20860_Editing_explanations_Years_4_and_5
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Punctuation, spelling <strong>and</strong> grammar information<br />
PUNCTUATION<br />
Please note: In some cases, teachers will need to exercise their own judgment with regard to<br />
punctuation, as certain aspects, particularly commas <strong>and</strong> exclamation marks, are to an extent<br />
discretionary <strong>and</strong> depend on the individual writer’s intent.<br />
Capital letters<br />
Capital letters are needed for:<br />
• sentence beginnings; e.g. My dog is very friendly. He welcomes everyone.<br />
• proper nouns – people’s names (Chloe Parker), names of places (Indian Ocean), days of<br />
the week (Saturday), months (December), holidays <strong>and</strong> festivals (Christmas ), countries<br />
(America), nationalities (Russian), languages (Italian) <strong>and</strong> religions (Buddhism).<br />
• titles; e.g. World Health Organisation<br />
NOTE: R.I.C. Publications employs minimal capitalisation for titles of books <strong>and</strong> other<br />
publications as recommended by Style manual for authors, editors <strong>and</strong> printers,<br />
sixth edition 2002.<br />
Commas<br />
To kill a mockingbird<br />
Commas are used to separate items in a list or series.<br />
I enjoy reading, playing squash, skiing <strong>and</strong> swimming.<br />
Grammatical commas are used to:<br />
• make the meaning of a sentence clear.<br />
Jane said her mother is very busy.<br />
Jane, said her mother, is very busy.<br />
• indicate where a pause is needed in a sentence.<br />
Many years ago, dinosaurs roamed the Earth.<br />
Apostrophes for possession<br />
Snow White <strong>and</strong> the seven dwarfs<br />
(Jane’s mother is very busy.)<br />
(Jane is very busy.)<br />
Apostrophes are used to show that something belongs to someone or something.<br />
The placement of the apostrophe can be challenging but the simple rule is that it is placed<br />
after the owner or owners. (The ‘tail’ of the apostrophe ‘points’ to the owner(s).)<br />
the boy’s shoes (one boy) ............... the boys’ shoes (more than one boy)<br />
the lady’s hats (one lady)............... the ladies’ hats (more than one lady)<br />
Grammatical contractions<br />
Grammatical contractions are words that have been made by joining <strong>and</strong> shortening two<br />
words. An apostrophe is used in place of the missing letters.<br />
would not..............wouldn’t<br />
I would............................I’d<br />
Exclamation marks<br />
will not......................won’t<br />
they are.................. they’re<br />
Exclamation marks are used to end exclamations <strong>and</strong> imperatives (comm<strong>and</strong>s) <strong>and</strong> for<br />
emphasis at the end of a statement.<br />
I love it!<br />
Teacher information<br />
Don’t touch!<br />
She ate every bit of it!<br />
Note: If overused, exclamation marks lose their effect.<br />
viii <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
Change language