Semicolon Rules: When to Use a Semicolon
A Strange Dream
I had mastered teaching Greek and Latin Roots. I had created some of the best <em>Romeo and Juliet</em> lesson plans ever. I had taught students how to use commas. I felt good. Then I read their essays and realized they had no idea when to use a semicolon. I failed to teach them semicolon rules. I needed to punish myself, so I strapped a 12-volt battery to my eyelids, connected it to a car and awaited the pain. The shock knocked me out. When I awoke, there stood a giant, bearded semicolon, explaining to me how to explain semicolon rules. He then whacked me on the head with a stapler and knocked me out again.
When I awoke, a “when to use semicolons” lesson plan rested on my desk. Unfortunately, it was the principal’s car battery I had connected to my eyelids and he fired me the next morning. I never got to use my lesson plan.
But you can.
When to Use Semicolons
Use semicolons in the following ways:
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separate items in a series if any of the items contains a comma.
- Sharks love to eat shrimp, whales, and surfers; swim in the open ocean; and star in movies depicting blood, gore, and parades down main street.
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to separate independent clauses joined by a conjunction if either of the independent clauses contains a comma.
- I got lost outside of Denver last year; I got yelled at by my wife, laughed at by my son, and beat up by the paper boy.
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to join two related independent clauses if no conjunction is used.
- Some invest in a 401 (k); others invest in a Roth IRA.
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before a conjunctive adverb (however, therefore, hence, consequently), or a parenthetical expression, that joins the clauses of a compound sentence.
- No one with common sense would actually cascade; therefore, a more correct description would be canyoning with only a rope used to hang yourself after you plummet thirty feet and lie in pain with a broken back on the canyon floor with no hope of rescue.
Preparation
Prepare large strips of paper with the following:
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8 semicolons, 6 periods, 8 commas, 2 and, 1 however.
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Write the following model sentences or come up with ones of your own. It’s best to use sentences from literary works you’ve taught or sentences about topics of interest.
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- Farm animals are adored by children
- young ones look to them for comfort and love
- Farm animals possess power and influence
- they abuse this trust by breaking fences and tearing up lawns
- Disobedient animals include pigs
- sloppy critters who stink up the yard
- sheep
- incessant blabbers
- bulls
- fierce rib breakers
Procedures
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Discuss semicolon rules.
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Instruct students to copy the rules in their notebook.
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Hand out the sentence strips.
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Instruct the possessors of two complete sentences to place them on the board side by side.
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Discuss ways to combine sentences.
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Discuss when to use a semicolon and instruct the student with a semicolon to place it in the appropriate spot.
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Remove the two sentences and continue with the other semicolon rules, asking individual students to place their sentence, word, or punctuation in the appropriate spot.
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The final result should look like this:
- Farm animals are adored by children; young ones look to them for comfort and love. Farm animals possess power and influence; however, they abuse this trust by breaking fences and tearing up lawns. Disobedient animals include pigs, sloppy critters who stink up the yard; sheep, incessant blabbers; and bulls, fierce rib breakers.
This lesson was inspired by Bessie the Cow and Mini Lessons for Revision by Susan Geye, 1997, Absey & Co. Spring, TX.
Click here for a complete semester curriculum map for freshman English with lesson plans and links
This post is part of the series: Mechanics
Use a little creativity and watch your students’ writing mechanics improve.