Question

Am I using the semicolon correctly in the sentence below?

"Overall, the historical epic GANDHI was a riveting, biographical masterpiece of a man who rose from being a simple lawyer and transformed into a worldwide symbol of peace and understanding; an epic film that is worthy of its multiple Academy Awards and praise."

Answer 1

"Overall, the historical epic, <i>Gandhi,</i> is a riveting, biographical masterpiece about a man who rose from being a simple lawyer and was transformed into a worldwide symbol of peace and understanding; an epic film that is worthy of its multiple Academy Awards and praise."

No.

Be sure to check the other corrections I've made above.

Basically, you need to remember this. A semicolon is used to separate equal things. Since you have a complete sentence before the semicolon, you need to have a complete sentence after it, too.

Right now, you have a fragment after the semicolon. Either change the fragment into a sentence -- or change the punctuation.

Answer 2

And I can already see verb tense errors in the italicized revision I wrote above!!

Answer 3

What do you think?

"Overall, the historical epic GANDHI was a riveting, biographical masterpiece of a man who rose from a simple lawyer and turned into a worldwide symbol of peace and understanding. It is an epic film that is worthy of its multiple Academy Awards and praise. "

Answer 4

1. Do NOT put the title of the film in all-caps. DO put the title of the film in italics.

2. "about a man..." (not "of")

3. "became" would be better than "turned into"

Everything else looks good.

Answer 5

The movie title is spelled in all capital letters, though.

Answer 6

Never mind. I won't put the title of the film in all capital letters.

Answer 7

I'd be marking you off for that. Maybe your teacher would let you get away with it, but I wouldn't!

Answer 8

And don't forget the commas before and after the film title, as well as putting the title in italics.