Colons and Semicolons

Most business documents contain colons that serve one or two functions. They may introduce lists:

So we can renew your membership, please send the following:

They also open letters:

Dear Ms. Berry:
Now, look at this third common colon setup. Which is correct?
a. Some of the issues in this month’s newsletter are: membership news, upcoming events, and members’ suggestions.
b. Some of the issues in this month’s newsletter are membership news, events updates, and members’ suggestions.
Answer: b.Why: Only use a colon when the statement completely and naturally stops. If you’re really aching to throw a colon into this example, write:

This month’s newsletter includes the following: membership news, events updates, and members’ suggestions.

Which is correct?
a. Our mission statement focuses on one thing: customer satisfaction.
b. Our mission statement focuses on one thing — customer satisfaction.

Answer: Both.

To know when to stop and when to go with punctuation, use this comparison:

Why:They create a more interesting alternative to the flatter, more typical statement:

Our mission statement focuses exclusively on customer satisfaction.

Semi-colons are also used in two ways. They separate items in a series when any item contains a comma:

The caterer will provide cheese; red, white, and rosé wines; and cake.

You can also use semi-colons to join two short, related sentences instead of a conjunction such as “and” or “because.” This sentence suture can add variety to your sentence structure.

Answer: a or c, but option c might be the most interesting.