Punctuation, Part 2

For this post I will be describing three new types of punctuation that I have read about in Rules for Writers. I will also be discussing what I found new or surprising, along with what I learned by revising my draft based on these three points.

Diesel, Chank. "Playdough Typeface - Punctuation question mark" 09/20/12 via Flickr.
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The Semicolon:

• I usually mix up the uses of the colon and semicolon due to the fact that they are somewhat similar. But, in there respective areas, they can be very effective in creating a good paper. I would say that this whole section was new to me! A semicolon can be used in place of a comma when it joins closely related independent clauses.  Also, because this is something that I use often, I learned that a semicolon is used before a transitional expression, such as "for example".
• A revised example sentence from my draft:
•  "In turn, he is showing what good he has done for the world through his technology, making him seem more credible; and overall, more trustworthy."

The Apostrophe: 

• Although I feel that I know how to use the apostrophe pretty well, I often see errors in my peers' writing. So, I felt that I should look over the rules to make sure that I was not making any mistakes without knowing. I learned that an apostrophe should be used to show possession of an indefinite pronoun, such as "someone". I also learned that the plurals of letters or abbreviations should not have an apostrophe, which I have always found confusing.
• An example sentence from my draft:
• " Also, the audience would be more likely to trust someone’s opinion on AI who was first-hand experience with it rather than someone who has never worked with AI and is simply going off of their own thoughts."

Parentheses: 

• Iv'e always found the use of parenthesis as a cool addition to an author's writing, but, I have never known how to use them properly myself. I learned that parentheses are typically used to enclose supplemental material, minor digressions and afterthoughts. However, I also learned that it should be used to enclose labels to a list, such as numbers and letters. This could be useful because the topics that I will be writing on may require some lists.