GRAMMAR AND PUNCUATION
Semicolons
Traditionally, do not add a space before or after either side of the slash.
Use the semicolon to indicate a greater separation of thought and information than a comma can convey but less than the separation a period implies. Clarify a Series Use semicolons to separate elements of a series when the items are long or when individual segments con- tain material that must also be set off by commas. n He is survived by a son, John, of Chicago; two daughters, Jane, of Wichita, and Debbie, of Boston; and a sister, Martha, of Omaha.
n The child is going to the park and/or the zoo.
When breaking up lines of verse; use a space.
n Row, row, row your boat / Gently down the stream / Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily / Life is but a dream.
The semicolon is used before the final and in such a series.
Link Independent Clauses Use a semicolon when a coordinating conjunction such as and , but , or for is not present.
n The package was due last week; it arrived today.
If a coordinating conjunction is present, use a semi- colon before it only if extensive punctuation also is required in one or more of the individual clauses. n They pulled their boats from the water, sand- bagged the retaining walls and boarded up the windows; but even with these precautions, the island was hard hit by the hurricane.
Single Space Between Sentences
Use a single space between sentences.
Slashes
Using a slash is acceptable in descriptive phrases such as 24/7 or 9/11 but otherwise confine its use to special situations, as with fractions or denoting the ends of a line in quoted poetry. Do not use a slash at the end of URLs.
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