Notes for A Colon and Two Semicolons: From "The Fighter's Badge," an editorial column by David H. Hackworth (July 25, 2004)

Punct	Exercise	AK	-	L6.1 Punct Breaking
Click here to read the entire "The Figher's Badge," which Colonel Hackworth has graciously given us permission to reproduce so that your students can study it in conjunction with this exercise.

     In the second sentence of this selection, David H. Hackworth used a colon and two semicolons to control an excellent 91-word main clause, the length of which helps emphasize his point.   Sentences such as this will rarely, if ever, be explained in most grammar textbooks, simply because most approaches to grammar never enable students to identify basic subjects, verbs, and clauses.