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What is the Point?. Punctuation Part 1: Colon, Semi-colon, Ellipsis. How does the writer feel?. Dear Jon,
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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! Whatever…
What is the point? • Punctuation creates impact – to drive home to the reader the message and meaning the writer wants to convey.
Sentence Structure Formula • Give the example of sentence structure used (e.g. short / complex sentences, punctuation, word order, grammar). • Say how the use of sentence structure adds to your understanding of the passage in relation to the question.
Show Me Boards On your show me boards, write down the symbol and function of the following pieces of punctuation: • Colon • Semi-colon • Ellipsis
The Colon The colon is needed to introduce things: • A list • An explanation or example • A quotation
Here’s a colon in context: “In cause of saving the planet I’m sporting a split lip and a gashed shin. I wish I could report that the injuries were sustained in hand-to-hand fighting with a climate change denier, but they arise from a weekend expedition to a wood full of fallen trees: sustainable timber, just the stuff for our sustainable stove.”
Analyse • What is the function of the colon in the example? • To introduce an explanation • But we have to be more specific!
Analyse- and be specific! “…expedition to a wood full of fallen trees: sustainable timber, just the stuff for our sustainable stove.” After the colon, the everyday term “wood full of fallen trees”, becomes the technical or jargon term “sustainable timber”. This shifts the register from informal to formal. The writer then undermines this formal tone with the repetition of “sustainable”, creating a tongue-in-cheek tone.
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?
Colon Example Questions In pairs/threes, work through the example questions that test you on colons and their impact. Be prepared to swap your answers with someone another pair/three to peer assess. You must ALL attempt the question and write your own answer!
Colon – Comment on the effect of the punctuation in the lines below. (2) Changing rooms, Tool Stories, Home Front, you know the drill: take three couples, shuffle them with an interior designer/DIY expert/measly budget, see what sticks.
Colon – Show how the punctuation clarifies the argument. (2) Some argue that the ultimate result of global warming will be a paradoxical but even more catastrophic development: global cooling.
Peer Assessment 1) The colon prepares you for the information that follows after the line “you know the drill”. This explanation gives a series of instructions/commands which is like a recipe “take three couples…”. This in turn is structured in a shorthand way to suggest rapidly cheapening alternatives. It looks like a cynical formula unlikely to leads to success.
Peer Assessment 2) In this case the explanation comes first, then the answer ‘global cooling’ follows the colon. Part of the effectiveness of using the colon in this way is that it saves the really important idea ‘global cooling’ until the end, so that the contrast has more of a shocking effect on the reader, as it comes as something of a surprise after the talk of the world warming.
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: • Is 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?
Semi-colon Each group will be given a semi-colon question and you must work together to write answer which uses the formula and (hopefully) gains full marks. Any one of you will then be chosen to write your groups answer on the board and the rest of the class will assess how well you have done and mark their own attempts.
Show how the punctuation clarifies the argument. (2) Governments may stop finger pointing and instead hold hands; industries may slash short term profit to permit long term survival.
Show how the punctuation clarifies the argument. (2) In this case, the semi-colon is not for listing purposes. It is a balancing point in the sentence. The first half of the sentence says that governments might come to their senses. The second half says that industries might do the same. They are parallel statements balanced by the semi-colon, the effect is to put the two developments together, weigh them up and find that both are equally welcome.
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?
Inside/Outside Circle You will be split into two circles and you must move around accordingly to the instructions. Listen carefully to what is said as you may be asked to report back to the rest of the class.
