One use of the colon is to introduce a list. An example is “The doctor asked his patient to cut out foods with carbohydrates: potatoes, bread and waffles.” Write a sentence using the colon before a list.
Another use of the colon is at the end of a letter greeting. “Dear Editor:” is an example. Write another example.
You can use a colon after the phrase “as follows.” For instance, you can say, “The card reads as follows: Happy Birthday, George.” Compose your own example using a colon after “as follows.”
Use a colon to join two independent clauses (basically two full sentences) when you wish to bring more attention to the second clause. The second clause usually restates or gives more information about the first clause. An example is as follows: “The symphony put on a benefit concert last evening: they raised $1 million for the children’s hospital.” This colon rule is the one you will most likely use most often in poetry. Write a few examples of this use of the colon.
It can be confusing to understand the use of the colon versus the semi-colon, and how to use the colon with other punctuation, such as parentheses. Refer to style guides if necessary. Understand the use of all punctuation so you may be sure you are using the colon correctly.