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，請求我幫助他們解決英語寫作技巧的問題。
　　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)。
　　這讓我有了開始一系列名為英語寫作技巧的主意。在這個系列中，我將提出不同的寫作技巧，能夠滿足學術和商業領域的寫作需求。這個系列我計劃通過連接詞、標點符號、拼寫和準確定位(正規和不正規比較)來覆蓋各種不同的論據。
　　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。
　　如果你想要我說明關于寫作的某些方面，請告訴我，我非常樂意將它加入到這個系列中。
　　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 (：)。
　　在這個系列的第一篇文章中，我決定剖析三個標點符號，它們是大家在寫作中會經常使用的，但也是經常感到困惑和經常忽略的符號----破折號(-)，分號 (；) 和冒號 (：)
　　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。
　　我發現一個由語法網準備的一個非常有幫助、涵蓋了有用信息的信息圖。根據語法網定義：破折號、分號和冒號都是有效的標點符號。他們增加了句子成分的清晰度，吸引人注意并提高句子的連貫性，但是如果使用過度，也會增加句子的戲劇性，對句子造成破壞性。
　　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。
　　這張信息圖對如何使用這些符號給出了一個清晰的闡述。讓我知道你是怎么想的。信息圖涉及到了作為標點符號的句號。“period”(句號)是美式英語的表達。“Full stop”(句號)是英式英語的表達。
　　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
　　June—the start of summer—was cold this year。
　　六月—夏天的開始—但今年很冷。
　　Dashes creat a powerful speed bump and can destroy the flow of writing if used too often。
　　破折號表達一種強有力的停頓，如果使用太頻繁會破壞寫作的流暢性。
　　Dashes → Interruption of thought or conversation。
　　破折號→表示想法或談話中斷
　　"I was about to go to the—ooh,let's go get ice cream!"
　　“我準備去——啊，我們去吃冰淇淋！”
　　"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，這是誰的狗？”
　　→ introduction or a conclusion。
　　表示介紹或者總結。
　　"Ketchup, mustard, pickles—I was ready for my cheeseburger."
　　“番茄醬，芥末，腌菜——我準備好做干酪肉餅了。”
　　"I was prepared but had forgotten one crucial element—the cheeseburger, itself."
　　“我準備好了。但是忘記了一個關鍵的材料——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。
　　如果你想知道關于如何使用令人厭煩的分號的更多信息，就看一下由Oatmeal對它簡練又精美的闡述吧。