was simple: he always
wanted to live in the Northwest.
- To introduce an
explanation
I want you to understand one point: colons emphasize the idea that follows
them.
- To introduce
quotations
He always believed in the precept: “To thine own self be true.”
This works especially to introduce long quotations.
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