Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

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Punctuation – What’s the point?

November 2023

This practice guide is designed to and variety to a piece of writing,

complement our simple, compound correct punctuation is equally vital
and complex sentence practice for clarity and coherence. Our aim
guides. It offers an overview of is to provide clear examples to
essential punctuation for writing support you in teaching your
across primary and secondary school. students sentence-level, simple
While an effective combination and complex punctuation.
of sentence types adds depth

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

The importance of Sentence-level

correct punctuation punctuation
Correct punctuation plays a crucial role in Sentence-level punctuation helps to organise
enhancing the clarity, intonation, meaning and written language by indicating the beginning and
precision of our writing. It acts as a helpful end of sentences. A sentence is not complete
guide, ensuring that readers can comprehend unless it starts with a capital letter and ends
the meaning we are trying to convey in our with appropriate punctuation. The choice of
sentences. If we neglect to use capital letters to punctuation significantly shapes the message
begin our sentences, or omit proper punctuation conveyed to the reader.
marks to indicate their endings, how can the
Capital letters are used at the beginning
reader differentiate the end of one idea from the
of sentences.
beginning of the next? Punctuation provides us
with a valuable tool to effectively communicate
and ensure our message is understood. The bike was rusted and falling apart.

To support students to effectively communicate We will watch the fireworks from the
through writing, we need to explicitly teach rooftop.
correct use of punctuation. For this instruction
to be effective, punctuation needs to be taught in
conjunction with sentence structure. This approach Full stops indicate the end of a sentence and
ensures students learn to use punctuation are represented by a small dot. They separate
purposefully, enhancing the clarity and impact sentences and allow the reader to pause and
of their writing. process the information before moving on.
This practice guide aims to provide clear
definitions and practical examples of punctuation The rain is bucketing down.
within the context of teaching sentence writing.
Our soccer match will be cancelled.

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

Simple punctuation Capital letters should also be used for proper

nouns (the names of people and places), and for
titles (Mr, Mrs, Dr, Prime Minister, Lord Mayor and
Simple punctuation refers to the use of:
so on).
• commas in lists
• question marks
My friend Jemima
• capital letters for proper nouns
Mr Dawson
• exclamation marks

These ‘accessories’ enhance the clarity and

meaning of a written text, shaping the conveyed Exclamation marks at the end of sentences
message and guiding the readers’ understanding. convey surprise or add emphasis. They indicate
that a sentence should be read with very strong
Commas separate information into readable units feeling (as an exclamation).
in lists.

You must be joking!

She wore a long, printed, floral dress.
What a stunning sunset!
My favourite colours are blue, green,
orange and purple.

Question marks indicate that a sentence should Complex punctuation

be read as a direct question.
While it is important for our writing to include
sentence-level and simple punctuation, there
Is that a new hat that you’re wearing?
are other types of punctuation that are vital for
conveying meaning and structuring sentences
effectively. Understanding and correctly using
Question marks should not be used for indirect complex punctuation will enhance the clarity
questions, requests, invitations or instructions. and impact of a piece of writing, ensuring it is
truly ‘on point’!

I wonder where they went. We know that commas are used in lists, however,
Please take a seat. their power extends beyond mere separation.
Commas bring order to chaos, impart rhythm
She asked if she could borrow my car.
to sentences and guide the reader through
complex ideas. The following page highlights
the many uses of commas and their role in
complex punctuation.

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

Commas are used to: Note: It is an error to join 2 independent clauses

with a comma alone. This error is known as the
1. introduce words, mild interjections or names
‘comma splice’.
at the start of a sentence when using direct
address
She loves to read fiction, fantasy is her
favourite genre.
Yes, you can book your appointment online.
She loves to read fiction, and fantasy is
Paul, can you please hang the washing out?
her favourite genre.

2. separate clauses in complex sentences

(for example, to mark an adverbial clause
The squad trained for hours, they still
when it precedes an independent clause)
didn’t qualify for the tournament.
The squad trained for hours, but they
Although she disliked team games, she still didn’t qualify for the tournament.
played netball to spend time with her friends.

The National Literacy Learning Progressions provide

3. separate a noun phrase when it follows
a developmental framework for teaching writing,
the subject or object of a clause
including the use of commas. Teachers need to
provide explicit instruction, tailored to the specific
Yoda, a fictional character in the Star Wars needs of individual students, on using commas to
franchise, is known for his iconic syntax and create more complex sentence structures.
unique way of speaking.

4. mark adjectival clauses (that is, when the

information in the clause is not essential
to the meaning of the sentence).

Koalas, which are very cute animals, live on

a diet of gum tree leaves.

Note: If the information is essential to the meaning

of the sentence, then commas are not required.

The kangaroo that I saw at the zoo had a

baby in its pouch.

