Key Stage 3 English:
Student/Parent
Handbook
Tim Andrews
Southend High School for
Girls
Southchurch Boulevard
Southend-on-Sea
SS2 4UZ
Telephone: 01702 588852
WELCOME TO THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
KEY STAGE 3
At Key Stage 3, the focus is very much on developing the key skills of READING, WRITING,
SPEAKING AND LISTENING in a range of contexts and for a range of audiences. In year 7 and 8,
students will study a range of text and media and become increasingly skilled in expressing
themselves confidently and fluently. Lessons are fun, innovative and challenging.
In Key Stage 3, students have five English lessons a fortnight, one of which is a Library Lesson.
English is taught in mixed ability groups.
ENRICHMENT
Students also have exciting opportunities to learn outside of the classroom when taking part in the
Year 7 Flexible Fridays and Year 8 Curriculum Days.
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Students have the opportunity to develop their skills further by
taking part in a range of extra-curricular activities, such as the
Creative Writing Group, Film Club, the BBC School Report, the
School Magazine Club and the Key Stage 3 Book Club.
The Book Club meets fortnightly. Members participate in The
Essex Book Awards and The Carnegie Book Awards. Students
attend the launch and awards ceremonies annually. Girls have
enjoyed following the novel-writing process, from writers’ talks
on their craft through to the steps involved in becoming a
published writer. At meetings discussions can get quite
animated as students
discuss new publications, books- to-film
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adaptations and so on.
WRITING
Writing during Key Stage 3 involves the use of more grammatically complex sentences, incorporating
rich vocabulary and fully developed ideas. Students learn to write for different purposes and
different audiences, using vocabulary and structure accordingly.
To aid students, this handbook includes a guide on how students can improve the technical aspects
of their writing. It includes information on how to use the different parts of sentences to create
varied and interesting writing; it includes a guide on how to avoid common mistakes with words,
and it includes a guide on how to use some of the more difficult punctuation marks, such as semicolons and, most difficult of all, the comma.
This guide is included in Appendix D at the back of the handbook.
SPELLINGS
Spellings will be issued by the teacher and tested regularly. As students progress through the Key
Stage, they are expected to use more complex vocabulary in their writing.
For a list of Key Stage 3 spellings, please see Appendix A.
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READING
Students develop understanding of significant themes, characters, events and ideas from a variety of
fiction and non-fiction texts. They are also aware that particular texts are a reflection of the time of
their creation and begin to use deduction based on what they have read. Pupils develop both
subjective and objective (critical) responses to a variety of literature including poems, novels and
plays as well as an understanding of the importance of literary works.
We encourage students to develop a love of literature which will stay with them throughout their
life. Students are encouraged to read from a wide range of genres, including classics and non-fiction.
We advise students to read for at least half an hour each day. Reading helps to develop students’
vocabulary and also plays an important role in developing students’ own writing skills. Reading also
helps to build students’ social, cultural and historical awareness.
RECOMMENDED READING LIST
Please see Appendix B for the Key Stage 3 Recommended Reading List.
READING CHALLENGE
All KS3 students will take part in the English Department Reading Challenge. Each student will
‘adopt’ a bookworm, and the object of the Reading Challenge is to earn experience points to level-up
their bookworm and win prizes. In order to do this, students will need to read books from the school
library and explore and evaluate the books they’ve read. Every time students level-up their
bookworms they’ll win a selection of prizes including merits and badges. They’ll also win ways to
personalise their bookworm, and one or more tickets to the Bookworm raffle, giving them a chance
to win an Amazon voucher once every term.
LIBRARY LESSONS
One lesson a fortnight is devoted to visiting the library, quiet reading and developing reading
strategies. Our librarian and English teachers have a wealth of knowledge and will help students to
choose interesting and suitable books.
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SPEAKING AND LISTENING
During Key Stage 3, students learn to speak and listen confidently in a variety of contexts and
situations. They learn to speak according to different purposes and express their ideas and opinions
clearly. They also listen carefully to others, ask questions and make comments as a response to their
peers’ arguments and ideas. During Key Stage 3, students are active in discussions, take different
roles and demonstrate their knowledge of English including vocabulary, grammar and language
variety.
