Friday, 30 November 2018 Punctuate for effect jonathan Peel SGS 2011

EXAM BOARDS WANT VARIETY of expression and punctuation. Move on from . and , Find out how to use the flashier punctuation marks… jonathan Peel SGS 2011

SEMI COLONS ; Easiest, but not always most elegant – to divide items in groups where the items have more than one word. This tends to be a formal usage. “ He bought a lovely wicker basket with eggs in it; a gorgeous version of the Iliad and a large pork pie.” Or to divide MAIN clauses without using a full stop – it keeps the sense alive. “A crocodile is a reptile; a whale is a mammal”. In this case the two clauses should relate to each other in some way and not be totally separate ideas. jonathan Peel SGS 2011

COLONS : Introduce a list or an example. Semi colons are NEVER used for this purpose. Introduce further information or explanation: “cats only want to eat one thing: that’s fish.” jonathan Peel SGS 2011

THE DASH - Don’t overuse them. Always remember to close them – they work like brackets – if they are in the middle of a sentence. They show that additional information is being given to the reader – like an “aside” in a play script. They draw attention to this information, unlike brackets (which tend to only suggest that we might want to read the information offered). jonathan Peel SGS 2011

The HYPHEN - Looks like a dash. Links two halves of a COMPOUND. A compound is made of two or more nouns/adverbs/adjectives pushed together to make a single word: brother-in-law, a top-of-the-range sports car, grey-blue eyes. jonathan Peel SGS 2011

Exclamations ! Add emphasis. Best used in dialogue to indicate passion or volume, or surprise or… “I’m pregnant!” suggests that the information is a shock. “I’m pregnant.” simply passes on gynaecological information. If a character shouts, use ! To draw attention to it. jonathan Peel SGS 2011

Any questions ? Most students write rhetorical questions at the drop of a hat. Many forget to add the ? Why? This indicates to the examiner not only a lack of knowledge, but also an inability to proof read and think about what is being written. Take care! jonathan Peel SGS 2011