What are punctuation marks? Punctuation marks are used to determine the structure and organisation of sentences.

Here are some common punctuation marks you need to know: Punctuation mark . , Name Full stop (US: period) Comma What it does Creates an interruption to mark the end of a sentence. 1. 2. 3. 4. Creates a small interruption within a sentence to help clarify meaning. Used between items in a list. Used before a speech mark. Used to create a slight pause and emphasis before a joining word (eg and, but, however, instead). Replaces a full stop or "and" between two or more sentences that share a theme. Used before a joining word when a stronger pause and emphasis is required.

Semi-colon

1. 2.

Colon

Used at the end of a sentence to show an answer, elaboration or explanation follows, eg a list, quotation, answer or contrast. 1. 2. 3. Used to show spoken words. Used around odd or unusual terms, jargon or slang. Used around titles when italics are unavailable.

"

Quotation or double speech marks/inverted commas

'

Single speech marks

1. 2.

Used to quote a different speaker's words within speech. Used to make difficult plurals, eg "How many 's's are there in 'embarrasses'?"

? ! ...

Question mark Exclamation mark Ellipsis/trailing dots

A replacement for a full stop when the sentence is a question. A replacement for a full stop to suggest surprise or shock. 1. 2. Used to show unimportant words have been missed from a quotation. Used informally to show an incomplete sentence.

()

Round brackets/parentheses

Used around strong "parenthetical information", ie an inserted comment, aside, explanation or additional information. Used around a less strong comment, explanation or aside. Used around additional information not crucial to the meaning of the sentence. 1. 2. Used to shows a word is incomplete at the end of a line. Used between compound words, eg no-one, all-encompassing.

, ... , -

Dashes Bracketing or parenthetical commas Hyphen

Punctuation mark ' []

Name Apostrophe Square brackets

What it does 1. 2. Used (often before "s") to show possession, eg the book's cover. Used to show a missing letter, eg "hasn't".

Used around words added to a quotation.

Compound sentences So far, we have identified two types of sentence - simple and complex. The other main type of sentence that a writer may use is called a compound sentence. Compound sentences contain two or more pieces of information and the pieces are linked by connectives. Connectives are words such as: but whereas therefore Here are three examples of compound sentences with the connectives written in bold: The boys walked down the road and their parents waved from the house. The dog came rushing in so the cat ran upstairs. My friend gave me a lift because it was raining. One advantage of compound sentences is that a writer can build more detail into their writing. However, one problem is that some writers can get carried away and write long rambling sentences: My mate came round and said, "Do you want to go out?" and I did so we went to the park and sat around for a bit and then these other girls came over who we knew from school so we started talking to them and then we felt hungry so we... Did you spot the problem? Remember, care needs to be taken with connectives. Two in a sentence is usually enough, and they don't need to be used in every sentence. Fragments Writers sometimes don't use full sentences. Fragments often help to emphasise a point, create drama or show surprise: She looked as carefully as she could, but found nothing. Absolutely nothing. Help! Please help! Imagine this. You're trapped. It's dark. It's cold. Repetition Repeating a word or phrase can emphasise a point, or make sure it's fully understood: His head was drooping as if it weighed a ton, but it was held up by a sharp band around his throat that was almost choking him. He tried to reach up and tear the band away, but there were sharp bands round his wrists as well. He tried to move his feet, but there were more cold, sharp bands around his ankles. 'Urn Burial' - Robert Westall Westall refers to the bands around Ralph's body four times. This isn't because he couldn't think of another phrase. He is emphasising how tightly Ralph is trapped to create a sense of fear and tension. He also allows us to build up a picture gradually, just like Ralph does as he is regaining consciousness. Bit by bit, both Ralph and the reader realise that every part of him is tied up - there is no chance of escape.