What is the Point?
Punctuation
Part 1:
Colon, Semi-colon, Ellipsis
How does the writer feel?
Dear Jon,
I want a man who knows what love is all
about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful.
People who are not like you admit to being
useless and inferior. You have ruined me
for other men. I yearn for you. I have no
feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I
can be forever happy -- will you let me be
yours?
Gloria
How does the writer feel?
Dear Jon:
I want a man who knows what love is. All about
you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who
are not like you. Admit to being useless and
inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I
yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever.
When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will
you let me be?
Yours,
Gloria
What is the point?
• Punctuation creates and clarifies meaning.
Really?
Yes, really!
What is the point?
• Punctuation creates impact – to drive
home to the reader the message and
meaning the writer wants to convey.
• There was only one way they could pass
Higher English: study.
The Colon
The colon is needed to introduce things:
• A list
• An explanation or example
• A quotation
Here’s a colon in context:
“Rangers have plenty of friends for a team which
has found itself accused of crimes against
football. The 2008 UEFA Cup final is going to
have the feel of a home match: their supporters
will fill almost every nook and cranny, and it will
be red, white and blue banners and flags hanging
all around the City of Manchester stadium. It will
be an occupation – the pocket of Zenit St
Petersburg supporters will be swallowed up in the
overall picture – by supporters unconcerned by
the criticism which has rained down on their
club’s campaign.”
Analyse
• What is the function of the colon in the
example?
• To introduce a list
• But we have to be more specific!
Analyse- and be specific!
“… The 2008 UEFA Cup final is going to have the
feel of a home match: their supporters will fill
almost every nook and cranny, and it will be red,
white and blue banners and flags hanging all
around the City of Manchester stadium.”
After the colon, the author provides a list explaining why
the final will “have the feel of a home match”. He
describes the different ways the ground will resemble
Ibrox (the colours and flags) as well as how the
supporters will contribute to this feel.
Another colon in context:
“Most children are intensely competitive.
They can turn anything into a contest:
getting dressed, eating breakfast, breaking
wind, behaving badly.”
Analyse
• What is the function of the colon in the
example?
• To introduce a list
• But we have to be more specific!
Analyse - and be specific!
They can turn anything into a contest: getting
dressed, eating breakfast, breaking wind,
behaving badly.”
The list that the colon introduces is made up of
examples of what children can make into a
contest. The list begins with positive items and
moves towards undesirable behaviour. The list
after the colon helped to clarify that the fact that
children can compete about anything, may not be
an entirely good thing in practice.
Colon
In your answer, always be specific about the
impact of the use of a colon:
- Does the pause created make the reader
think / consider what the close of the
sentence will be?
- Does the list introduced clarify a point
made?
- What difference does the explanation
make to the reader’s understanding?
For Practice:
Why were so many women left single or
widowed? The answer is simple: five
hundred thousand British men were killed
in the trenches. With no men left to marry,
countless women were forced into the
spinster role they so dreaded.
How does the author’s use of sentence
structure help clarify their argument?
• An explanation.
• The explanation that the colon introduces
responds to the question posed,
explaining why the answer is simple ‘five
hundred thousand men were killed’. The
next sentence elaborates on why this was
the reason, there ‘were no men left to
marry’.
Semi Colon
;
Semi-colon
• Semi-colons can join two sentences which
are linked in subject matter to form one
sentence (replacing “and”, “but” or other
conjunctions).
• Semi-colons can separate items in a list,
when the items in the list are already
punctuated.
Semi colon in context
• “…say to the supermarkets: enough
of your screwing down of prices to
farmers and producers; enough of
your misleading labelling and
spurious nutritional information;
enough of the systematic suffering of
livestock in intensive systems;
enough of your dirty, wasteful food
miles.”
Analyse
• What is the function of the semi-colons in
the example?
• To separate items in a list.
• But we have to be more specific!
Analyse and be specific:
“…say to the supermarkets: enough of your screwing down
of prices (…); enough of your misleading labelling (…);
enough of the systematic suffering of livestock (…);
enough of your dirty, wasteful food miles.”
The semi-colons allow the writer to have long
items in the list. Each item is a result of a
complex frustration on the part of the consumer,
who has had “enough” of the morally suspect
practices of the supermarkets. Through the list,
the reader is clear that there could be a barrage
of demands directed at those in charge of the
supermarkets.
Another Semi-colon in context
“In the past decade, central London
has lost another 15 per cent of its
Olympic-size public swimming
pools; during the same period
local authorities have continued to
flog off their sports fields with gay
abandon.”
Analyse
• What is the function of the semi-colon in
the example?
• To join two sentences which are linked in
subject matter.
• But we have to be more specific!
Analyse and be specific
“In the past decade, central London has lost another 15 per
cent of its Olympic-size public swimming pools; during
the same period local authorities have continued to flog
off their sports fields with gay abandon.”
Both parts of the sentence deal with a reduction in the
sports facilities in London. The semi colon helps the
reader to see that these losses occurred in parallel. The
reader is made aware that London does not value its
sports venues, as they are “lost”, and carelessly sold off.
Semi-colon
In your answer, always be specific about the
impact of the use of a semi-colon:
- If reader’s attention is drawn to the fact that the
subject matter of the sentences linked by a
semi-colon is similar? Why does the writer want
you to make this connection?
