Year 7 - English
Using dashes, colons, and commas for effect in descriptive writing
Step into the unknown: fiction reading and creative writing
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils develop their fiction reading and creative writing by reading extracts from famous fiction and then emulating key techniques in their own writing. They start by securing and extending their knowledge of key sentence grammar, before reading and emulating the extracts.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use punctuation accurately and explain its effect.
Key Notes
- A dash can be used to indicate a pause, added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought.
- Dashes can be used to replace brackets or colons.
- Commas are used to separate words, clauses or ideas within a sentence.
- Colons can be used to connect main clauses, add emphasis to a word or phrase, or introduce an explanation.
- Colons can also be used to introduce lists.
Vocabulary To Learn
- Effect: A noun used to denote a consequence, an outcome, a result, or an influence.
- Tone: The general mood or feeling of a text.
- Accurate: To be correct, exact and without any mistakes.
- Punctuation: The marks, such as full-stops and commas, used in writing to separate sentences and their elements and to clarify meaning.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- That looking at punctuation is very dry and has no impact on the way you see a text or a character.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
A dash can be used to indicate a pause, added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. Dashes can be used to replace brackets or colons.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'Effect'
A noun used to denote a consequence, an outcome, a result, or an influence.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: That looking at punctuation is very dry and has no impact on the way you see a text or a character. Correction: The way that writers use and play with punctuation can have a profound impact on the way we view a text or character's emotions.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Analysing and emulating Baum's use of unknown characters in 'The Wizard of Oz' Study Guide
- Analysing character in an unseen extract from Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Analysing Dorothy's return from the unknown in Baum's 'The Wizard of Oz' Study Guide
- Considering sensory language in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Considering sentence structures in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Considering strategies for refining and editing your descriptive writing Study Guide
- Contrasting the everyday and the unknown settings in Baum's 'The Wizard of Oz' Study Guide
- Contrasting the familiar and the unknown in your descriptive writing Study Guide
- Developing explanations in analytical writing about Akala's 'The Dark Lady' Study Guide
- Developing your explanation of quotations from 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' Study Guide
- Drafting a piece of descriptive writing on 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' Study Guide
- Explaining and emulating how Bilan uses light in 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Explaining how Akala uses patterns of language for effect in 'The Dark Lady' Study Guide
- Explaining how Burnett presents the garden setting in 'The Secret Garden' Study Guide
- Identifying and emulating Baum's use of pathetic fallacy in 'The Wizard of Oz' Study Guide
- Meeting a fantastical creature in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Practising planning and writing a detailed description based on an image Study Guide
- Responding to an unseen extract from 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' Study Guide
- Responding to an unseen extract from Burnett's 'The Secret Garden' Study Guide
- Responding to key images in an unseen extract from Akala's 'The Dark Lady' Study Guide
- Revising topic sentences and selecting precise evidence from 'The Dark Lady' Study Guide
- Using adjectives and semantic fields to plan and write descriptive paragraphs Study Guide
- Using adverbs, subordinate clauses and compound sentences in descriptive writing Study Guide
- Using ambitious language and colour imagery to improve your descriptive writing Study Guide
- Using figurative language and structure to create an unsettling atmosphere Study Guide
- Using precise evidence from Burnett's 'The Secret Garden' to support an idea Study Guide
- Using sensory language and figurative language to create an atmospheric setting Study Guide
- Using simple, compound and complex sentences in descriptive writing Study Guide
- Using vocabulary choices, similes, and metaphors to plan descriptive writing Study Guide
- Writing clear analytical paragraphs about Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Writing complete sentences and correcting sentence fragments Study Guide
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