Throughout the Key Stage, students will be given the opportunity to develop their public speaking
skills by taking part in competitions and enrichment activities.
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PRESENTING WORK
Students are issued with one English exercise book and all class work, homework and formal
assessment work should be completed inside and kept together in their exercise book, unless asked
otherwise. Students are asked to observe the school guidelines for presenting work.
1. All work must be dated.
2. All work must have a heading or title which should be underlined.
3. In the margin you should use the following codes.
CW classwork
HW homework (if you are completing CW for HW then annotate in margin)
RE revision
AS assessment/prep notes
EX extension work.
4. Teachers may use some of these notations.
// new paragraph
WW wrong word
P punctuation error
SP spelling mistake (copy and learn the correct spelling)
GR grammatical error
?? not clear
^ missing word
5. You must ensure that you read the remarks and refer to your targets for your next piece of
work. You must ask your teacher if there is anything you don’t understand and complete
corrections.
HOMEWORK
In Year 7, students are set three English homework tasks a fortnight. They are expected to spend 20
minutes on each task. Although homework should be completed to the best of their ability, it is
important that students do not spend too much more time than this on each task as they also
receive homework from other subjects. In Year 8, there will be three 25 minute tasks set per
fortnight.
Should students wish to attend, Homework club takes place in the library between 3.30pm and
4.30pm. ICT can be accessed in the library during homework club or in the dedicated ICT rooms
during lunchtimes.
Homework should be neatly presented and clearly labelled as HW. If a student does not produce
their homework on three occasions then a detention will be set.
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ASSESSMENT
Students’ work is marked using a bespoke assessment framework, matched to the skills required
both by the National Curriculum at KS3 and also by the GCSE specifications. All formally assessed
work will be graded against the assessment grids which you can find in Appendix C. There is one for
‘writing’ and one for ‘reading’.
Students will be assessed against these grids in both Year 7 and Year 8 and should expect to make
progress from Band 1 at the start of Year 7 through to Band 3 or 4 by the end of Year 8, though
progress will be staggered across the different assessment focuses (AFs) depending upon each
student’s individual talents.
In their termly assessments students will then be given an approximate GCSE grade (between 1 and
6) according to a combination of their current band in the different AFs, as well as their percentile
within the year group overall.
YEAR 7 BASELINE TEST
Every student will take a baseline test at the beginning of Year 7 which will help teachers to set
individual targets and plan accordingly. This test will be assessed using the assessment grids in
Appendix C.
USEFUL WEBSITES
Shakespeare’s Globe: http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/
Film Club : http://www.filmclub.org/
BBC Bitesize Key Stage 3 Revision: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/english/
World Book Day: http://www.worldbookday.com/resources/secondary/
Good Reads teen fiction: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/teen-fiction
Pottermore – A guide to everything Harry Potter: https://www.pottermore.com/
Michael Morpurgo’s website: http://www.michaelmorpurgo.com/
Phillip Pullman’s website: http://www.philip-pullman.com/books/
The Hunger Games website: http://www.thehungergames.co.uk/
The Twilight website: http://stepheniemeyer.com/twilightseries.html
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APPENDIX A: KEY STAGE 3 SPELLING LIST
MAIN SPELLINGS
accommodation
actually
alcohol
although
analyse/analysis
argument
assessment
atmosphere
audible
audience
autumn
beautiful
beginning
believe
beneath
buried
business
caught
chocolate
climb
column
concentration
conclusion
conscience
conscious
consequence
continuous
creation
daughter
decide/decision
definite
design
development
diamond
diary
disappear
disappoint
embarrass
energy
engagement
enquire
environment
evaluation
evidence
explanation
February
fierce
forty
fulfil
furthermore
guard
happened
health
height
imaginary
improvise
industrial
interesting
interrupt
issue
jealous
knowledge
listening
lonely
lovely
marriage
material
meanwhile
