WJEC Unit 2SPAG revision

Learning Outcomes• To revise sentence types and punctuation in preparation for Unit 2 (the writing paper)

Simple, compound and complex sentences

• Simple: It was raining. • A simple sentence makes sense on its own and usually

gives one piece of information (it doesn’t have to be a short sentence).

Compound: It was raining so I took my umbrella.A compound sentence has two clauses (two parts of the sentence) joined by a connective (so, and, but, or).

Complex: As it was raining, I took my umbrella. I took my umbrella as it was raining.

A complex sentence has a main clause (the bit that makes sense on its own) and a subordinate clause that adds information (this doesn’t make sense on its own).

Read the following extract. For each of the 10 sentences, identify whether it is a simple,

compound or a complex sentence.

• The weather was awful. It had rained cats and dogs all day and I was bored out of my brains. Wanting to find something to do, I flicked through the local newspaper. The only things that were happening were car boot sales and the odd garden fete. Great! Then I spotted it. Between the ‘household sale’ items and the ‘houses to let’, I found the cutest little pet wanting a home. I was sure I’d be the best person to look after him as I had lots of time to take care of him properly. So, I rang the number. Now I have my very own pet tarantula and he’s adorable.

Sentence variation and effect

• Remember, a sentence can be just one word. Bang!

• When would a short, simple sentence be effective?

• You also need to remember to vary the ways you begin your sentences.

‘ing’ words

• When you begin a sentence with an ‘ing’ word, you need a comma after the first phrase (clause).

• Walking to the park, I saw a clown.• Hearing the sound of birds, he felt

relaxed.• Taking her hand in his, John led her

to the dance-floor.

‘ly’ words

• When you begin your sentence with an ‘ly’ word, the comma usually comes immediately after this word.

• Slowly, the man walked down the street.

• Happily, she accepted the invitation.

• Steadily, she began to improve.

Sentences beginning with ‘as’, ‘if’, ‘when’, etc

• When you begin a sentence with ‘as’ (time words), you need a comma after the first clause/phrase.

• As I walked down the street, I saw a clown.• As he approached me, I was scared.• As she was only small, she was not allowed on the ride. • If I were you, I would leave it alone.• When I was young, I liked rock and roll.

In each of these sentences the clauses can be switched around. If you did that, you would not need a comma.

Add commas to the following paragraph…

• When I was young I wanted to be an actress. Prancing around the house I would pretend that I was on the West End stage. Slowly I learned that it would be a lot harder to break into than I had first thought. With lots of hard work I made steady progress. Firstly through taking on smaller roles until eventually I was given my big break. As I look back now I am so proud of what I have achieved. If you want to achieve your goals you need to see yourself reaching them and just go for it!

Hint: there are 7 missing commas

What other types of punctuation can you use?

• Full stops

• Commas

• Apostrophes

• Semi-colons

• Colons

• Dash

• Speech marks

• Parenthesis

Colons and Semi-colons

Why do you think I used a colon in the first sentence and a semi-colon in the second?

• It was a beautiful day and the weather was just perfect: sunny with a slight breeze.

• It was a beautiful day; the weather was just perfect.

The clause after the colon explains or amplifies what’s before the colon.

The clause after the colon DOES NOT have to make sense on its own.

This semi colon is between two main clauses (they make sense on their own) that are strongly related.

Notice how the semi-colon can replace connectives – and, but, so … in a compound sentence.

;

Why is a semi-colon used?• To separate two clauses of a sentence when they are

closely related

• To separate items in a list when the items are long phrases and to use a comma might lead to ambiguity

Elephants live in hot countries. They cool off by bathing.

Elephants live in hot countries; they cool off by bathing.

Technology at Nobel School is a real success. The equipment is top quality.

Technology at Nobel School is a real success; the equipment is top quality.

:

• Similar to a semi-colon, but the words that come after a colon do not need to make sense on their own.

• They add information to the sentence before the colon.

• E.g The weather was beautiful: boiling hot.

• The door slammed shut: bang!

:

Simple things to include that will get you higher grades...

• A range of sentence structures. Also vary the way that you start your sentences.

• One word sentences.

• One sentence paragraphs.

• A range of punctuation.

• Using language techniques.

• Punctuation for effect.

• Spelling .

• Use a thesaurus to extend your vocabulary.

• Make sure that your writing flows well.

• Make sure that your writing has flair for an A*!