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

Quotation marks1 or inverted commas identify Colons are used to introduce something.
words that are direct speech or spoken or written They are normally used to signal a list, an example,
words belonging to people other than the writer. an explanation or a subtitle.
Quotation marks can be used for quotes, dialogue
and titles.
Her favourite foods include: ice cream,
bananas and figs. (list)
‘I never lose. I either win or learn.’
– Nelson Mandela (quote) She disliked team games: basketball and
netball. (examples)
Jake said, ‘I can’t believe you’re leaving,’
as tears filled his eyes. (dialogue) This problem requires a specific formula: to
solve it, you’ll need to use the Pythagorean
‘Stayin’ Alive’ is considered one of the Theorem. (explanation)
greatest disco songs of all time. (song title)
Charles Dickens: An Interesting Life
(subtitle)

Quotation marks should not be used for indirect

speech such as:
Semicolons are used within sentences to separate
different though related pieces of information
She said that she didn’t like chicken. (independent or contrasting clauses). In this way,
they function like a full stop, so if the semicolon
cannot be replaced with a full stop in a sentence,
Double quotation marks are used for material it has probably been used incorrectly.
quoted within single quotation marks.

She disliked team games; she particularly

‘Albert Einstein famously tells us that, loathed netball.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and
over again and expecting different results,”’
said Ewan. Semicolons are also used to separate complex
items in a list.

I went to the supermarket and bought

oranges, which are my favourite fruit;
apples, which are my partner’s favourite;
blueberries, to eat with muesli; and
avocado, for toast.

1  here are different conventions for the use of quotation marks. This guide follows the Australian Curriculum and
T
National Literacy Learning Progression but recognises that other style guides may vary, especially in the use of
double quotation marks.

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

The 2 uses of apostrophes Contraction or omission apostrophes

Apostrophes are primarily used in punctuation Contraction apostrophes are used in

to indicate either possession or attribution, or contractions, which are shortened versions
contraction or omission of a letter from a word. of words. They indicate the omission of one
or more letters in a word.
Possession or attribution apostrophes

He’s a talented musician. (he is)

Mr Wilson’s eyes
Please don’t touch that. (do not)
the detective’s memory

An important note on ‘its’ and ‘it’s’

The rule for possession and attribution in the case
of most singular nouns is to place an apostrophe Without an apostrophe, ‘its’ is the possessive form
and s after the word. of it. This might seem counterintuitive as most
possessive forms have an apostrophe, but ‘its’ is
an exception to the general possession rule.
the elephant’s trunk
the boy’s hat The dog wagged its tail.

The rule for possession in the case of most plural ‘It’s’ with an apostrophe is a contraction which
nouns is to place only an apostrophe after the word. means ‘it is’ or ‘it has’.

the elephants’ trunks It’s raining outside today.

the boys’ hats It’s been a long day.

Plural nouns that do not end in s have an

apostrophe and s after the word.

the children’s books

the men’s clothing

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

Even more complex punctuation Ellipses consist of 3 dots (…) and are used to build
suspense, leaving the reader wondering what will
Hyphens can be used in many ways. The most happen next. They can also imply a trailing off or
common use is to connect words or parts of unfinished thought.
words together to create a single idea or concept.
They help to clarify meaning and avoid ambiguity.
She opened the door slowly, not sure what
For example, the phrase ‘man eating shark’ could she would find on the other side …
be read as a man who is eating a shark, whereas
‘man-eating shark’ makes it clear that the shark is ‘I was walking down the street and then I
the one doing the eating. saw … never mind, it’s not important.’

Hyphens are also used in some words with

prefixes to distinguish them from words that might
otherwise look the same. Ellipses can also be used to indicate that some
words have been left out of a quote. This can
For example, ‘re-cover’ (to cover something again) shorten a lengthy quote or remove information
is different from ‘recover’ (to return to a normal that is not relevant.
state after an illness or injury).

Brackets or parentheses are used to enclose

‘The cyclone caused extensive damage to
material that provide additional information or a
homes, infrastructure, and … critical utilities
comment within an otherwise complete sentence.
such as power and water.’
Round brackets are normally used for this function.

Students are required to submit their

assignments by Friday (late submissions
will result in a deduction of marks).

Square brackets are used to enclose additional

material not included by the original author of the
sentence.

The study’s results suggest a strong

correlation between diet and heart health
[consistent with previous research].

