This lesson will show you how to correctly use a colon to announce to the reader that something follows. If you use colons correctly and consistently, you will help your reader process your sentences quickly without rereading.

You can use a colon in six ways: 

1. Between titles and subtitles (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth)
2. After the salutation (greeting) of a business letter (Dear Dr. Jones:)
3. To introduce a series in a paragraph (The concrete floor is finished with a trowel, which produces the following benefits: requires low maintenance only, needs no additional floor covering, eliminates slipping and sliding.)
4. To introduce a vertical list (Be sure to bring the following items with you to your hearing:)
5. To introduce a long direct quotation (John Henry Patterson offered this good advice for writers: "To get your ideas across, use small words, big ideas, and short sentences.")
6. To define, expand upon, or explain information given in a previous clause (Governments have three tools for manipulating the economy: taxes, subsidies, and regulation.)

Capitalize the first word after a colon if the word would be normally capitalized (the first word of a sentence or a proper noun). For example:

This is a reminder for all those who use the RIP system: Give verbal orders by referencing an RIP number.

Ready for your quiz? How would you punctuate (and capitalize) this sentence? 

Warning if you do not place the nut on the tube now, you will not be able to put the nut on after you complete the flare.

Take the quiz.              

The assembly will be subjected to the following thermal cycles: 157 hours very hot (152 degrees F); 30 minutes hot (130 degrees F); and 30 minutes cold (-40 degrees F).   

In spoken language, it's usually possible to indicate sarcasm by body language or intonation. For example, in the following two statements, the second would be verbalized as sarcasm: "They say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Yeah, right." Read The Rules of Sarcasm on the BBC News to learn more about sarcasm.

Because written language is stripped of verbal or oral cues,  it's hard to indicate that your words are deliberately sarcastic. Many people indicate their written sarcasm by using quotation marks or smiley faces.  

Good news! Some clever souls have invented Sartalics (reverse italics) to indicate sarcasm while tweeting, e-mailing, or updating social media sites. There's a move afoot to get Microsoft to include Sartalics in Office, too. Read more at the Huffington Post and MediaPost. Vote for Sartalics, too!