I have recently received some enquiries from new clients asking me to help them with their writing skills in English.
最近，我收到一些客戶的詢問(wèn)，請(qǐng)求我?guī)椭麄兘鉀Q英語(yǔ)寫(xiě)作技巧的問(wèn)題。

This gave me an idea of starting a new series entitled English Writing Skills. In this series I will explore the different techniques that are required to produce good writing both in academia and business. The areas I plan to cover will vary from developing arguments through the use of linkers, punctuation, spelling and correct register (formal versus informal).
這讓我有了開(kāi)始一系列名為英語(yǔ)寫(xiě)作技巧的主意。在這個(gè)系列中，我將提出不同的寫(xiě)作技巧，能夠滿足學(xué)術(shù)和商業(yè)領(lǐng)域的寫(xiě)作需求。這個(gè)系列我計(jì)劃通過(guò)連接詞、標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)、拼寫(xiě)和準(zhǔn)確定位（正規(guī)和不正規(guī)比較）來(lái)覆蓋各種不同的論據(jù)。

If there are any aspects of writing that you’d like me to write about, please do let me know and I will happily add it to the series.
如果你想要我說(shuō)明關(guān)于寫(xiě)作的某些方面，請(qǐng)告訴我，我非常樂(lè)意將它加入到這個(gè)系列中。

In this first post of the series, I have decided to examine three punctuation symbols that are used in writing but are often confused and consequently ignored by many people – the dash (-), semicolon (;) and colon (:).
在這個(gè)系列的第一篇文章中，我決定剖析三個(gè)標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)，它們是大家在寫(xiě)作中會(huì)經(jīng)常使用的，但也是經(jīng)常感到困惑和經(jīng)常忽略的符號(hào)----破折號(hào)(-),分號(hào) (;) 和冒號(hào) (:)

I found this extremely helpful and informative infographic prepared by Grammar Net. According to Grammar Net: “ Dashes, semicolons and colons are potent punctuation. They add clarity, call attention to sentence elements and improve the “flow,” but they also add drama and are destructive if over-used.
我發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)由語(yǔ)法網(wǎng)準(zhǔn)備的一個(gè)非常有幫助、涵蓋了有用信息的信息圖。根據(jù)語(yǔ)法網(wǎng)定義：破折號(hào)、分號(hào)和冒號(hào)都是有效的標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)。他們?cè)黾恿司渥映煞值那逦龋俗⒁獠⑻岣呔渥拥倪B貫性，但是如果使用過(guò)度，也會(huì)增加句子的戲劇性，對(duì)句子造成破壞性。

This infographic provides a clear explanation of how to use these symbols. Let me know what you think. The infographic refers to period as a punctuation symbol. “Period” is American English. “Full Stop” is British English.
這張信息圖對(duì)如何使用這些符號(hào)給出了一個(gè)清晰的闡述。讓我知道你是怎么想的。信息圖涉及到了作為標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)的句號(hào)。“period”（句號(hào)）是美式英語(yǔ)的表達(dá)。“Full stop”（句號(hào)）是英式英語(yǔ)的表達(dá)。

Hyphens
連字符

red-orange cat
桔紅色的貓

one-way street
單行道

T-shirt
T恤

e-mail
電子郵件

Dashes
破折號(hào)

June—the start of summer—was cold this year.
六月—夏天的開(kāi)始—但今年很冷。

Dashes creat a powerful speed bump and can destroy the flow of writing if used too often.
破折號(hào)表達(dá)一種強(qiáng)有力的停頓，如果使用太頻繁會(huì)破壞寫(xiě)作的流暢性。

Dashes → Interruption of thought or conversation.
破折號(hào)→表示想法或談話中斷

"I was about to go to the—ooh,let's go get ice cream!"
“我準(zhǔn)備去——啊，我們?nèi)コ员苛埽　?/div>

"Where's my cheeseburger??I just put it on the—hey,whose dog is this!"
“我的干酪肉餅在哪里？我剛把它放在——嘿，這是誰(shuí)的狗？”

→ introduction or a conclusion.
表示介紹或者總結(jié)。

"Ketchup, mustard, pickles—I was ready for my cheeseburger."
“番茄醬，芥末，腌菜——我準(zhǔn)備好做干酪肉餅了?！?/div>

"I was prepared but had forgotten one crucial element—the cheeseburger, itself."
“我準(zhǔn)備好了。但是忘記了一個(gè)關(guān)鍵的材料——干酪肉餅本身啊。”

If you’d like more information on how to use that pesky semicolon, take a look at this brilliant and beautifully illustrated explanation by The Oatmeal.
如果你想知道關(guān)于如何使用令人厭煩的分號(hào)的更多信息，就看一下由Oatmeal對(duì)它簡(jiǎn)練又精美的闡述吧。?