Question

Which of these sentences uses correct punctuation?

a. Francis had a lot on his mind that afternoon, he was concerned about his mother’s illness and about losing his job.
b. The packing instructions asked each camper to bring the following items; a flashlight, a sleeping bag, sunscreen, and a book for independent reading.
c. In time, of course, all issues get resolved, but not necessarily in the way you would like. The king ordered that all his subjects should show their allegiance through common forms of attire: yet many people continue to wear the traditional hats of their various regions.

Answer 1

"In time, of course, all issues get resolved, but not necessarily in the way you would like."

Answer 2

In time, of course, all issues get resolved, but not necessarily in the way you would like.

The two complete ideas are joined together correctly with a comma and conjunction. When there are two independent clauses "In time, of course, all issues get resolved" and "not necessarily in the way you would like", They need to be joined with either a conjunction and a comma, or a semicolon. Option A joins the two complete ideas with only a comma. This is not enough. Option B does not have two complete ideas. instead it uses a semicolon for a list. A semicolon is not used to begin a list, a colon is. The last sentence is wrong because it uses a colon and conjunction to join two complete ideas, but it should be a comma.