The writer of this NY Times articles notes that people don't use semicolons because they were never taught how, but I'm not sure I agree. Maybe they just think they don't know how.

Things might be different now, but in the late 1980's I did a study at one university about students' use of semicolons.  The long and short of it is that the vast majority of students and teachers believed freshmen could not use a semicolon correctly.  Odd thing is that when I required these students to try to use a semicolon correctly, close to 80% did so--even though most did not think they were correct.  What's more, most could even provide an accurate rule for the major use of a semicolon (to divide main clauses).

Again, this might not be the same situation nowadays, but I suspect many people can use a semicolon but are so uncertain (perhaps because of teachers' doubts about students' ability?) that they don't try. Or maybe they are confused about the more complex use of a semicolon to separate items in complex lists.

I avoided them myself as a student until I was in a junior-level Shakespeare class, and my teacher told me I received an A because I used the semicolon correctly--a "mature piece of punctuation" as he put it.  I provided him with many semicolons thereafter. :-)

Larry Beason

____________________________
Larry Beason, Associate Professor
Director of Composition
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL 36688-0002
251-460-7861

>>> "Spruiell, William C" <[log in to unmask]> 02/21/08 4:22 PM >>>
 

There was a piece in the Times a few days ago on semicolons, and I
thought it might be useful for class discussions. The Times came out
from behind its paywall a while ago, so its site is useful again (link
pasted below).

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/nyregion/18semicolon.html?em&ex=120374 
2800&en=2f33d339a23e01ab&ei=5087%0A

 


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