If you're already getting pretty good writing marks, your teacher may have told you to begin using punctuation for effect - perhaps to create a feeling, or to manipulate the reader into reading it a certain way.
One way you can do this is by knowing the difference between commas, dashes and hyphens - and the best ways in which to use them. This video is a handy and VERY short guide to these three little marks:
0 Comments
Ah, the age-old issue - how do I stop myself from sounding like Eliza Doolittle when I talk about my friends and me?
Too many of us don't know when to use 'me' and when to use 'I'. It means that we end up with constructions like Me and my mum went to the shop. NO. Firstly, you don't ever put yourself first. It's just rude. You always put yourself after the other person. Does that mean we end up with My mum and me went to the shop? NO. This is where you need to know the difference between 'me' and 'I'. 'I' is a subject - that means that if you use it, it goes at the start of the sentence. My mum and I went to the shop. 'Me' is an object - that means that if you use it, it goes at the end of the sentence. We went to the shop, my mum and me. An easy way to remember it is to test whether it's right by removing the other person, and seeing what you're left with. Take the first example My mum and me went to the shop. If you take away 'my mum', you're left with Me went to the shop. Clearly, it's not right. However, if you do the same to my mum and I went to the shop: I went to the shop. Bam! It totally works. This video explains it in more detail:
This isn't rocket science. Honestly. Knowing the difference between 'your' and 'you're' is a very important thing!
It's really quite easy to break down if you remember that 'you're' is a contraction. YOUR is a determiner - it tells us WHO something belongs to - where is your car? Why is your hair wet? YOU'RE is a contraction of YOU + ARE - it's contracted for ease - you're a silly sausage, Bob. This video explains it in more detail:
Look, you guys. I like you, I really do. However, if I have to read one more essay that uses the word 'there' incorrectly, I'm going to scream, tip over my bin and quit my job to go and follow Green Day on tour.
There's really no excuse for mixing up there, their and they're, not least because one of them is clearly a contraction of they and are. Remember: THERE - indicates position - he is over there; there is a happy man outside THEIR - indicates possession - their socks are stripy; they took out their books THEY'RE - contraction of they + are - they're a funny bunch, 10E1; they're likely to do well. This video explains it in a little more detail:
Apostrophes are used for the following reasons:
Possession We use apostrophes to show that something belongs to someone: The man's hat. Sarah's scarf was blue. I wanted to go to Mike's house, but Mum wouldn't let me. The apostrophe is used before the 's' to show that the item that follows belongs to the person/thing. If a word is plural, then you don't need to add an extra 's', but you do need to add an apostrophe: I went into the boys' bedroom to tell them goodnight. She filled up each of the cats' bowls before she left. Sarah thought that her parents' rules were terrible. Contractions Contractions are words that are made from pushing two words together and removing a letter: I + am = I'm Do + not = don't Should + not = shouldn't We use the apostrophe to mark the missing letter. The Plural of Single Letters We use commas to mark plural single letters: Mind your P's and Q's. You need to dot your i's and cross your t's. This handy video from TedEd explains further:
These three words may seem like they all mean the same thing, but ultimately, they each have a different role. This interesting TedEd video explains when each should be employed.
AO6 is your Everest. It's the mark scheme where students the country over consistently lose a vast number of marks due to simple, fixable errors. It's the mark scheme where teachers bang their heads against tables, weeping due to a careless mistake costing a student an entire grade (yes, it is that strict). It's the mark scheme that could mean the difference between a Grade 6 and a Grade 8 (really).
