As we work towards supporting students in writing their final assessments of the year, there is always an opportunity to help our students write with more clarity. One way to do this is by exploring how the students can use more 'complex' punctuation. If you talk with your student about different punctuation marks at junctures across their writing and editing process, this contextual approach should make the learning stick.

To begin this series, we will start by examining semicolons and colons.

Semicolons and colons are punctuation marks that help improve the clarity and structure of sentences by connecting related ideas or introducing additional information. Semicolons join independent clauses or separate items in a list with complex elements, while colons introduce lists, explanations, or summaries.