miscellaneous
mischief
modern
moreover
murmur
necessary
nervous
original
outrageous
parallel
participation
pattern
peaceful
people
performance
permanent
persuade/persuasion
physical
possession
potential
preparation
prioritise
process
proportion
proposition
questionnaire
queue
reaction
receive
reference
relief
remember
research
resources
safety
Saturday
secondary
separate
sequence
shoulder
sincerely
skilful
soldier
stomach
straight
strategy
strength
success
surely
surprise
survey
technique
technology
texture
tomorrow
unfortunately
Wednesday
weight
weird
women
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COMMON HOMOPHONES AND CONFUSIONS
advise/advice
a lot of
affect/effect
allowed/aloud
bought/brought
braking/breaking
choose/chose
cloth/clothe
conscience/conscious
course/coarse
our/are
practise/practice
quiet/quite
sites/sights
source/sauce
thank you
threw/through
to/too/two
SUBJECT SPECIFIC SPELLINGS
abstract
acrylic
charcoal
collage
collection
colour
crosshatch
dimension
display
Art
easel
exhibition
foreground
frieze
gallery
highlight
illusion
impasto
aesthetic
brief
carbohydrate
component
design
diet
disassemble
evaluation
fabric
fibre
flour
flowchart
D and T
hygiene
ingredient
innovation
knife/knives
linen
machine
manufacture
mineral
natural
nutrition
polyester
portfolio
advertise/advertisement
alliteration
apostrophe
atmosphere
chorus
clause
cliché
comma
comparison
conjunction
consonant
dialogue
English
figurative
genre
grammar
imagery
metaphor
myth
narrative/narrator
onomatopoeia
pamphlet
paragraph
personification
playwright
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kiln
landscape
palette
pastel
perspective
portrait
sketch
spectrum
presentation
production
protein
recipe
sew
specification
technology
tension
textile
vitamin
preposition
resolution
rhyme
scene
simile
soliloquy
subordinate
suffix
synonym
tabloid
vocabulary
vowel
exclamation
expression
plural
prefix
abroad
amenity
atlas
authority
climate
contour
country
county
desert
employment
erosion
estuary
Geography
function
globe
habitat
infrastructure
international
landscape
latitude
location
longitude
nation/national
physical
pollution
agriculture/agricultural
bias
castle
cathedral
Catholic
chronology/chronological
citizen
civilisation
colony/colonisation
conflict
constitution/constitutional
contradict/contradiction
current
History
defence
disease
document
dynasty
economy/economic(al)
emigration
government
immigrant
imperial/imperialism
independence
invasion
motive
parliament
binary
byte
cable
cartridge
CD-ROM
computer
connect/connection
cursor
data/database
delete
disk
document
electronic
graphic
ICT
hardware
icon
input
interactive
interface
Internet
justify
keyboard
megabyte
memory
modem
module
monitor
multimedia
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poverty
provision
region/regional
rural
settlement
situation
tourist/tourism
transport/transportation
urban
wealth
weather
politics/political
priest
propaganda
Protestant
rebel/rebellion
reign
religious
republic
revolt/revolution
siege
source
trade
traitor
network
output
password
preview
processor
program
scanner
sensor
server
software
spreadsheet
virus
alphabet/alphabetical
anthology
article
author
catalogue
classification
content
copyright
dictionary
editor
Library
encyclopaedia
extract
fantasy
genre
glossary
index
irrelevant/irrelevance
librarian
magazine
non-fiction
novel
photocopy
publisher
relevant/relevance
romance
section
series
system
thesaurus
addition
adjacent
alternate
angle
amount
approximately
average
axis/axes
calculate
centimetre
circumference
corresponding
co-ordinate
decimal
degree
denominator
diameter
digit
divide/division
equilateral
Mathematics
estimate
equation
fraction
graph
guess
horizontal
isosceles
kilogram
kilometre
litre
measure
metre
minus
multiply/multiplication
parallel/parallelogram
negative
numerator
percentage
perimeter
perpendicular
positive
quadrilateral
questionnaire
radius
ratio
recurring
reflect/reflection
regular/irregular
rhombus
rotate/rotation
square
subtraction
symmetry/symmetrical
triangle/triangular
tonne
vertex/vertices
vertical
volume
weight
choir
chord
chromatic
composition/conductor
crotchet
dynamics
harmony
instrument/instrumental
interval
lyric
major
Music
minim
minor
musician
octave
orchestra/orchestral
ostinato
percussion
pitch
quaver
rhythm
scale
10
score
semibreve
synchronise
syncopation
tempo
ternary
timbre
triad
vocal
active/activity
agile/agility
athletic/athlete
bicep
exercise
field
gym/gymnastic
hamstring
PE
injury
league
medicine
mobile/mobility
muscle
personal
pitch
quadriceps
approve/approval