AO6 counts for 40% of your creative and transactional writing marks. Overall, it's a significant part of your GCSE; this is because the government are keen for students to leave full-time education with the ability to communicate ideas clearly and accurately. This is not a bad thing; a student with the ability to put across ideas eloquently and appropriately is going to achieve much more than someone who communicates with a prospective employer the same way they do their friends on Facebook. However, SPaG can be a difficult thing to master, especially if you suffer from dyslexia or another composition difficulty. The good news is that if you know what to do and you can use basic punctuation accurately, you can still achieve a good portion of the marks. The Mark Scheme
Notice that for Band 3, the only real requirements are:
In layman's terms, you just need to get it right to hit at least 9 marks. This is great news; it just means that you need to get your commas, semi-colons, capital letters and question marks in the right places, and you're still capable of getting more than half the available marks. However, also notice that for Band 1, the main idea is that of basic control. This means capital letters... Meaning that your mark will be severely affected if you forget to use these. Hitting Band 4 or Higher From the upper realms of Band 3 to Band 5, focus changes from accuracy to management. This means that you are making a jump from just using punctuation well and correctly, to using it specifically for effect. Compare: I hesitated. Was he out there? I didn't know what to do; I was lost, without hope. to I hesitated - was he out there? I didn't know what to do; I was lost - without hope. Both are accurately punctuated sentences, but note how the second writer manipulates and manages the hyphens in order to create the hesitation described in the sentence! This is an example of conscious crafting and examiners love it, because it shows that you have total control over the construction of your work and understand the relationship between punctuation and language. Band 4 and higher also requests a range of punctuation, meaning that you need to experiment with a wide variety of punctuation marks, including semi-colons and commas. Finally, it asks you to manage your sentences for deliberate effect. Again, compare: I went to the park. It was a beautiful day. I was with my friend Mike. He was glowing with happiness. to I went to the park; it was a beautiful day! I was with my friend Mike. He was glowing with happiness. The first uses simple sentences accurately, but in a boring manner. Note how the second adapts to create a rhythm and tone for the writing. Vocabulary A Band 4 or 5 writer has an extensive, often technical vocabulary. They will not always use the obvious vocabulary choices. However, be careful of this: Remember! Less is often more. You must ensure that your vocabulary is professional, clean, clear and impressive, but don't use too many 'posh' words or you'll lose the meaning of what you want to write. Think about swapping 'boring' words, such as good, bad, big, small, nice and said for better synonyms as a jumping-off point. Remember - the aim of the game, especially when writing a transactional piece, is to sound as little like a teenager as possible, and as much like a professional person as you can. This exam rewards formality and beauty, not slang. How to Get Better It's really easy to improve your punctuation:
Alongside semi-colons, commas are an absolute nightmare to get right - but once you master them, your writing will take on a whole new level of meaning. They are extremely important punctuation marks that can alter the entire meaning of a sentence if you aren't careful...
Commas have had a bit of a bad rap recently, as people have continually assumed that they are simply there to mark a 'pause' or a 'stop' that 'isn't quite a full stop'. Sadly, this is the result of lazy teaching, as commas are much more complex than that!
Fundamentally, commas are there to provide clarification and to separate main clauses from words and phrases that modify them. Take the sentence: Carl went to the park. Let's say we want to modify this sentence to provide a time frame - so we add a sub-clause: Later that afternoon + Carl went to the park. The original sentence still works without the extra bit, so we need to separate the modifier from the main clause. However, the modifier cannot stand alone - it doesn't make sense: Later that afternoon X So we know that it is a sub-clause, or dependent clause. We mark these with commas. Later that afternoon, Carl went to the park. They are different to semi-colons because they mark sub-clauses, not breaks between full sentences. We can also use commas to mark internal clauses (sub-clauses squished into the middle of sentences): Carl, who had been bored all morning, went to the park. The main place that people forget to use commas is when they have used an adverb at the start of a sentence. However, the adverb is a modifier! Therefore, a comma is needed: Finally, Carl went to the park. If you can remember these rules, then you're making a good start. Here's a handy video outlining some further rules: TL;DR:
Semi-colons aren't that hard to master. In fact, if you know what a simple sentence is, then you should be able to use a semi-colon. Simple Sentences Simple sentences in English consist of a subject, verb and (usually) an object:
Using a Semi-Colon We use semi-colons to tie two simple sentences, or indeed, two sentences (they don't have to be just simple!) together:
The Mistake We Make The biggest mistake we make is to create a comma splice. This is when we use a comma in a place where we should use a semi-colon. Commas are not used to separate full sentences. The following sentences are comma splices:
When Not to Use a Semi-Colon We don't use semi-colons unless we are separating two full sentences (main clauses). If we are adding a sub-clause, then we use a comma. TL;DR
|
In a Nutshell...40% of your creative and transactional writing; 100% likely to affect any future job applications you make. Archives
May 2017
Categories
All
|