3 Misunderstood Punctuation Marks Youre Probably Not Using Correctly

Depending on whether they’re used correctly, punctuation marks can often make or break a content piece. Not only do they help make your writing clear, they also help with content flow so your readers actually keep reading. There are many punctuation marks that are often misunderstood and misused. Here are a few of the more frequently misused punctuation marks and information on how to use them correctly. Colon Colons are mostly used for clarification purposes. They are almost always used after a complete sentence to denote that a list, definition, description or explanation is incoming. Because the portion before the colon should be a complete sentence, the part after the colon does not necessarily have to be a complete sentence as well. Below are some examples. List Colon â€Å"Yesterday, I had my favorite lunch: potato chips, Reuben sandwich, orange soda and an orange. Descriptive Colon â€Å"Tom is dating Julie, the loveliest woman in school: her laugh is infectious and she’s been volunteering at the homeless shelter.† Colon for Definition â€Å"I was reading Julius Caesar this weekend and had to look up the meaning of â€Å"ides of March: The 15th of March. Explanation Colon â€Å"I had a great day: I won the lottery and married the man of my dreams.† Semicolon Almost no point of punctuation, in the experience of this editor, gets erroneously used more than the semicolon. It is correctly used in mainly two ways: joining clauses that are closely related and helping out in lists that are too complicated to just use commas. When used with clauses, the clauses need to be independent so that they are able to stand on their own. â€Å"I used to live in France; I moved to Belgium when I was 3.† â€Å"She likes coffee; I prefer soda.† Semicolons in Lists â€Å"This weekend I drove through Paris, Tennessee; London, Ohio; and Rome, Kentucky. Hyphens Hyphens are used to turn two descriptive words into a single word. They can also be used for typesetting purposes, but most word processing programs do that kind of thing automatically now. Hyphens for Joining Words â€Å"The man-eating shark was finally caught a few miles up the coast.† â€Å"The four-year-old boy loved to eat apples and cookies.† Tools in Your Toolkit English has lots of punctuation marks, so it can be difficult to figure out what goes where and when. Luckily, the biggest offenders are actually pretty easy to remember how to use. My writing teacher once described punctuation as the tools in our writer’s toolkit. Knowing your tools and when to use them will help you construct better, more clear and more understandable articles. The semicolon, colon and hyphen are some of the most common punctuation marks that, if used correctly, can set your writing apart. So, brush up on this punctuation while we wait for the more obscure marks (like the interrobang or irony mark) to come into common usage.

Okinawa Geography and 10 Fast Facts

Okinawa Geography and 10 Fast Facts Okinawa, Japan is a prefecture (similar to a state in the United States) that is made up of hundreds of islands in southern Japan. The islands comprise a total of 877 square miles (2,271 square kilometers) and has a population of over 1.3 million. Okinawa Island is the largest of these islands and its where Naha, capital of Okinawa Prefecture, is located. Okinawa made headlines around the world when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the prefecture on February 26, 2010. Little damage was reported from the earthquake, but a tsunami warning was issued for the Okinawa Islands, as well as the nearby Amami Islands and the Tokara Islands. There are ten important facts to know when learning about or  traveling to Okinawa, Japan: The main set of islands making up Okinawa is called the Ryukyu Islands. The islands are then further divided into three regions called the Okinawa Islands, the Miyako Islands, and the Yaeyama Islands.Most of Okinawas islands are made up of coral rocks and limestone. Over time, the limestone has eroded in many places throughout the various islands and as a result, many caves have formed. The most famous of these caves is called Gyokusendo.Because Okinawa has abundant coral reefs, its islands also have a plethora of sea animals. Sea turtles are common in the southernmost islands, while jellyfish, sharks, sea snakes, and several types of venomous fish are widespread.Okinawas climate is considered subtropical with an average August high temperature of 87 degrees F (30.5 degrees C). Much of the year can also be rainy and humid. The average low temperature for January, Okinawas coldest month, is 56 degrees F (13 degrees C).Because of its climate, Okinawa produces sugar cane, pineapple, pap aya, and has many botanical gardens. Historically, Okinawa was a separate kingdom from Japan and was controlled by the Chinese Qing Dynasty after the area was annexed in 1868. At that time, the islands were called Ryukyu in native Japanese and Liuqiu by the Chinese. In 1872, Ryukyu was annexed by Japan and in 1879, it was renamed the Okinawa Prefecture.During World War II, there was a Battle of Okinawa in 1945, which led to Okinawa being controlled by the United States. In 1972, the United States returned control to Japan with the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. Despite giving the islands back to Japan, the U.S. still maintains a large military presence in Okinawa.Today, the United States currently has 14 military bases on the Okinawa Islands, most of which are on Okinawas largest main island.Because Okinawa was a separate nation from Japan for much of its history, its people speak various languages that differ from traditional Japanese.Okinawa is known for its unique architecture that developed as a result o f frequent tropical storms and typhoons in the region. Most of Okinawas buildings are made of concrete, cement roof tiles and covered windows. Sources Mishima, Shizuko. The Okinawa Islands, Mapped Out. Trip Savvy, March 26, 2019.