Many notable writers and educators have strong feelings against the elusive semicolon. Referred to “the mermaid of the punctuation world- period above, coma below- is viewed with suspicion by many people, including well-known people,” (Aneron, 1). Some well-known authors have boycotted the particular piece of punctuation all together, others claim they do nothing other than prove one gained a higher education. Most English teachers admit this part of grammar is also very difficult to teach and even more difficult for students to grasp.
On the other hand, there are some who feel very strongly in favor of the mermaid on paper. These are generally among the higher educated. They feel it is a mark of sophistication and only used among an elite class. This is largely due to the fact that because if it is misused it can ruin a wonderful piece of writing. Any two independent clauses can be joined with a semicolon, however this can also lead to over complicated thoughts and confuse the reader. The two ideas expressed in a single sentence using a semicolon can be separated into two separate sentences which more often than not provide more clarity to the reader.
Additionally, it is believed that the semicolon is both expendable and lacks value. It is compared to a luxury item in a store and the reader is asked to ask themselves whether it is necessary or not. There is also the problem with the fact that there are specific rules about how to use the semicolon, this leaves its use up to the writers discretion. Even the most skilled writers will use semicolons to join ideas with a wide range of relationships which can naturally lead to more ambiguous meanings. Overall, in today’s fast-paced style of writing the use of the semicolon has seen an increasing decline in use. It is simply not necessary and not appropriate in daily modern use.
Works Cited
Aneron, Janet Byron. The Enigmatic Semicolon. 7th ed. Vol. 11. N.p.: The Vocabula Review, 2009. Web.
