CHAPTER 2 PARAGRAPHING, PUNCTUATION AND SENTENCE STRUCTURES

I recently found out that you are considering moving to Spain. That
would make a huge difference from the constant bad weather in
the UK. I think that moving abroad would be a great opportunity for
you and your family to make a fresh start in life. I hear the food in
Spain is much healthier than here. Although I’m sure that it would be
fantastic, there would be a lot of hard work finding jobs and learning
the new language. What Spanish phrases can you say? There is also
the difficulty in driving on the other side of the road but I’m sure Alex
won’t have any difficulty with that. I’m sure that you will make the right
decision. What are the children’s views on moving to Spain? I’ll bet
they are very excited about going to new schools and meeting new
friends. If you do decide to go, we will be very supportive and will
help you in any way we can, although we will miss you all very much.

Apostrophes
Using apostrophes in the right places will help to improve the accuracy of
apostrophe a
punctuation mark
your work and earn you higher marks. Remember that you only need to
(’) used to show use apostrophes for two reasons:
that letter(s) have l when something belongs to someone (possession)
been removed
(omission), or to
l when you shorten a word and leave letters out (omission).
show that something
belongs to someone Try this
(possession)
Here are some signs that you might come across in everyday life.
The apostrophes have not always been put in the right places, however,
so rewrite the signs as they should be written. Be careful – some may be
correct.
1 Farm fresh carrot’s and potato’s for sale

2 Mens’ department on second floor

3 Children’s Play Area at rear of restaurant

4 Slimmer’s Club. New Members’ are welcome!

5 Party Aces! Lets Plan All Your Party’s.

6 Holiday Cottage’s For Rent. Apply Within.

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 Apostrophes

Try this
Read this paragraph and put in any missing apostrophes.

Josefs future plans had been fully discussed by his parents

and teachers but his wishes hadn’t really been consulted. He
would’ve preferred to grab lifes challenges and take his chances
in the big, wide world rather than drift into his familys business
working in dreary offices. His fathers opinion was clear: hed
go to university, to the familys traditional colleges, and then
become his fathers assistant in the firms Madrid branch. That
was why, when he first spotted the advert in The Independents
back pages just after the womens section, his heart had missed
several beats …
Have you ever wondered whats really out there?

Did you find the 11 missing apostrophes?

In each case, indicate whether the apostrophe is to show possession
or omission. Label each apostrophe that you have added with ‘P’ (for
possession) or ‘O’ (for omission).

Try this
Read this letter about teenagers learning to drive. It was written by
a student in exam conditions and there are many errors in spelling,
punctuation, expression and paragraphing.
l Find as many of the mistakes as you can.
l Correct the mistakes.
l Rewrite and improve the letter.
Complete this answer on a separate piece of paper.

Dear editor, im wrighting you a letter abiut raising the age limit of
teenagers learning to drive because of all the acidents they have.
Teenagers 17 to 18 should still be abel to drive if they payed for
there insurance they are covered about. 45% of teenagers drive
fast and play loud music and the other 55% drive sensaball so that
not fare on the people who drive with cate around the sttreets.
Teenagers of that age start getting jobs and most of them may
need a car to get to work or mabe they need to be able to drive to
do there job. You should leave the age limit as they are and a long
as there paying their insurance theres no problem. Yours trully.

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 CHAPTER 2 PARAGRAPHING, PUNCTUATION AND SENTENCE STRUCTURES

Other punctuation marks

There are many different punctuation marks and it is a good idea to show
the examiner that you can use more than just a full stop or comma.

Try this
Look at this list of different punctuation marks and complete the table to
show that you understand when to use each one.

Punctuation When to use it

Full stop

Comma

Colon

Semicolon

Ellipsis

Question mark

Exclamation mark

Brackets/parentheses

Hyphen

Colons and semicolons

A colon looks like this :
A semicolon looks like this ;
A colon can be used to introduce a list of things.
A semicolon can be used to break up lists of things, to join closely
connected ideas in a sentence or to separate two main clauses.

Try this
1 Which of these sentences has used a semicolon correctly?
a Usually I enjoy going to parties; however, sometimes I prefer
to stay at home.
b Usually I enjoy going to parties however; sometimes I prefer
to stay at home.
c Usually I enjoy going to parties however sometimes; I prefer
to stay at home.
2 Which of these statements is true?
a A semicolon is the same as a comma.
b A semicolon has the same purpose as a colon.
c The first word after a semicolon does not start with a
capital letter.
d The first word after a semicolon starts with a capital letter.

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 Other punctuation marks

3 Which of these sentences has used a semicolon incorrectly?

a I finished my homework early; therefore, I played on my
computer.
b There are many places to visit in my area; the park, which is
free, the shopping mall which is always busy.
c The recruitment process for university is hard; only the best
students are good enough.
d The sprinter wanted to get a good start; she moved before
the starter gun.
4 Which of these statements has used a colon correctly?
a There are many types of popular music: rap, disco, heavy
metal and rock.
b There are many types of popular music: rap: disco: heavy
metal and rock.
c There are: many types of popular music rap, disco, heavy
metal and rock.
5 Which of these sentences has used a colon incorrectly?
a There are many: consequences to an unhealthy diet heart
disease, cancer and obesity.
b There are many consequences to an unhealthy diet: heart
disease, cancer and obesity.
c I love eating foreign foods: Italian is my favourite.
d University life is very exciting: you will have the opportunity to
make new friends.

Brackets or parentheses
Using brackets or parentheses can be a useful way of adding extra
information, or including a personal observation, without disturbing the
flow of your sentence. Remember that the sentence must still make sense
if the bracketed part is removed.

brackets the symbols Try this

( ) put around an
extra/separate word(s) 1 Look at the following sentences and decide which one has used
in a sentence brackets correctly.
a The college (which was located near the train station) had an
excellent reputation.
b The college which was located (near the train station) had an
excellent reputation.
c The college which was located near the train station (had an
excellent reputation).
d (The college which was located near the train station) had an
excellent reputation.

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 CHAPTER 2 PARAGRAPHING, PUNCTUATION AND SENTENCE STRUCTURES

TOP TIPS 2 Write five sentences of your own in which brackets are used to
When you write in include additional information.
timed conditions (like
an exam) you need to
leave enough time to
check your work very
carefully for mistakes
in your spelling,
punctuation and
grammar. You should:
l correct any
spelling mistakes
l correct any
mistakes in the
way you use
paragraphs and
punctuation marks
l make sure your
writing makes
sense.
This skill is called
proofreading.

Check your understanding

Read this extract from a letter about selecting students for an outdoor
excursion. It was written by a student in exam conditions. There are
many mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar.
l Circle all the spelling mistakes and then correct them.
l Underline all the errors in punctuation and correct them.
grammar how words l Highlight all the errors in expression and improve them.
work together to
make meaning
Im wrighting to you today to show my feelings and thoughts on
proofreading
checking your that all students should take part inn a camping and outdorr
work for spelling,
punctuation and activitys evry year. As I and fellow students’ has took a
grammar mistakes,
and sense query around and a very much big percentage of the school
agree. The feelings and thughts are vry positive because most
students’ think it would take the stress of school work to a
minimum. There has been some sugestions of the class that has
contributed to school life the most to be token on the activities
with such contributions as award stickers and behaviur.

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