Source of Source punctuation

Cwhermann28,

At times like this, it helps to go back and recall how punctuation marks are used in “regular” writing.

• A comma is used to separate things in a series—things that are alike and similar in construction.
• A semicolon is used to either divide separate but related thoughts or to divide items in a series in which some items have sub-items—in which case we use the semicolon to separate the bigger items.

It's hard to find, in English grammar, a rule such as “a comma always comes before the word and,” because sometimes the comma is needed for clarity and sometimes it would confuse matters.

Likewise, in citing sources, a hard-fast rule such as “a semicolon always comes before the word citing” presents problems because sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.

Clarity is always the overriding issue; and how to best create clarity is ultimately a judgment call we make for each sentence we write.

Let’s take one Find A Grave entry and look at ways we might approach it:

1. If we want to cite the whole memorial, using one layer is the simplest way to present each item in the series of essential details—although we would create no problem if we used a semicolon before “citing.”

Find A Grave, database and images (https://findagrave.com : accessed 4 June 2022), memorial 22720564, “Elmer Holmes Bearden” (1920–1988), created by Wayne Ellzey and maintained by Christopher Beard, citing Tylertown Cemetery, Tylertown, Walthall County, Mississippi.

2. If we want to cite the tombstone specifically, one layer would also be sufficient, although using a semicolon before “citing” would not be wrong.

Find A Grave, database and images (https://findagrave.com : accessed 4 June 2022), memorial 22720564, “Elmer Holmes Bearden” (1920–1988), tombstone image by Wayne Ellzey citing Tylertown Cemetery, Tylertown, Walthall County, Mississippi.

3. If we want to add our own remarks or cite something that has been added to the memorial, creating a more-complicated citation or triggering a need for an additional citation, two layers will usually enhance clarity.

Find A Grave, database and images (https://findagrave.com : accessed 4 June 2022), memorial 22720564, “Elmer Holmes Bearden” (1920–1988), created by Wayne Ellzey and maintained by Christopher Beard, citing Tylertown Cemetery, Tylertown, Walthall County, Mississippi; details of Mr. Bearden’s career with Mobil Oil are found in the obituary added by bluebell (47311898), citing “Enterprise-Journal from McComb, Mississippi, August 16, 1988, p. 10.”

In the third example, clarity is best achieved by placing one semicolon between the two  major parts of the citation (the ID of the memorial page; and the ID of the added obituary). If we were to put a semicolon before "citing" in both of those layers, we would create (confusingly) four layers in which the second layer was part of the first and the fourth layer was part of the third.

Does this help?