Quick question about the use of semi-colons:

[brainshrub]

What is the more correct sentence:

1.) News gathering is an inherently political act; to pretend otherwise creates a climate where reporters are required to believe in a myth.

2) News gathering is an inherently political act. To pretend otherwise creates a climate where reporters are required to believe in a myth.

[Lars39]

1. I would have just used a comma instead in #1.

on edit: I'll plead :hangover:

[JVS]

4. If you use only a comma, then you need the conjunction "and".

Semicolons allow you not to use a conjunction.

[Lars39]

10. That's why I edited mine to put in

:hangover: I need more :donut:
After looking at it again, #1 "looks right:. :)
I've forgotten all my Schoolhouse Rock. :cry:

[supernova]

2. Depends on how close a relationship between the clauses

you want to create. Using a semicolon implies a more immediate and direct relationship between the first and second sentence.

edit: The second sentence you could change to a gerund, "pretending."

[Brotherjohn]

3. Number 2, I think.

[SoCalDem]

5. Either is ok.. but I would have probably put in some.... and a// or two

(I "know" grammar, but prefer to ignore it:)..)

xxx's and .... and //// or ^^^^^ are so much more expressive :

[Goldmund]

6. Nowadays most teachers will tell you to use #2

But if you read stuff from a few decades ago, their definiton of a "run-on sentence" was much less strict than it is now.

I like long sentences, and I like semi-colons.

[bertha katzenengel]

7. Neither is more correct. Both are fine.

[yewberry]

8. I'd use #1

The second clause is closely related to the first.

The second set feels choppy to me.

[yewberry]

19. I busted out the Chicago Manual

Here's the skinny:

"Though the semicolon is less frquently employed today than in the past, it is still occasionally useful to mark a more important break in sentence flow than that marked by a comma. It should always be used between the two parts of a compound sentence (independent, or coordinate, clauses) when they are not connected by a conjunction:

The controversial portrait had been removed from the entrance hall; in its place had been hung a realistic landscape.

Coordinate clauses may, of course, be separated into individual sentences."

Chicago, 14th

[brainshrub]

20. So with the example you just used:

The controversial portrait had been removed from the entrance hall; in its place had been hung a realistic landscape.

is just as good as:

The controversial portrait had been removed from the entrance hall. In its place had been hung a realistic landscape.

[yewberry]

21. Yes.

It's better.

See how choppy the second example is? Sentence #2 is too meaning-dependent on sentence #1 to stand alone, but it is technically an independent clause.

Semicolons are used between two independent clauses. If a comma is like a yellow light and a period like a red light, a semicolon is a flashing red.

[brainshrub]

22. I love that example!

OMG! If my english teacher had used that in mioddle-school, I'd probably be a real writer today.

[EFerrari]

9. Both are faulty but #1 is better.

#2 is a fragment.

#1 is a problem because both sides of the semi colon should be of similar construction.

Why not just: "News gathering . . . as to pretend otherwise . . ."

[Ready4Change]

11. 2) is best. 1) is incorrect usage, I believe.

I think semi-colons are used to separate a list of related items. Like when bullet points are listed all together in a single paragraph.

However, doing so often makes a sentence very difficult to read. It is more common today to break the paragraph and have a bulleted list. That improves clarity; increases readability; and ensures profits for the bulleted list manufacturing industry.

Semi colons are now mostly used for forming the winking smilie.

; + ) = ;)

[jane_pippin]

15. a regular colon does that, among other snazzy things.

[TreasonousBastard]

12. Semicolons are not used much now...

and have gotten a pretty bad rap-- probably because no one knows how to use them any more and the kind of sentences they used to be used in aren't constructed that much any more. I've really forgotten the rules and would have to look them up in a stylebook.

You might have noticed that I like the hyphen instead of the semicolon, although that raises a lot of hackles in formal writing.

To avoid the problem, I would change the sentence by using a conjunction, as long as it doesn't affect the meaning:

"News gathering is an inherently political act, and to pretend otherwise creates a climate where reporters are required to believe in a myth."

The comma is probably not necessary there, either, but I always overuse commas myself.

[jane_pippin]

13. They're both right, I think.

If I remember correctly, a semi-colon can connect two complete sentences together into one when you want to show a closer relationship between the two thoughts. Using two sentences signifies more of a separation between them.

It's been a while since English class though, so I could be wrong.

here's a link I found in a quick search:
http://owlet.letu.edu/grammarlinks/punctuation/punct2s.html

[billyskank]

14. They're both equally correct.

You can use a semicolon to join two sentences together.

[rock]

16. Personally, I like number one.

The one with the semi-colon. Neither is wrong.

[Benhurst]

18. I agree with you, rock. Neither is wrong. Number one is

stronger.

[brainshrub]

17. Thank you everyone.

It's a tough call, but I'll go with #1. Your input is greatly appreciated.