communication
control
dependant/dependency
discipline
discussion
PSHE
effort
emotion/emotional
encourage/
encouragement
gender
generous/generosity
involve/involvement
prefer/preference
pressure
racism/racist
baptism
Bible/biblical
Buddhist/Buddhism
burial
celebrate/celebration
ceremony
Christian
commandment
commitment
creation
disciple
faith
festival
funeral
RE
Hindu/Hinduism
hymn
immoral/immorality
Islam
Israel
Judaism/Jewish
marriage
miracle
moral/morality
Muslim
parable
pilgrim/pilgrimage
pray/prayer
prejudice
absorb
acid
alkaline
amphibian
apparatus
chemical
circulate/circulation
combustion
condensation
Science
exchange
freeze
frequency
friction
function
growth
hazard
insect
laboratory
able/ability
achieve/achievement
addict/addiction
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qualify
relay
squad
tactic
tournament
triceps
reality
relationship
represent/representative
reward
sanction
sexism/sexist
stereotype
prophet
religious/religion
shrine
sign
Sikh/Sikhism
special
spirit/spiritual
symbol
synagogue
temple
wedding
worship
organism
oxygen
particles
predator
pressure
reproduce
respire/respiration
solution
temperature
cycle
digest/digestion
element
evaporation
liquid
mammal
method
nutrient
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thermometer
vertebrate
vessel
APPENDIX B: KEY STAGE 3 SUGGESTED READING
LIST
Reading for pleasure is the most important thing students can do to improve their English
at KS3. It helps with both reading comprehension and to improve the accuracy and
complexity of students’ written English.
MODERN NOVELS
Below are some suggested modern titles which are slightly more literary, whilst still being aimed at
younger readers, and which our students tend to enjoy.
•
A Greyhound of a Girl – Roddy Doyle
•
Maggot Moon – Sally Gardner
•
Wolf Brother - Michelle Paver
•
To the River Sea – Eva Ibbotson
•
The Garbage King – Elizabeth Laird
•
Framed – Frank Cottrell Boyce
•
War Horse – Michael Morpurgo
•
Goodnight Mr Tom – Michelle Magorian
•
Once - Morris Gleitzman
•
The Book Thief – Marcus Zusak
•
His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
•
Stargirl – Jerry Spinelli
CLASSICS
If students want to tackle more classic literature below are some (perhaps less daunting) titles that
they may enjoy:
•
Anne of Green Gables – L. M. Montgomery
•
The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
•
Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
•
The Railway Children – E. Nesbit
•
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
•
Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
•
Ballet Shoes – Noel Streatfield
•
A Little Princess – Frances Hodgson Burnett
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•
Heidi – Johanna Spyri
•
Carrie’s War – Nina Bawden
•
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
•
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain
•
Black Beauty – Anna Sewell
•
Watership Down – Richard Adams
•
The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
BOOKS RECOMMENDED BY OUR STUDENTS
The following recent releases come recommended by students in KS3 as they particularly enjoyed
them last year.
•
Wonder – R.J. Palacio
•
Tinder – Sally Gardner
•
One – Sarah Crossan
•
Five Children on the Western Front – Kate Saunders
•
Verdigris Deep – Frances Hardinge
•
A Murder Most Unladylike – Robin Stevens
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APPENDIX D: HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING
This section of the handbook offers a brief guide to aspects of spelling, punctuation and grammar
that you should be aware of at Key Stage 3, and beyond, in order to improve your writing. It is
broken down into three sections:
1. How sentences are made
2. How to avoid common mistakes with words
3. How to use punctuation
This guide is designed to be read from start to finish, but it can also be used as a reference for when
you want to check the rules.
1. HOW SENTENCES ARE MADE
The key to writing interesting and accurate sentences is to understand all the different ways that
sentences can be constructed, and then to write using a combination of these parts within a
mixture of short and long sentences.
The parts of sentences are called clauses, and they can be joined together using punctuation
and/or joining words, such as conjunctions and relative pronouns. This will turn simple sentences
into compound sentences and complex sentences.
The use of a variety of these different types of sentence is one of the things that your English
teachers will look for when they mark your written work.
