Year 6 - English
Colons, semi-colons, hyphens and bullet points revision
Review, including word class, sentence types, tense, commas and colons
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, comprehensive review of all grammar and syntactical terminology needed for KS2 SATS tests is undertaken. Pupils review word class, the five taught sentence structures, all taught tenses, word families, Standard English and all taught punctuation, including at the higher level for GDS.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to practise colons, semi-colons, hyphens and bullet points test questions.
Key Notes
- A colon has two functions - it can introduce a list or an explanation. A dash can also introduce an explanation.
- A semi-colon has two functions - to separate detailed items in a list or to join two closely-related main clauses.
- Using colons and semi-colons can improve text cohesion.
- Bullet points are useful in certain non-fiction texts.
- Hyphens are used to join two or more words or parts of words together.
Vocabulary To Learn
- colon: a piece of punctuation placed after a complete sentence that can introduce a list, a question or an explanation
- semi-colon: a piece of punctuation that can join two closely-related main clauses or separate items in a detailed list
- hyphen: a piece of punctuation that can join two or more words or parts of words together
- bullet points: punctuation marks that lay key information out in a non-fiction text
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils may struggle to identify the correct punctuation for bullet points.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
A colon has two functions - it can introduce a list or an explanation. A dash can also introduce an explanation. A semi-colon has two functions - to separate detailed items in a list or to join two closely-related main clauses.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'colon'
a piece of punctuation placed after a complete sentence that can introduce a list, a question or an explanation.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: Pupils may struggle to identify the correct punctuation for bullet points. Correction: There are very few hard-and-fast rules; the key is to select consistent punctuation throughout the list.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Adverbial, relative and non-finite complex sentences revision Study Guide
- Apostrophes and speech punctuation revision Study Guide
- Commas, brackets and dashes revision Study Guide
- Further word-level revision Study Guide
- Perfect tense revision Study Guide
- Simple and compound sentences revision Study Guide
- Simple and progressive tense revision Study Guide
- Subject, object, active voice and passive voice revision Study Guide
- Word class revision Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 6 English guide library.