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

Suggestions for 2. Guided practice

instruction a. Teach students how to separate ideas

with a semicolon using worked examples
and guided practice. Model using 2
For instruction to be effective, we need to
simple sentences to show students how
teach punctuation in conjunction with sentence
a semicolon can be used to create one
structure. Teaching punctuation in isolation fails
compound sentence, like the following
to provide students with the necessary context
example.
and understanding of how it interacts with the
overall structure and meaning of their writing.
The following is an example of how you might Mars has a diameter of 6,779 kilometres.
teach students to correctly use a semicolon, This makes it the second smallest planet
in the context of a compound sentence. in our solar system.
1. Present new learning
Mars has a diameter of 6,779 kilometres;
a. Explain and demonstrate the function of this makes it the second smallest planet
semicolons (e.g., to separate related ideas), in our solar system.
using compound sentences as examples.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun; it You can also use run-on sentences to
is the second smallest planet in our solar practise placing a semicolon between
system. 2 independent clauses.

The atmosphere on Mars is thin; it mainly

The temperature on Mars can be extremely
consists of carbon dioxide.
cold it can drop to -62 degrees Celsius.

The temperature on Mars can be extremely

cold; it can drop to -62 degrees Celsius.

b. Students can identify the semicolon in a

sentence, add a semicolon to prepared
sentences, and/or apply a semicolon/s
to their own sentences or paragraphs.

3. Independent practice
a. Students can edit and revise their own
work independently, enhancing their
writing with semicolons.
b. Provide correction and feedback.

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

Student punctuation resource

Table 1: Sentence-level, simple and complex punctuation uses and examples

Types of punctuation and how they are used Sentence examples

Capital letters

Capital letters are used:

• at the beginning of sentences. My dog’s name is Possum.

• for proper nouns (the names of people and Possum barked at Mrs Jenkins.
places), and for titles (Mr, Mrs, Dr).

Full stops

Full stops indicate the end of a sentence. My dog’s name is Possum.

Commas

Commas are used:

• to separate items in a list. My dog Possum likes to eat, sleep, run and play.

• to introduce words, at the start of a sentence Yes, you can bring Possum.
when using direct address.
Sam, where is Possum’s lead?

• to separate clauses in complex sentences. While it may seem strange, my dog’s name
is Possum.

• to separate a noun phrase when it follows the Possum, our family dog, loves to curl up on
subject or object of a clause. the couch.

• to mark adjectival clauses (when the information Possum, who is very cute, has a dark brown coat.
in the clause is not essential to the meaning of
the sentence).

Question marks

Question marks tell us that a sentence should Has Possum been fed?
be read as a direct question.
Where is Possum’s bowl?

Question marks should not be used for indirect I wonder if Possum has been fed.
questions, requests, invitations or instructions.
Please feed Possum.

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

Types of punctuation and how they are used Sentence examples

Exclamation marks

Exclamation marks are used to add emphasis or Possum, give my slipper back right now!
convey surprise.
Wow, look at Possum go!

Exclamation marks should not be used where Possum, give my slipper back.
emphasis is not being expressed.

Quotation marks

Quotation marks can be used for:

• direct quotes ‘Grandma Poss made bush magic.’ – Mem Fox

• dialogue ‘Have you fed Possum?’ asked Dad.

• titles. ‘Possum Magic’ is one of my favourite books.

Colons

Colons are used to introduce something, including:

Possum’s favourite foods include: sardines,
• a list anchovies and carrots.

• examples Possum is well-trained: she can sit, lie down,

and roll over on command.

• an explanation Possum is very funny: she often barks at her

reflection in the mirror.

• a subtitle. The Adventures of Possum: My Dog’s Journey

through the Neighbourhood

Semicolons

Semicolons separate different, related pieces Possum loves playing fetch; she could chase a ball
of information. for hours.

Apostrophes

Apostrophes can indicate: Possum’s ball is red. (singular noun)

• possession Possum jumped on the boys’ sandcastle.
(plural noun)
She chewed through the children’s books.
(plural noun that does not end in s)

• contraction or omission of a letter from a word. I’ll (I will) walk Possum later.
She’s (she is) a happy dog.

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

Appendices
Appendix A: Relevant Australian Curriculum content descriptions

Alignment with the Australian Curriculum English (V9) content descriptions

Foundation • identify punctuation as a feature of written text different from letters; recognise that
capital letters are used for names, and that capital letters also signal the beginning
of sentences while punctuation marks signal the end (AC9EFLA09)

Year 1 • Understand that written language uses punctuation such as full stops, question
marks and exclamation marks, and uses capital letters for familiar proper nouns
(AC9E1LA10)

Year 2 • recognise that capital letters are used in titles and commas are used to separate
items in lists (AC9E2LA10)
• create and edit short imaginative, informative and persuasive written and/or
multimodal texts for familiar audiences, using text structure appropriate to purpose,
simple and compound sentences, noun groups and verb groups, topic-specific
vocabulary, simple punctuation and common 2-syllable words (AC9E2LY06)

Year 3 • understand that apostrophes signal missing letters in contractions, and

apostrophes are used to show singular and plural possession (AC9E3LA11)

