punctuation marks that lay key information out in a non-fiction text

a piece of punctuation placed after a main clause that can introduce a list or a question

a word, phrase or sentence used to introduce part of a text

Bullet points

English

Apostrophes: for contraction, singular possession and plural possession 2

Hyphens and ellipsis

Colons: first function

Colons: second function

Semi-colons: first function

Semi-colons: second function

Speech three ways

In this unit, pupils learn how to use the colon and the semi-colon.

In 'Speech punctuation, parenthesis and apostrophes', pupils learnt to punctuate a speech interrupted sentence. In this unit, pupils will learn how to use the colon and the semi-colon. 

In this unit, pupils review a range of previously taught punctuation, including speech punctuation for three different types of speech sentence and apostrophes for contraction and singular and plural possession. They are also introduced to hyphens, colons, semi-colons and bullet points.

Punctuation

What kind of text is most likely to contain bullet points?

it means we can use more varied punctuation

What is the purpose of using bullet points in a non-fiction text?

Which of the following can be used to start a bullet point list?

There are many impressive bridges in France:

There are many impressive bridges in France, like:

There are many impressive bridges in France, including:

Which of the following would be an appropriate way of starting a list of bullet points?

What must we always include in each list item if we have a list of complete sentences using bullet points?

We __________ use semi-colons to separate items in a list of bullet points when those items are clauses.

Which of the following might we find in a reporting clause?

Which of the following can we see in this reporting clause? 'grumbled Jun moodily as he stood back up'

Which speech second sentence is punctuated correctly?

"let's get going!" shouted Mr Martinez, flapping his arms wildly.

"Let's get going!" shouted Mr Martinez, flapping his arms wildly.

"Let's get going"! shouted Mr Martinez, flapping his arms wildly.

Which speech first sentence is punctuated correctly?

"Before long, we'll have to go," muttered Alex, shrugging.

Alex muttered, "Before long, we'll have to go."

"Before long," Alex muttered, "we'll have to go."

Match the type of speech sentence to the example.

"I want to go," sighed Jacob "but my dad won't let me."

"I want to go" sighed Jacob, "but my dad won't let me."

"I want to go," sighed Jacob, "but my dad won't let me."

Which speech interrupted sentence is punctuated correctly?

Starter Quiz

Which of the following might we find in a reporting clause?