Other punctuation

Colons, semicolons and the rest.

Colon and semicolon

A colon introduces what follows: a list, an explanation or a quotation. A semicolon joins two complete sentences that belong together more tightly than a full stop would suggest.

What comes before a colon should be a complete sentence.
If either side of a semicolon cannot stand alone, it is the wrong mark.

Brackets and dashes

Brackets lower the volume of an aside and dashes raise it. Both should be rare enough that the reader notices them.