Year 4 • understand that punctuation signals dialogue through quotation marks and that
dialogue follows conventions for the use of capital letters, commas and boundary
punctuation (AC9E4LA12)
• plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal imaginative, informative and
persuasive texts, using visual features, relevant linked ideas, complex sentences,
appropriate tense, synonyms and antonyms, correct spelling of multisyllabic words
and simple punctuation (AC9E4LY06)

Year 5 • use commas to indicate prepositional/adverbial phrases and clauses preceding

another clause, and apostrophes where there is multiple possession (AC9E5LA09)
• plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts whose purposes may
be imaginative, informative and persuasive, developing ideas using visual features,
text structure appropriate to the topic and purpose, text connectives, expanded
noun groups, specialist and technical vocabulary, and punctuation including
dialogue punctuation (AC9E5LY06)

Year 6 • understand how to use the comma for lists, to separate a dependent clause from
an independent clause, and in dialogue (AC9E6LA09)
• plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts whose purposes may
be imaginative, informative and persuasive, using paragraphs, a variety of complex
sentences, expanded verb groups, tense, topic-specific and vivid vocabulary,
punctuation, spelling and visual features (AC9E6LY06)

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

Alignment with the Australian Curriculum English (V9) content descriptions

Year 7 • understand the use of punctuation including colons and brackets to support
meaning (AC9E7LA09)
• plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts, selecting subject matter,
and using text structures, language features, literary devices and visual features
as appropriate to convey information, ideas and opinions in ways that may be
imaginative, reflective, informative, persuasive and/or analytical (AC9E7LY06)

Year 8 • understand and use punctuation conventions including semicolons and dashes
to extend ideas and support meaning (AC9E8LA09)
• plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts, organising and
expanding ideas, and selecting text structures, language features, literary devices
and visual features for purposes and audiences in ways that may be imaginative,
reflective, informative, persuasive and/or analytical (AC9E8LY06)

Year 9 • understand punctuation conventions for referencing and citing others for formal
and informal purposes (AC9E9LA09)
• plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts, organising, expanding
and developing ideas, and selecting text structures, language features, literary
devices and multimodal features for purposes and audiences in ways that may
be imaginative, reflective, informative, persuasive, analytical and/or critical
(AC9E9LY06)

Year 10 • understand how authors use and experiment with punctuation (AC9E10LA09)
• plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts, organising, expanding
and developing ideas through experimenting with text structures, language
features, literary devices and multimodal features for specific purposes and
audiences in ways that may be imaginative, reflective, informative, persuasive,
analytical and/or critical (AC9E10LY06)

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

Appendix B: National Literacy Learning Progressions – Writing

Punctuation Creating texts

P1 P1
• identifies capital letters Not identified at this stage/year level.
• identifies full stops

P2 P2
• writes basic sentence boundary punctuation Not identified at this stage/year level.
(capital letter at beginning, full stop at end)
• writes capital letters for some proper nouns

P3 P3
• uses sentence boundary punctuation including Not identified at this stage/year level.
question marks or exclamation marks
• consistently writes capitals appropriately
for names of people

P4 P4
• uses commas in lists of nouns (add the sugar, Not identified at this stage/year level.
lemon, water and juice)
• uses apostrophes for regular single possessives
(girl’s)
• capitalises key events, geographic names, titles
(Easter, Sydney, Ms)

P5 P5
• uses quotation marks for simple dialogue • uses upper case letters correctly to indicate
(‘I can’t see it,’ he said.) proper nouns
• uses apostrophes for plural possessives • uses capital letters and full stops correctly
(planes’ wings) at the start and end of sentences

• follows conventions of use of capitals in headings

P6 P6
• writes commas to separate clauses where • intentionally uses simple punctuation (!, ?)
appropriate
• punctuates more complex dialogue correctly
(‘The team has made some interesting
recommendations,’ she said, nodding.
‘But I do not want to act upon them before
I have read the full report.’)

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Punctuation – What’s the point? Practice guide for primary and secondary schools

Punctuation Creating texts

P7 P7
• uses complex punctuation conventions • consistently uses correct simple punctuation
(colons, semicolons, brackets) (separates two adjectives before a noun with
a comma – old, broken bike)
• uses punctuation conventions for quotations
and referencing

P8 P8
• uses punctuation to clarify meaning in complex • uses all simple and some complex punctuation
sentences, drawing on their knowledge of correctly
sentence structure (commas before introductory
words, phrases or clauses; semicolons; colons;
and dashes)

P9
• uses complex punctuation correctly
(apostrophes of possession)

P10
• uses a range of complex punctuation flexibly
and correctly

This Punctuation practice guide is designed to complement AERO’s simple, compound and complex
sentence practice guides as well as subject specific writing guides for English, Science and Health
and Physical Education.

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