Help with Punctuation

[piggys]

Punctuation is a rather moot point atm; the jury is out regarding the value and purpose of the semi colon (which I use all the time) and SATS markers for this year's KS3 exams have been instructed to censure the use of exclamation marks.

[Guest55]

Did you mean KS2? The KS3 exams finished in 2008 ...

[piggys]

Doh! yes of course, KS2. I'm tired.....

[salsa]

I agree - this particular question is somewhat ambiguous. Children shouldn't have to try and guess what the question 'had in mind' before answering it.

I can imagine a child correctly assuming what the examiner meant (i.e. 2 visitors), but then getting the answer "wrong" by ommitting the comma after mother (because they've been taught the rule that you don't have a comma before 'and'), but then this could still be deemed correct as the other meaning (i.e. 3 visitors) is technically possible!

If that makes sense!

Hi all,
I think this is testing the child's knowledge of the Oxford comma. This comma is inserted before 'and' to clarify meaning. I saw one of them in one of the GL practice papers. I haven't seen it anywhere else.

OP, where is the question from?

[Y]

As implied by a couple of previous posts, this would be an alternative means of punctuating the sentence:

Judy (my mother) and Tomy (my father) went to visit Grandpa.

Personally, I wouldn't add any further commas (ie, after the brackets), but I'm not sure what the current diktats would have a child do.

[PurpleDuck]

As implied by a couple of previous posts, this would be an alternative means of punctuating the sentence:

Judy (my mother) and Tomy (my father) went to visit Grandpa.

Personally, I wouldn't add any further commas (ie, after the brackets), but I'm not sure what the current diktats would have a child do.

According to the current Y6 English workbook we have, there wouldn't be a need for commas in this case - one can use commas, brackets or dashes for parenthesis.

Edit: English, not 'Enlish'...

[Daogroupie]

Piggys, I know about the exclamation mark and have adjusted accordingly but what is being said about the semi colon? DG

[piggys]

It's more of a row in literary circles as opposed to teaching ones; the row has been rumbling on for ages now and centres on whether or not the semi colon ought to be abolished - - or retained. I have read a few articles over the years in the TLS and broadsheets about this conflict! and there I go again with my exclamation mark!

I'll try and dig up some of the articles and link to them but I'm not much good at the linking side of things.....