In each of the examples in this section of the guide, the
underlined section is the part of the sentence being described.
So, for example, in the first section on main clauses, the main
clauses are all underlined in the examples.
MAIN CLAUSES
A main clause is a clause that can stand by itself, also known as a simple sentence. You need at least
one of these in every full sentence.
Main clauses can be joined together by using a semicolon or by using a comma followed by a
coordinating conjunction, such as ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’, ‘yet’, or ‘so’. This makes two simple sentences
into one compound sentence.
For example:
1. I drive a bus.
2. I am a bus driver, and my wife is an astronaut.
3. I love buses; my wife loves space.
If the two main clauses are very short, it is acceptable – for style purposes – to leave out the comma.
So, “I am a bus driver and my wife is an astronaut” would be acceptable too.
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SUBORDINATE CLAUSES
A subordinate clause is a clause which adds additional information to a main clause, but which
cannot stand alone as a sentence. A subordinate clause starts with a subordinating conjunction,
such as ‘after’, ‘although’, ‘as’, ‘because’, ‘before’, ‘once’, ‘until’, ‘since’, ‘though’, ‘unless’, or
‘when’.
A subordinate clause must be connected to a main clause. When it is connected, this is called a
complex sentence.
For example:
1. I will crash my bus into that lamp post unless I slam on the breaks.
2. After my wife extravagantly sneezed in the tiny space capsule, she felt very
embarrassed.
3. Until my wife cleans the visor on his space helmet, Hans is going to be very
cross.
RELATIVE CLAUSES
A relative clause is used when we want to say a little more about a person or a thing without
having to start a new sentence. Relative clauses start with a relative pronoun, such as ‘that’,
‘who’, ‘which’, or ‘whose’.
A relative clause must be connected to a main clause or a subordinate clause. When it is connected,
this is called a complex sentence.
For example:
1. I bought a new bus that goes much faster than my old bus.
2. The astronaut who eventually cleaned Hans’ visor is refusing to rehydrate my
wife’s dinner until she apologises for what she did.
3. My wife lives in a space station, which makes it particularly difficult when she
argues with her colleagues.
ADVERBIAL PHRASES
Adverbial phrases add extra information to sentences, answering the questions: how, where,
when or why. They can go either before the main clause, in which case they are followed by a
comma, or at the end of a main clause.
For example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
I parked my bus on the very top of the hill.
My wife apologised five minutes later.
Five minutes later, my wife’s rehydrated dinner was ready to eat.
Leaving a trail of destruction, my bus clattered back down the hill.
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2. HOW TO AVOID COMMON MISTAKES WITH WORDS
This section of the guide deals with some common mistakes which students make in their spelling
and punctuation, and particularly with homophonic words like ‘their/there/they’re’ and
‘you’re/your’, which can be all too easily confused.
This section should clear up any potential misunderstandings with these words and warn you about
a number of other common confusions so you don’t make these mistakes in your writing.
THEIR / THEY’RE / THERE
‘Their’ is possessive,
meaning it owns something.
‘They’re’ is a contraction of
‘they are’.
‘There’ refers to a place or
an idea.
For example:
I hate our new neighbours.
Their elephant keeps leaving
footprints in our front lawn.
For example:
They’re going to get a piece of
my mind unless they get that
elephant under control.
For example:
“Look over there!” said my
neighbour. “That elephant just
sat on your fence.”
(In this case, the elephant
belongs to the new neighbours)
(This translates as “they are
going to get…”)
(In this case, ‘there’ refers to
the place where the elephant is
sitting: the fence.)
YOUR / YOU’RE
The rules for ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ are the same as for ‘their’ and ‘they’re’.
‘Your’ is possessive, meaning you own
something.
‘You’re’ is a contraction of ‘you are’.
For example:
“Your elephant is going to get its comeuppance one of these days,” I told my nextdoor neighbour angrily.
For example:
“No, you’re not allowed to shoot the neighbours’
elephant,” said my wife wearily via satellite
phone.
(This is referring to the elephant belonging to
the next-door neighbour.)
(This translates as “you are not allowed to shoot
the elephant.”)
IT’S / ITS
‘It’s’ is always a contraction of ‘it is’ or ‘it
has’.
