The Eris Rant - 00002

00002 - Improper Semicolon Usage

In my opinion, there is nothing quite as bad as improper semicolon usage in the world of writing.

No matter how intelligent, cultured, brilliant, or whatever you might want to sound, you will never escape the wrath misusing a semicolon; it just looks stupid. I would MUCH prefer comma splices instead, because those you can actually get away with.

3 COMMON WAYS TO PROPERLY USE THE SEMICOLON:
Eris was angry; she posted a rant on the blog to relieve her fury.
This example shows a semicolon connecting two sentences.

Eris abuses semicolons; however, she knows how to use them.
This example shows a semicolon being used with a conjunctive adverb.

Eris has visited the following cities: Boston, Massachusetts; Bishop, California; and Havasu, Arizona.
For lack of a better example, this one shows semicolons being used in a list to prevent comma confusion.

--Eris