Learning outcomes

Self-assessment questions
Punctuate the sentences below. You may need to change some lower-case letters to upper case, and you may even wish to use italics for some words or phrases.

1. 
   david julie rosemary and gill sat in trafalgar square
   
2. 
   sam who was thirty two had thinning blond hair
   
3. 
   oh no cried sue as she saw the damage bill had done to her new bmw
   
4. 
   you shouted the teacher have the manners of a two year old
   
5. 
   rimmer sat miserably in the control room of red dwarf
   

Select the punctuation mark that is used for each of the following purposes.

1. 
   To separate the different parts of a sentence and provide clarity for the reader.
   
2. 
   To separate two main clauses in a sentence.
   
3. 
   Before a second clause that expands or illustrates the first.
   
4. 
   At the end of an interjection to indicate strong feeling or emotion.
   
5. 
   In informal writing to replace brackets and other punctuation marks.
   

Choose from the list below:
full stop question mark exclamation mark
semi-colon colon dash
Further reading
Jeffries, S. (2009) The joy of exclamation marks! Available from: www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/apr/29/exclamation-mark-punctuation
A light-hearted and interesting viewpoint on the use of exclamation marks.
Truss, L. (2003) Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. London: Profile Books.
For an entertaining and interesting look at punctuation, with lots of examples, Lynn Truss’s book is ideal.
Waugh, D, Allott, K, Waugh, R, English, E and Bulmer, E (2014) The Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar app. Morecambe: Children Count Ltd. (available through the App Store)

This app. provides guidance and activities on all aspects of grammar, spelling and punctuation.

References
APA (2010) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition). Washington, DC: APA.
Brien, J. (2012) Teaching Primary English. London: Sage.
Bunting, R. (1997) Teaching about Language in the Primary Years. London: David Fulton.
Clandfield, L. (2011) Online writing is great!!! Available from: