Vocabulary
Politics Key
Words
democracy
constitution
period
radical
conservative
analysis
evaluation
patronage
sovereignty
conclusion
argument
change
development
cause
consequence
significance
monarchy
control
privilege
religion
revolution
executive
judiciary
rights
diversity
elitism
legislature
Emphasis
above all
in particular
notably
specifically
more importantly
Comparison
equally
similarly
in comparison
likewise
to contrast
alternatively
despite this
Conclusion
to conclude
in conclusion
finally
Time
initially
then
next
afterwards
finally
subsequently
eventually
previously
Connectives
Contrast/Balance
however
nevertheless
alternatively
despite this
on the contrary
yet
whereas
Addition
and
also
in addition
further
furthermore
as well as
and then
Opinion/Interpreting
it would seem
it appears
obviously
possibly
it seems likely
presumably
one might consider
Restriction
only if
unless
except (for)
Illustration
for example
for instance
in other words
to show that
such as
an instance
as revealed by
Summary
in brief
on the whole
summarising
overall
to sum up
to recapitulate
evidently
Persuasion
of course
clearly
evidently
surely
certainly
decidedly
indeed
undoubtedly
Openings
Vary your sentence openers
Use a verb – an ‘ing’ clause
‘Voting in the most recent
general elections..’
Use an adverb – an ‘ed’ or a
‘ly’ clause
‘Recently, the Republicans
have gone down a similar
route…’
Full stop
Punctuation
.
These are used at the end of every sentence.
Comma
,
Commas are used 1) to separate the items in a list 2) to mark the
boundaries between main and subordinate clauses.
Speech Marks/Quotation Marks “ ”
These surround words actually spoken or exact quotations from
a text.
Exclamation Mark
!
Used to emphasise something. Don’t use more than one.
Question Mark
Use a simile
‘US political culture is like a
melting pot…’
Use a noun or adjective
‘Political parties in the UK
today, offer little ….’
Used at the end of a sentence that is a question.
Apostrophe
’
Apostrophes are used 1) to show possession (the cat’s tail) or 2)
to mark omitted letters (can’t, don’t, won’t).
Brackets
()
These are used to indicate extra information within a sentence.
Semi-colon
Use a preposition
‘since the 1930’s the
president’s power has been
increased…’
?
;
Semi-colons are used to join two related sentences together or
to separate items in a longer, more wordy list.
Colon
:
Used to introduce something, perhaps a list or quotation.
To improve your writing you must ensure:
Spelling Strategies
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Break it into sounds (d-i-a-r-y)
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What you are writing is appropriate for PALL (Purpose Audience Language Layout).
Sentences always start with a capital letter.
Sentences always end with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.
Vocabulary is varied – choose interesting words – use a thesaurus.
People, places and titles have capital letters e.g. Catherine, York, Kit-Kat.
A variety of sentences are used – simple, compound and complex.
Simple – The ship sailed away.
Compound – The ship sailed away and the blue sea sparkled in the sun.
Complex – Sailing into the distance, the ship disappeared on the horizon.
Writing is organised into paragraphs – start with a topic sentence and use the 3 ‘T’s rule.
You should start a new paragraph when there is a shift of topic, viewpoint or time.
Time – Finally, we all gathered together to sing around the camp fire.
Topic – Another factor to consider before travelling is...
Talk – “I’m not sure you should be doing that.”
“Why not?” asked the pupil.
Details are included by using adjectives, fact and opinions.
Spelling is accurate – use a dictionary.
A variety of punctuation has been used (. , ! ? ‘ “” ; : …).
To proof read your work aloud to ensure it makes sense.
Break it into syllables (re-mem-ber)
Break it into affixes (dis-satisfy)
Use a mnemonic (necessary – one collar, two sleeves)
Refer to a word in the same family (muscle – muscular)
Say it as it sounds (Wed-nes-day)
Use analogy (bright, light, night)
Marking Codes
Common Spelling Mistakes
Sp – spelling
achievement
beautiful
because
beginning
Pu – punctuation is incorrect and needs checking
committed
commitment
convenient
definitely
Exp – expression of idea could be clearer/needs re-phrasing
environment
excellent
government
grammar
grateful
its/it’s
lose/loose
know/no
necessary
of/off
opinion
really
separate
technique
their/there/they’re
to/too/two
until
weather/whether
were/where/wear
which
Cp – capital letter needed
SS – sentence structure needs altering or variation
// -- new paragraph
pp – poor presentation
u – underline