When are you supposed to use a colon? Does anyone really know?
The thing with colons is that they seem like they have a lot of potential, but no one ever really uses them. I think that people just don't know how to use them, and therefore don't. They don't want to risk sounding stupid.
The correct time to use a colon is after an independent clause that could stand on its own. The purpose of the colon is to expand on that clause, and also could be used to list things about that clause. Think of a colon as a gateway to more information about that topic.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/colon.htm
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I run across this problem all the time in literature and from associates who correspond with me, they never use the colon correctly. As much as I try to point its use out to them, I find them unwilling to learn. Good post! We all need to learn this part of writing.
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