APA Fact of the Week: Colons & Semicolons

Many writers are lost regarding the differences between using a colon and a semicolon, often using these punctuations incorrectly. The following details use of each punctuation according to APA 6 (pp. 89–90).

Semicolon:

Use a semicolon

• To separate two independent clauses that are not joined by a conjunction.
  • The participants in the first study were paid; those in the second were unpaid.
• To separate elements in a study that already contains commas
  • The color order was red, yellow, blue; yellow, blue, red; or blue, red, yellow.
  • (Smith, 1999; Thomas, 1998).

Colon:

Use a colon

• Between a grammatically complete introductory clause (one that could stand as a sentence) and a final phrase or clause that illustrates, extends, or amplifies the preceding thought. If the clause following the colon is a complete sentence, it begins with a capital letter.
  • For example, Freud (1930) wrote of two urges: an urge toward union with others and an egotistic urge toward happiness.
  • They have agreed on the outcome: Informed participants perform better than do uninformed participants.
• In ratios and proportions
  • The proportion was 1:8
• In references between place of publication and publisher
  • New York: Wiley.

Do NOT use a colon

• After an introduction that is not an independent clause or complete sentence
  • The formula is y = mx + b
  • The instructions for the task were

Your group’s task is to rank the 15 items in terms of their importance for the crew’s survival.