ABSTRACT
Great punctuation can create music, paint a picture, or conjure emotions. One major function of punctuation is to terminate a sentence. A semicolon connects two complete sentences in much the same way that a comma and coordinating conjunction do, but there are some differences. Writers compose a sentence or short chunk of writing that includes the colon-introducing-a-list pattern. Students rewrite their imitation of the pattern on two separate sticky notes——one note for the complete sentence before the colon and the other for the remaining text that follows the colon. Students discuss how the comma’s removal affects how they read the sentence. The colon is like a sign on the highway, announcing that something important is coming. Students reread a current piece of writing and find a place or two to experiment with using colons to add clarifying detail. The colon is like a sign on the highway, announcing that something important is coming.
