You use a semi-colon to separate two independent clauses when they are closely related in meaning. You use a colon to separate two independent clauses when the second explains or summarizes the first.

When quoting an indirect source like this, either indicate in your sentence that the quote is found in Woo or use "qtd. in" at the beginning of your parenthetical citation to indicate that you're relating Smith's words as he is quoted in Woo.

A comma splice error occurs when you use a comma to separate two independent clauses. This type of error can be corrected in several ways. First, you could add a coordinating conjunction after the comma. Second, you could replace the comma with a semi-colon. Third, you could use a conjunctive adverb or transitional expression to join the two independent clauses.

Having an engaging (thought provoking) title isn't mandatory in essay writing, but it certainly helps to get the reader's attention. Remember that a title can be informative, it can reveal the writers' attitude toward the subject, and it can be used to introduce humour and/or irony.

"Works Cited" is the title given to the page that contains all the cited sources when using MLA Style. "References" is the term used by many different documentation systems, including the APA system, as the heading for the list of sources cited. "Bibliography" is the broadest of the three terms, referring to a general list of information about sources.

This means that two or more related items in your sentence are not in the same grammatical form. Parallelism is important because it creates rhythm in our writing, and facilitates comparisons or contrasts.

Example: My brother Mike is handsome, intelligent, and has wealth.

Revised: My brother Mike is handsome, intelligent, and wealthy.

A misplaced modifier means that that the modifier in the sentence is too far away from the word it modifies, leading to confusion.

Example: The teacher gave us advice about studying in his office.

[Was the teacher just giving advice about studying in general, or about where to study in particular?]

A dangling modifier occurs when the modifier is not clearly linked to the subject in the main clause of the sentence. The modifier is often left "dangling" at the beginning of the sentence.

Example: Sprinting after the taxi, my head began to ache.

[Was your head sprinting after the taxi?]

A general rule to follow is to put your punctuation inside the quotation marks if you are not using a citation. Put them outside the quotes and after the in-text parenthetical reference if, indeed, you are citing the source.

A sentence fragment is a piece of a sentence punctuated as if it were a complete sentence. It is literally a "fragment" of a sentence, and often lacks a verb in finite form.

Example: He was alone. Standing at the entrance to the shop.

Generally, no. Even if the first word after a colon begins a stand-alone statement, the current trend is away from capitalization.

Example: It was a splendid night: the sky was clear except for a few picturesque clouds, the moon was full, and even a few stars shone through.