- Are the items separated by semi-colons
complex? How does this relate to the subject
matter? What impact does this have?
For Practice:
Jane is the most contented and carefree woman I know.
She has not long retired from a distinguished career as a
genetic scientist; she has no dependents; she has an
elegant house, plenty of friends, a season ticket for
Scottish Opera, membership of a golf club and she
travels the world - often to visit friends made on the
international circuit of scientific conferences.
Explain how the author’s use of sentence structure
helps give the reader an accurate impression of
Jane’s busy lifestyle. (2)
• The semi-colons allow the writer to have
long items in the list that explains why
Jane is so ‘contented and carefree’. Each
item is one aspect of her life explained in
detail explaining her ‘carefree’ life – she
has no one to take care of – and her
‘contentment’ – she has recently finished
working in a fulfilling career and she has a
busy lifestyle, details of which are listed.
The reader is clear that there numerous
reasons why Jane is kept occupied and
happy.
Ellipsis
…
Ellipsis
Ellipsis is used:
To show that something is missing
To indicate hesitation or pausing, usually of a
speaker
To show when a writer has trailed off without
finishing.
Ellipsis in context
Teri Hatcher said, “Women today are always
struggling and being envious and trying to
find worth and confidence in ourselves and
there’s the illusion that somehow this is so
fabulous and easy and … honest. It isn’t!
We’re all the same underneath and at the
end of the day we’re gonna be … dead!”
Analyse Ellipsis
• What is the function in the ellipsis in the
example?
• To indicate hesitation or pausing, usually
of a speaker
• But we have to be more specific!
Analyse and be specific
“this is so fabulous and easy and … honest. It isn’t! We’re
all the same underneath and at the end of the day we’re
gonna be … dead!”
The ellipsis indicates that the speaker is pausing. In the
first instance we understand that the speaker is
searching for the right word to express her meaning:
“honest”. This honesty leads her to a realisation of
human mortality. The writer uses ellipsis again to
indicate a pause in Teri Hatcher’s speech – this time to
hold back the unpleasant truth for a moment before she
is “honest” to her listeners.
More Ellipsis in context
• “And some days during my preparation I
had no appetite or nerve for it at all, when
climbing was all slog and fear and
trembling and wanting it to be over with,
hating it. But other days…”
Analyse
• What is the function in the ellipsis in the
example?
• To show when a writer has trailed off
without finishing.
• But we have to be
• more specific!
Analyse and be specific!
“climbing was all slog and fear and trembling and wanting it
to be over with, hating it. But other days…”
The ellipsis indicates that the writer has trailed off
without finishing. He had been detailing the
difficult aspects of climbing. Beginning the
sentence with “But” indicates a change of
direction. The ellipsis then allows the reader to
imagine and anticipate the positive experiences
he must have had on “other days”.
Ellipsis
In your answer, always be specific about the
impact of the use of ellipsis
- Has the reader to imagine the missing
words themselves? What would they be?
- Have we to understand a person is
nervous, thinking or struggling to express
themselves?
• A single dash can be used to add on an
extra piece of information very much as a
colon does.
• A series of dashes might be informally
used to convey an outpouring of ideas or
emotions.
Parenthesis
() - - ,,
Two dashes, brackets or two commas
indicate a parenthesis: non-essential
information which, if removed, does not
effect the structure nor sense of the
sentence.
(Be aware of the parenthetical rhetorical
question which has been included over the
last few years.)
Sentence Structure
INVERSION:
Normally the collocation of words in a
sentence follows the pattern - subject, verb,
and object.
However, when the word order is inverted it
can be to alter the emphasis in a sentence
or to create a desired effect.
Consider; " Step, by step, he' inched." Here
the word order is inverted to establish
emphasis on the cautionary mode of the
movement.
REPETITION:
To repeat certain word patterns to create a
desired effect, often the effect is one of
progression.
CLIMAX, ANTI-CLIMAX:
• The placement of a number of items or
ideas in ascending order with the most
important being kept till the end.
• The opposite effect is created when the
author builds up to something which does
not actually come.
e.g. His hand stealthily approached the
door. His gloved hand flexed as he fumbled
for the key. Cautiously, he reached for the
key then slowly pushed open the door, wary
of what lay in store. The room was empty.
ANTHITHESIS:
• The balancing of opposite ideas to create
a contrasting effect. Most often found in
poetry, but can be used for great effect in
persuasive language.
N.B. An examiner does not want you to
explain meaning in a sentence structure
question, he is asking about the compilation
of the sentence.
CHECKLIST FOR TACKLING STRUCTURE
QUESTIONS.
• Can you identify the type of sentence: statement,
question, exclamation, command or minor
sentence?
• Does the writer include rhetorical questions and to
what effect?
• Do you notice anything about the word order
(collocation): inversion, climax, anti-climax?
• Is there an element of balance between different
parts of the sentence?
• Does the author vary the lengths of his sentences?
• Is parenthesis used and what does it highlight?
FORMAL LANGUAGE
INFORMAL LANGUAGE
No abbreviations
conversational/colloquial
expressions
Grammatically correct
Uses shortened forms
Wider range of word choice,
including
Sentence structure is not so
rigid
Complex or technical
vocabulary
Common vocabulary
Impersonal tone, passive
tenses,
Everyday usage
Objectivity Pronouns:
I = INTROSPECTION
Tends to be factual
Subjective stance