Perhaps Colons/Semi-colons?

It’s hard for me to pick a grammar concept that I find most difficult. It might be because I don’t really know what the concepts are called, or it might be because I find them all equally difficult… Well, I can do capitalization pretty well and punctuation is ok with me, but beyond these boundaries I just am not up to date with my explanations.

I spoke with Claire this morning about one point I have noticed when I have tutored. I have often read a part of a student’s paper and heard something that did not sound right. So, I would say, “This does not sound quite right.” Then, I would make suggestions by saying, “I think that…” or “Maybe I would do…” In both cases, I would usually explain what I might do and then add something like, “What do you think?” or “Does that sound better to you?” Well, the point that I was concerned about is whether or not there was an actual grammatical error when I would make a suggestion or if it was just me.

When to use or not use colons and semi-colons is an example of one concept that I might be able to repair. But, I don’t know if it is just because I want it to sound the way I would write it, or if I am correcting a mistake that does not follow the rules. I knew the rules at several points in my educational career but I have never failed to forget what those rules are even though I have continued writing. This kind of makes me wonder if I actually use them correctly myself; perhaps I do not.

All in all, it is a good thing that I’ll be giving a presentation next month on colons and semi-colons because once again I shall learn the rules. Perhaps I will become a colon/semi-colon expert and all will flow to me just to access my great knowledge on the subject. And perhaps, maybe, I will not find myself forgetting the rules again.