punctuation

Punctuation--
Punctuation marks are essential when you are writing. They show the reader where sentences start and finish and if they are used properly they make your writing easy to understand. This section gives practical guidance on how to use commas, semicolons, and other types of punctuation correctly so that your writing will always be clear and effective. There are also sections which offer advice on using punctuation when writing direct speech, lists, or abbreviations.
You may find some aspects of punctuation harder to grasp than others (for example, when to use a semicolon or a colon).
Semicolon (;)
The main task of the semicolon is to mark a break that is stronger than a comma but not as final as a full stop. It’s used between two main clauses that balance each other and are too closely linked to be made into separate sentences, as in these two examples:
The road runs through a beautiful wooded valley; the railway line follows it.
An art director searched North Africa; I went to the Canary Islands.
You can also use a semicolon as a stronger division in a sentence that already contains commas:
The study showed the following: 76% of surveyed firms monitor employee Web-surfing activities, with 65% blocking access to unauthorized Internet locations; over one-third of the firms monitor employee computer keystrokes; half reported storing and reviewing employee emails; 57% monitor employee telephone behavior, including the inappropriate use of voicemail.