Which sentence is correctly punctuated?

[Karen123456]

'Quentin is a fine writer' does not necessarily imply that Quentin is alive, on the other hand: writers, musicians, etc., even when dead, are permitted to inhabit the present.

'Quentin is a fine writer' does not necessarily imply that Quentin is alive. On the other hand,writers, musicians, etc., even when dead, are permitted to inhabit the present.

I would like to know which sentence is punctuated correctly. Or is either fine?

Thanks.

 

[panjandrum]

Which do you favour, and why?

 

[Karen123456]

Which do you favour, and why?

I prefer #2 because #1 seems to have a comma splice in punctuation as indicated below.

'Quentin is a fine writer' does not necessarily imply that Quentin is alive, on the other hand: writers, musicians, etc., even when dead, are permitted to inhabit the present.

Thanks again.

 

[panjandrum]

Thank you Karen
That is exactly what I thought.

 

[Karen123456]

Thanks, Panjandrum, for clearing my doubt.

 

[Copyright]

Just an aside: I prefer #2, but I think it would be best to drop "on the other hand" entirely: "Quentin is a fine writer" does not necessarily imply that Quentin is alive: writers, musicians, etc., even when dead, are permitted to inhabit the present.

 

[Karen123456]

Just an aside: I prefer #2, but I think it would be best to drop "on the other hand" entirely: "Quentin is a fine writer" does not necessarily imply that Quentin is alive: writers, musicians, etc., even when dead, are permitted to inhabit the present.

Thanks, Copyright.

I agree with you that "On the other hand" could be removed.

"Quentin is a fine writer" does not necessarily imply that Quentin is alive; writers, musicians, etc., even when dead, are permitted to inhabit the present.

Would it be wrong if I use a semi-colon instead of a colon?

 

[Copyright]

Despite my preference for a colon, which is a drum roll to your dramatic reason for saying what you've just said )), I think you can reasonably use a semicolon.