The Colon (:)

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The Colon (:)

We live in a society, which include people from many walks of life, and these diverse differences can both be great and controversial.  People's differences can include the use of a variety linguistic rules and applications.  This variation in the use of language preferences, including the ways people use colons and other punctuation marks, depends on people's everyday needs, interests, cultural backgrounds, and educational experiences. According to Weinstein and Find, people use colons for many different reasons: marking an end of a formal salutation, introducing a block quote, and presenting a dialogue (7-8). 

The authors' use of colons in Chapter 1 indicated that Weinstein and Finn were assured of their use of colons for their own writing purposes.  With five colons that were used in three pages, the authors demonstrated mastery of using prescriptive grammar to indicate how grammar should be used in the English language.  Their use of colons is similar to how text features, such as italics, bold words, and glossary, can support readers' understanding of major points within the text.

Works Cited:

Weinstein, Lawrence and Finn, Thomas. Grammar Moves: Shaping Who You Are. Pearson 

     Education, Inc. 2011.

Hau


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