Language and Academic Skills
Colons (:)
The colon introduces a phrase or clause that exemplifies, clarifies or expands what has gone before it. Put simply, it generally means “that is”.
The ideas on either side of a colon are of 'unequal' grammatical weight; this is in contrast to the semi colon that separates ideas of “equal” grammatical weight.
Major Uses
- To introduce a list
- The basic components of an experimental report are: introduction, method, results, discussion and conclusion.
As processing units, plants offer three things: an abundance of food-stocks in the form of sugars or amino acids; a cocktail of enzymes that manipulate chemicals; and a neatly compartmentalised set of reaction vessels.
- To explain or elaborate
- In the early days the goal seemed clear: to find genetic “magic bullets” that would change particular characteristics of plants in useful ways.
Students and lecturers have one aim in common: to ensure that students successfully complete their studies.
- To introduce a lengthy quotation
- Alexander et al. (1998) suggest:
It is also possible that sheep close to lambing are affected by some common but unknown environmental factors, a knowledge of which might be turned to advantage in synchronising lambing for ease of management.
NB: Compare this with a shorter quotation that requires quotation marks but not the colon or the indenting.
- Jones et al. (1999) concluded that “the two species differed in their response to post-harvest treatments with sucrose solutions” (p. 39).
- Other uses
- Between the title and subtitle of a book or article
Walsh, K.W. (1998). Neuropsychology: A clinical approach. Journal of Neuropsychology, 65, 1154-1166.
- Between hours and minutes -
6:15am
- In some citation systems to indicate the date of publication and the page being referred to
According to Redpath (1998:56)
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