‘Its’ indicates possession. Use this when one
thing owns another.
For example:
“It’s not fair that Freddie gets to ride an
elephant to school,” my son complained. “Why
can’t we get an elephant?”
For example:
An elephant can use its tusks to dig for ground
water in the barren landscapes of Africa. This is
how my basement got flooded.
(In other words: “It is not fair that Johnny gets
to ride the elephant to school…”)
(Using ‘it’s’ in this case would actually mean: “An
elephant can use it is tusks to dig for ground
water.” This makes even less sense than keeping
an elephant in your garden.)
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A LOT / A BIT
‘Alot’ is not a word; neither is ‘abit’.
(Neither is ‘alittle’, ‘afew’, ‘abunch’, ‘anelephant’, ‘asatellitephone’, etc)
‘A lot’ and ‘a bit’ are made up of two separate words, as are ‘as
well’ and ‘in fact’.
COULD’VE / WOULD’VE / SHOULD’VE
The modal verbs ‘could’, ‘would’ and ‘should’ (along with ‘may’, ‘might’, ‘will’, and others) can be
paired with ‘have’ to create the phrases ‘could have’, ‘would have’ and ‘should have’, which are, in
turn, sometimes contracted to ‘could’ve’, ‘would’ve’ and ‘should’ve’.
Under no circumstances should the phrases ‘could of’, ‘would of’
or ‘should of’ be used. They are wrong and make no sense.
For example:
1. I could’ve been an astronaut like my wife if I’d only been better at grammar.
I could of been an astronaut like my wife if I’d only been better at grammar.
2. I would’ve shot the elephant, but my wife cares too much about animal
welfare.
I would of shot the elephant, but my wife cares too much about animal
welfare.
3. I should’ve moved house when the elephant moved in next-door.
I should of moved house when the elephant moved in next-door.
3. HOW TO USE PUNCTUATION
Though small, punctuation marks are a very important part of writing. They can make the difference
between someone who is reading your work being able to understand it the first time around, and
them having to read it two or three times to figure out what you mean. You do not want the person
marking your work to have to read it two or three times to make sense of it.
Furthermore, the correct use of punctuation is one of the things on which you will be assessed at
Key Stage 3, and it is something that everyone can do with a little bit of effort. As such, you should
look upon the use of correct punctuation not as something difficult or hard but as an easy way to
get extra marks in English.
ENDING A SENTENCE
There are three ways – and only three ways – to end a sentence: a full-stop, a question mark and an
exclamation mark. Here is a guide to using these correctly.
1. The full-stop
Use a full-stop to end an ordinary sentence.
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For example:
1. My wife is coming back from the space station soon.
2. I’m going to have to get a new fence.
2. The question mark
Use a question mark when you are looking for an answer. A question mark is always used when
asking a question. It is always used at the end of a sentence that asks a direct question.
For example:
1. How can you tell that an elephant is in the bathtub with you?
2. Why can’t I park my bus there?
3. The exclamation mark
Use an exclamation mark when you are referring to a very strong emotion. Use it when something is
being expressed and you are very angry, very excited or very scared. For example:
For example:
1. I can’t wait until my wife comes home from the space station!
2. Get that elephant off my front lawn!
Two key rules for exclamation marks
1. Never use more than one exclamation mark. It doesn’t make the
emotion any stronger; it just looks silly.
2. Don’t overuse exclamation marks. If you end every sentence
with an exclamation mark they lose their power; save them for
really strong emotions.
HOW TO USE COMMAS
Commas are not for pauses. One of the most common mistakes that students make is to think that
commas should be added where a pause is needed in a sentence. You may have been told that this
at primary school, but it is not actually what commas are for.
Commas are there to mark out parts of a sentence, like those described in the first part of this guide,
and have little to do with pauses, though they do sometimes coincide with them, which is why
people use this simplified explanation to help younger children understand them. Here are some
situations when commas should be used.
1. A comma should be used when you start a sentence with a subordinate clause (examples 1 and
2), an adverbial phrase (example 3), or an introductory word (example 4). See section 1 of this
guide if you’re not sure what these things are.
For example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
While my wife floats around in zero gravity, I have to paint the new fence.
After I’d eaten my dinner, I went out to scare off the elephant.
At the first sign of trouble, elephants flee.
