Semicolons are in-charge of joining two separate statements that have a similar topic.
Example - Joan loves dog; Jen does not.
A colon is used in order to introduce something such as a list. It can also be used to take out small filler words.
Example - I had to order these supplies: paper, paperclips, ink and pens
Instead of - I had to order so much stuff today. They were things like paper, papeclips, ink and pens.
I found this information to be very helpful when I first started to frequently write. I find that it is a rule that is deemed as "common sense" and the explanation of it is frequently skipped in classes like English. Using proper punctuation is often make or break when writing and can lead to a poor or unprofessional reputation.
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