Writer's Choice Grade 6

Unit 19: Punctuation

Overview

Imagine talking with a friend. Sometimes you speak loudly and excitedly. Other times, you are curious or questioning. You pause between certain words. You may even move your hands to make a point. In writing, punctuation can perfectly express excitement or curiosity. Punctuation marks act as signs, or signals, for your audience.

End marks signal the end of a sentence. They call for a pause before beginning the next sentence. Different end marks are used with different types of sentences. The period is used for sentences that make statements, requests, or commands. The question mark is used for questions. The exclamation point is used for sentences that express strong feelings.

A comma represents a pause. It separates parts of sentences and makes sentences easier to understand. Commas are used to separate items in a series or to set off words that interrupt the flow of thought in a sentence. Commas are also used before conjunctions that join simple sentences. Like commas, semicolons and colons separate parts of sentences. A semicolon joins compound sentences. A colon introduces a list of items or separates the hour from the minute in writing the time.

In writing, quotation marks are signs that let the audience know when someone is speaking. Only direct quotes, quotes that tell exactly what a person has said, belong in quotation marks. Italics and underlining are used to identify the title of a book, a newspaper, a television show, or a film. Apostrophes signal possession or point out the missing letters in a contraction. A hyphen divides a word between syllables and joins the parts of compound words.

We can also abbreviate certain words in our writing. When we abbreviate something we shorten it. You abbreviate titles that come before a person's name, like "Mrs. Finch" or "Dr. Neruda." On envelopes, you can abbreviate words that refer to streets and the names of states.

In charts and tables, always write numbers as figures. In ordinary sentences, spell out ordinal numbers, numbers that can be written in one or two words, or any number that begins a sentence. Study Unit 19 (pp. 488-515) for more punctuation rules.

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