Rules to Examine with a Colon Checker
A colon is a punctuation mark that is mostly used to direct attention to and introduce the material that follows the colon. Punctuation that involves the colon follows six key rules that determine how the colon should be used:
- A colon can be used after a sentence or independent clause when introducing a list of items.
- Unless the colon is following a sentence, colons should never come before a list
- Use a colon after a complete sentence which is following by a bulleted list
- Colons can only be used between two sentences if the second sentence relates to the first. If two sentences follow the colon, the first word of each sentence should be capitalized. If only one sentence follows the lead sentence then you should not capitalize the first sentence.
- Use a colon to introduce a quotation that is longer than three lines. Quotation marks shouldn’t be used and you should single space the quotation and indent only from the left margin.
- Use a colon following the greeting in a business letter. Regardless of whether the first name, last name or job title is used in the greeting a formal business letter requires that a colon is used. A personal letter may use either a colon or a comma.
Colon and semicolons are sometimes confused with each other but while there is some similarity, they are not the same. The main function of the colon is to introduce whatever follows it such as a list, a statement, or an explanation which the semicolon does not do. It is fairly easy to learn how to use the colon. Grammar rules related to the colon are brief, making it easy to perform a colon check to ensure proper usage.
Use Our Online Colon Checker for Verifying Grammatical Correctness
Although using a colon incorrectly may not stand out like some other grammatical errors and punctuation mistakes, it is still important that you use colons correctly. Practicing good grammar should apply to all aspects of grammar and not only those areas where mistakes are more easily seen. Your communication skills are directly related to your grammar, and your ability to communicate well affects all parts of your life to a certain extent. Some of the benefits of good grammar include:
- You are perceived as being more professional and competent by those around you
- Better communication skills lead to working more effectively in groups and employers tend to keep an eye out for efficient employees who display management potential
- With all else being equal, the advantage is with the individual with better grammar skills whether its applying for a job, competing for a promotion or trying to get into a competitive academic program
Having good grammar won’t guarantee a promotion, that you will be accepted to Harvard or that you will write a best-selling novel. However, it won’t hurt your chances of any of those things happening. We provide a free grammar checker online that you can use to improve the grammar of any type of document you write.
Advantages of Our Online Colon Checker
Our checker is a great tool for finding and correcting mechanical errors that occur in written text. Some of the advantages gained when you use our checker include:
- Locate and correct grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and errors in punctuation quickly and efficiently
- Locate words spelled correctly but used in the wrong context
- Ensure plagiarism free papers
- Save time that you would otherwise have spent proofreading
- Develop better writing skills by learning from your mistakes