Is this the correct use of the semicolon?
Asked by
mistic84 (
274
)
November 10th, 2011
Here is the sentence:
“Mike has more than 20 years of experience in B2B marketing and sales including: strategic product planning, development and marketing; direct sales management and administration; sales force automation and call center operations.”
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
7 Answers
Yes, a colon preceeds a list.
Yes, looks fine. It allows each of the “experience” items to be further sub-divided by commas without muddling the organization of the sentence.
Oh, wait. You were asking about the semi-colon. Yes, you use them to keep independent clauses together.
A colon is very formal. A semi colon is semi-formal; it is used, like here, to separate two disctinct thoughts in the sentence. Where you might normally use a – informally.
Thanks for all the input!
I am curious why your question used a colon; your question was about a semicolon.
If I were writing your sentence, I would use a semi-colon after “sales force automation”. If “sales force automation” is paired with “call center operations”, then don’t use a semi-colon there, but add the word “and” .
I would not use the colon. I would use a comma after “marketing and sales” and before “including”.
Answer this question 
This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.