The Punctuation Police Strike Back (also the spelling and grammar police) By EJ Woolaston

The Apostrophe ’ This is an apostrophe

How to Murder an Apostrophe: Fish and chip’s sold here WRONG

Fruit shop: Banana’s for sale WRONG!

When should you use an apostrophe? For contractions e.g. don’t, couldn’t, isn’t, it’s, haven’t doesn’t

Problem contractions There’s - there is They’re - they are (not there or their) You’re - you are (not your) Should’ve ( not should of!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Use an apostrophe For ownership e.g.William’s hair, Hannah’s curls,Jake’s laughter.

Singular Nouns E.g. (one) father Apostrophe before s I.e. my father ’s house

Plural nouns E.g. girls (more than one) Apostrophe after s E.g. the girls’ hockey team

Exceptions: Its

ITS Do NOT use an apostrophe in its if it is to show ownership. E.g. The horse raised its head.

It’s Do use an apostrophe when it’s is used as a contraction. E.g. It’s freezing out there!

Other exceptions Apostrophe before s when plural does not end in s Women - the women’s dresses Children - the children’s clothes Men - the men’s shirts

An English professor wrote the words: “A woman without her man is nothing” on the board and asked students to punctuate it.

All of the males in the class wrote: A woman, without her man, is nothing.

All the females in the class wrote, quite correctly: “A woman: without her, man is nothing.”

So….. PUNCTUATION IS POWERFUL.

And another thing ….. Punctuating Dialogue New line/paragraph for each new speaker. Inverted commas around all that is said including full stop.

For example He said, “You ought to be congratulated.” Note placement of full stop (and comma). “Next week,” said the teacher, “you are going to have an awfully important exam.” Note placement of commas.

TIP: AVOID USING: Too much dialogue in creative writing, especially under test conditions because: It’s hard to do well. It means you are not building character and setting through effective description.

While we’re at it ……… Try not to misuse conjunctions. Do not begin sentences with ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘because’. These are joining words - they go in the middle of a sentence.

When is a sentence not a sentence? When there is no verb (or doing word). E.g. “ A tanned body with pool bleached hair, blue eyes with the twinkle of determination in them.” ASK: DOES THIS MAKE SENSE BY ITSELF?

When is a sentence not a sentence? When it does not contain a complete thought. E.g. “When I asked her.”

When is a sentence not a sentence? When is begins with a conjunction. E.g. The man was wet. Because it was raining. It was raining. So the frogs were happy. The crocodiles were swimming fast towards them. But the ducks weren’t watching. WRONG!

How do you know when a sentence ends? There is a complete thought. The next set of words also expresses a complete thought. There is a distinct pause before next set of words if read aloud.

For example: The boy stood on the burning deck and piteous were his cries. His mother slapped him across the face with a wet fish and that soon shut him up!

However A more common mistake is to continue a sentence which is complete e.g. The boys were running happily in the rain with their dogs while their sisters played comfortably inside/full stop here the dogs were also happy but the cats were warm and dry. How many times has a teacher had to add a full stop to your draft?

Capitalisation Always capitalise: the first word of every sentence days of the week (Sunday) and months of the year (February) The names of people (Elizabeth) and places (Ipswich) The main words of a title e.g. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The comma Use a comma to separate a series of three items. e.g. I take my diary, workbook and two pens to class every lesson. Use a comma after an introductory cohesive tie. e.g. However, Therefore, For instance, In conclusion, Use a comma for names or information added into a sentence. E.g. My brother, Harry, is twelve. His teacher, who is tall, likes to play basketball.

Spelling Common errors Remember the rules such as ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ e.g. believe, receive. (There are many exceptions!) Watch for silent letters e.g. ghost, wrecked, knocked

Spelling Common errors Watch out for homophones - words that sound the same but are spelt differently e.g. your, you’re their they’re there aloud, allowed right write rite sight site would wood

Spelling Common errors Look out for words with double letters, especially more than one set of double letters, and make sure you get them all correct. e.g. accommodation, necessary, bigger, better, swimming, possible, challenge

Commonly misspelled words desperate, sentence, thief, February, definitely, doesn’t, coming, library, except, examine, assignment, tonight, beginning, because, thorough, different,a lot (two words!), argument, committed, conscience, conscious

Commonly misspelled words Embarrass(ment),equipment, existence, foreign, gauge, grateful, guarantee, height, humorous, leisure, lightning, maintenance, miniature, mischievous, neighbour, noticeable, occasionally, possession, principle/principal (the principal is your pal…),recommend, referred, restaurant

Commonly misspelled words relevant, rhythm, separate, sergeant, twelfth, vacuum, weird. Note all the obnoxious exceptions to the ‘i’ before ‘e’ rule! You need to learn these words in preparation for the QCST and for LIFE. Go over them at least 10 times before QCST.

Tips 1.Thoroughly edit your own work before the end of tests and exams. 2.Read the work aloud (in your head). Does it sound OK? 3.Cover everything but the line you are proofreading with a blank piece of paper. Read slowly.

Tips Use your finger to point to each word and punctuation mark one at a time. Proofread for spelling first then proofread for punctuation then for grammar. DON’T just skim read!

Good Luck! Remember, how well you do in the QCST is not so much inspiration as perspiration. That is, it is not all intelligence. Skill plays a huge role in improving your result so practicing skills is very important.