By Colons are one of those things that seem more complicated than they are, because they aren’t as common as other punctuation. Frequently, commas and end of sentence punctuation can be used in their place, so if you’ve had no reason to use a colon before, chances are you won’t start now on your own. As a result, many students are intimidated by them simply because they’re unfamiliar. No longer! By the end of this post, you’ll know our friend the colon like the back of your hand!
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Colons Explained
Unlike their distant cousin the semicolon, colons are used to introduce something. They connect an independent clause, or a complete thought, to any related information after it. Colons are mainly used to introduce two things in SAT writing: lists and ideas. They could introduce ingredients to a recipe, steps in a process, important theories, quotes, or even the second part to a blog title.
The main purpose of colons is to simplify a sentence containing important information, whether it’s a list or an idea. Let’s see some examples of colons working in both ways.
Colons Introducing Lists
The most important thing to look at when you see a colon preceding a list is to ask yourself how vital the colon is to the sentence’s clarity. The SAT is huge on clear, concise writing, so while colons can definitely be your friend, they can also make a sentence more complicated than it needs to be, which is not what College Board is looking for.
To make cookies, I need the following ingredients: baking soda, sugar, flour, eggs, and chocolate chips.
Sure, the colon is introducing the list of ingredients you need to make cookies, and it’s technically correct, but can it be said in a simpler way? Probably. If it’s simpler without it, it’s the way to go when choosing your answers on the SAT.
To make cookies I need baking soda, sugar, flour, eggs, and chocolate chips.
Removing extra fluff and getting to the point is always the way to go for SAT Writing.
On the other hand, sometimes adding a colon can simplify a sentence featuring a list. Remember your job is to pick the BEST option, so even though a couple choices may be technically correct, you should pick the one that is the clearest and most concise.
There are five parts of a story arc: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and the resolution.
This sentence gets right to the point by introducing what we’re talking about, the parts of a story arc, and then immediately listing those parts without any fluff or extra words.
A story arc has five parts and they are the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and the resolution.
This is a bit wordier than the previous sentence, making it the less-ideal choice. Your goal with semicolons is always to simplify. Try to make a complete thought out of anything that comes before the list, and use a semicolon instead of a period to introduce the list and tie it all together.
Remember: never use a colon after connecting words like “such as”, or “like”. Those words have a similar function as the colon in this context, so they become redundant and the sentence is no longer as simple as possible.
Colons Introducing Ideas
“Ideas” could mean anything from a quote, to an example, to an important concept. The independent clause before the colon should be related to anything that comes after it. If they are two separate, unrelated thoughts or ideas, they should never be connected with a colon.
Colons signal to the reader that the writer has more to add to a particular idea, or clarification of the original idea. An interesting way to think of a colon is like an equal sign or introducing an answer to a question.
I realized something: I love giving people presents.
In this sentence, the first part encourages the reader to ask themselves “What did the writer realize?”. The answer comes immediately after the colon, completing the equation.
Something realized = I love giving presents
I need one thing to make this work: ten thousand dollars.
One thing needed = ten thousand dollars
The second part of a sentence with a colon should always somehow address or answer the question in the first part. It functions to elaborate on the initial statement the writer is making.
Remember: you should only capitalize the word after a colon if it is a proper noun or the beginning of a quotation.
Bonus Concept: Colons in Titles
Another use of colons you may come across in your academic travels is colons in titles. Colons in titles are typically used to add clarification or context to the shorter title preceding the colon. What comes after the colon is the subtitle. It helps the reader know what the book, article, or blog post is probably about so they can decide if it will be a valuable resource or not. As they say, you can’t judge a book by its cover, but you also shouldn’t judge it by its title right off the bat. Let’s look at some book titles to explore this concept:
The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Explorabook: A Kid’s Science Museum in a Book
If you take away what comes after the first part of the title, most of the context is gone and you have no idea if The Digital Person is a novel about a cyborg in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, or if it’s information on how technology is shaping society. While maybe related if you stretch, they are very different books with different target audiences. Colons in titles help clarify the purpose of the writing. Try it out in your own writing!
Common Colon Mistakes
Because colons are a less well-known form of punctuation, there are a few common mistakes people make when using them. Most of these mistakes have to do with placing them in the wrong part of a sentence, such as after a preposition or after a number.
- Using colons before a verb – You’ll want to manipulate the sentence so there is a complete thought introducing a list or idea. If you place the colon after the verb, the sentence is most likely not in its simplest form:
To get to the store you go: down the street, make a left, and it’s on your right.
You can clean this up and reword the sentence, so the colon is not immediately after the verb. “To get to the store you go.” is also not a complete thought, and a correct sentence with a colon needs a complete thought.
To get to the store, you follow these instructions: go down the street, make a left, and it’s on your right.
- Using colons after a number – Colons should never be used immediately after a number. You should specify details and context after the number, but before the colon.
Geoff ate two: cookies and a brownie.
Even though “Geoff ate two.” Is a complete thought, the colon is right after the number and it is missing the context to the original idea “cookies and brownies,” is referencing.
Geoff ate two desserts: cookies and a brownie.
Adding “desserts” in satisfies the need for context and gets the colon away from that number. Win-win.
- Using colons after a preposition – Colons should not be used immediately after a preposition (by, down, from, in into, near, etc., to name a few) because it ruins the independent clause you need for proper colon usage.
You can ace the SAT by: taking practice tests, getting a tutor, and revisiting difficult concepts before the test.
“You can ace the SAT by.” Is not a complete sentence. You can’t end a sentence with a preposition unless it is a question.
There are some ways you can ace the SAT: take practice tests, get a tutor, and revisit difficult concepts before the test.
Now we have a beautiful complete sentence with correct colon usage and some pretty good SAT tips!
- Using colons instead of semicolons – They may look alike, but they are different. Colons introduce and clarify, semicolons connect. Easy as that!
How Colons Will Look on the SAT
You may think of colons on the SAT in the analogy form, I know I do. This is kind of linked to the idea that colons function as equators.
cows: grass :: horses : hay
While you may see questions like this at some point, you won’t while the SAT is testing your ability to use colons while you’re writing.
You’ll mainly see questions about colons usage before lists and while introducing ideas. You’ll have to choose the best option to make the sentence correct and concise, so it’s extra important you understand the main ways to use them and the common mistakes you could make along the way.
They aren’t as hard as they’re made out to be. Colons are excellent at simplifying and getting straight to the point, which is exactly what College Board is looking for on the SAT Writing section.
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