However, they create even more mayhem when frightened.
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2. A comma should be used to separate a direct quotation from the rest of a sentence.
For example:
1. “You need to do the washing-up while I scare off the elephant,” I told Johnny.
2. Johnny said, “Alright.”
3. A comma should be used before a coordinating conjunction if it connects two main clauses
(clauses that are capable of standing alone as a sentence). See section 1 of this guide if you’re not
sure what a main clause or a coordinating conjunction is.
For example:
1. Johnny wants a pet elephant, and my wife wants a wolverine.
2. I don’t like animals, but my opinion doesn’t count for much in this house.
(If the two main clauses are very short, it is acceptable – for style purposes – to leave out the comma.
So, “I am a bus driver and my wife is an astronaut” would be acceptable.)
You should NOT use a comma when the two parts connected by the coordinating conjunction
cannot stand alone, as in these examples:
For example:
3. Johnny wants a pet elephant and a wolverine. (No comma required.)
4. Johnny wants to ride his elephant and stroke his wolverine. (No comma required:
‘stroke his wolverine’ cannot stand alone as a sentence.)
4. Use commas around non-essential words and phrases that interrupt the flow of the sentence. If
these words are dropped, the sentence will still make sense and keep its basic meaning. Here you
would pause where you put the commas.
For example:
1. My teacher, Mr. Clark, is a great singer.
(My teacher is a great singer.)
2. The pillow, soft and fluffy, cushioned my head as I napped on the hammock.
(The pillow cushioned my head as I napped on the hammock.)
5. Put a comma between coordinate adjectives. (They are coordinate if they sound natural when
they are either reversed or joined by ‘and’).
For example:
1. The road dwindled into a rough, narrow path.
2. The road dwindled into a narrow, rough path.
BUT NOT when they sound unnatural when switched or separated by ‘and’:
For example:
1. Correct: She gave the teacher a large red apple. (No comma required.)
2. Incorrect: She gave the teacher a red and large apple. (Doesn’t sound right.)
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6. A comma should be used when you are writing a list of at least three things. You probably knew
this one already, so it was left until the end.
For example:
1. My wife likes animals, space stations and The X-Men.
2. In a state of fear, our neighbours’ elephant ran through the park, past the school
and onto the motorway.
WHEN TO USE AN APOSTROPHE
The apostrophe has two functions: one is to show possession/ownership, the other is to show when
letters or words have been missed out.
1. An apostrophe shows ownership. Use it to show that one thing owns another thing.
For example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
John’s new shoes are red.
These are the student’s books. (Several books belonging to one student.)
These are the students’ books. (Books belonging to a group of students.)
My three friends’ shirts are blue. (More than one friend.)
The lions’ den. (More than one lion)
Rufus’ books. (Instead of Rufus’s books)
Sometimes a name ending on an ‘s’ is given an apostrophe instead of an additional ‘s’ and
apostrophe as seen in the name ‘Rufus’ in example 6. Typically both are correct.
3. An apostrophe is used in contractions when a word or letter(s) is missing:
For example:
1. Don’t go outside. (Do not)
2. I’ll finish my homework later. (I will – I’ll)
WHEN TO USE A SEMI-COLON
Use a semi-colon when you want to form a bond between two complete sentences, typically when
they are related to or contrast with one another.
For example:
Johnny always cleans his teeth at night; he has very healthy gums.
In this example the relationship between cleaning his teeth and having healthy gums is strengthened
using the semi-colon. The fact Johnny always cleans his teeth is clearly connected to his healthy
gums. When this is not the case you need to use a full-stop.
For example:
Johnny always cleans his teeth at night. He has very neat hair.
Here, Freddie’s teeth-cleaning routine does not need to be connected to his neat hair, so a full-stop
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is used instead of a semi-colon. The trick with the semi-colon is working out when the statements
are connected.
Here are some more examples of connected statements:
1. The ice cream van drove past my house today; the driver had green hair.
2. My aunt wears huge glasses; she looks like an owl.
In all these examples a full-stop could be used instead of the semi-colon to create two separate
sentences, and it would still be correct. However, the semi-colon suggests a stronger bond between
the statements so works best in cases like these.
If in doubt, though, use a full-stop instead of the semi-colon.
It’s safer.
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