Semicolons

A semicolon between two independent clauses indicates less of a pause than a period. If the clauses are not joined by a conjunction, use a semicolon. Otherwise, use a comma before the conjunction. Semicolons are useful in joining two contrasting statements.

Use semicolons sparingly. They are difficult to see on low-resolution monitors.

Use semicolons within a sentence to separate phrases that contain other internal punctuation, especially commas. This practice is most common in making brief lists. Such sentences, if they include more than three elements, are often easier to read if you break them into separate sentences or use the elements to create an unordered list. For example, the following sentence is difficult to read:

In this tutorial, you will learn to quickly construct a user interface; easily implement both single-document interface and multiple-document interface applications; implement features that until now were considered difficult, such as printing, toolbars, scrolling, splitter windows, print preview, and context-sensitive help; and take advantage of many built-in components of the class library.

Instead, structure the sentence as follows:

In this tutorial, you will learn to do the following:

  • Quickly construct a user interface.

  • Easily implement both single-document interface and multiple-document interface applications.

  • Implement features that until now were considered difficult, such as printing, toolbars, scrolling, splitter windows, print preview, and context-sensitive help.

  • Take advantage of many built-in components of the class library.

Formatting semicolons

In general, format semicolons in the same font style in which the main content is formatted. This is especially important for a semicolon after an element that receives different formatting to avoid the impression that the punctuation is part of the syntax. Examples are commands, options, keywords, placeholders, and user input. However, if the semicolon is part of the syntax of an element, such as a semicolon that a user must type, use the formatting that is appropriate for the element. This practice may cause inappropriate line breaks online, so try to avoid the problem by rewriting as necessary.

In online content, do not include a semicolon in a hyperlink.

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