I am writing an essay and am not sure If I should combine these two sentences with a semi colon or just leave them separate. Please help! (It may take...will be fruitful)
I have found that nothing can be accomplished without hard work. It may take a large amount of persistence but the result is most often the same; work hard and your life will be fruitful. Hold on to every goal you embrace, achieve it and the rest will be history.
I'd use a colon to introduce the "list" of ideas and then use semicolons to separate the items in the list.
It may take a large amount of persistence, but the result is most often the same: work hard and life will be fruitful; hold on to every goal you embrace; reach those goals; and the rest will be history.
I think the underlined part is wordy and not straightforward. That section can be revised to become one section of your list.
In addition, be sure to study up on the uses of commas, colons, and semicolons:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/colon.htm
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/semicolon.htm
To determine whether to use a semicolon or keep the sentences separate, you need to consider the relationship between them. In this case, the sentences express a cause-and-effect relationship: the result of hard work is a fruitful life.
Using a semicolon between the sentences would indicate a stronger connection between them, emphasizing the cause-and-effect relationship. However, the sentences can also stand alone as separate ideas without losing their meaning. It ultimately depends on your writing style and the flow of your essay.
If you choose to use a semicolon, the combined sentences would be:
"I have found that nothing can be accomplished without hard work; it may take a large amount of persistence but the result is most often the same. Work hard, and your life will be fruitful. Hold onto every goal you embrace, achieve it, and the rest will be history."
If you choose to keep the sentences separate, they would look like this:
"I have found that nothing can be accomplished without hard work. It may take a large amount of persistence, but the result is most often the same. Work hard, and your life will be fruitful. Hold onto every goal you embrace, achieve it, and the rest will be history."
Ultimately, both options are grammatically correct, so it is up to you to decide based on the flow and cohesion you want to achieve in your essay.