1. GCSE English Technical Skills

2. Apostrophe 2 main uses: omission and possession Omission – it replaces a letter that has been left out I could not find my socks becomes I couldn’t find my socks It is a cold day becomes It’s a cold day The traffic is awful becomes The traffic’s awful. It can replace more than 1 letter It has been a great day becomes It’s been a great day. You should have started earlier becomes You should’ve started earlier. They had overslept becomes They’d overslept.

3. The apostrophe contd. Possession denotes belonging to something. The dog’s bowl – i.e. the bowl belongs to the dog. Jacob’s sister, Emma’s mistake, Malik’s birthday. If it belongs to more than 1 person or thing, the apostrophe goes at the end. The students’ books (there were several students, they all had some books) The student’s books (just 1 student and s/he had some books). However, note the children’s toys and the women’s room, where the noun is already plural.

4. It’s/its The only time it’s/its has an apostrophe is for omission, never possession. So: It’s time to go. (short for It is…) It’s been a great holiday. (short for It has been…) But: The snake shed its skin after a few months. The pony and its rider galloped over the hills. And: “ It’s a lovely day, let’s go for a walk,” said the owner, as the dog wagged its tail.

5. The apostrophe contd. NEVER use the apostrophe just to make something plural! Ask yourself if there is a good reason for inserting an apostrophe. If not, don’t do it. So: There are 2 car’s in the driveway - no possession denoted, no missing letter, therefore this is WRONG. One of the most common mistakes when using the apostrophe is inserting it where it doesn’t belong.

6. Speech marks Speech marks denote what someone actually says. Examples: “This is a great movie,” said the film critic. The film critic said, “This is a great movie.” “This,” said the film critic, “is a great movie.” But: The film critic said that it was a great movie. This is “indirect” or “reported” speech. Note that it is in the past tense (“was”), although what the film critic actually said was, “This is a great movie.” (present tense).

7. Things to look out for Punctuation goes inside speech marks. If it is a question or exclamation, the punctuation needs to reflect that. Common mistakes: Often one of the speech marks will be missing. Punctuation before the end of speech marks is often left out. Indirect speech often has speech marks put in.

8. The comma Three main uses: To separate items in a list. To punctuate speech marks. To mark out clauses in sentences. Commas can not take the place of a full stop. In modern writing, many people use a comma where a full stop is actually needed. If in doubt, put in a full stop and begin a new sentence.

9. Items in a list Examples: I went shopping and bought a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, three shirts and four ties. In a list, a comma cannot go next to “and”. So: A sweatshirt, three shirts and four ties but NOT A sweatshirt, three shirts, and four ties. You could use a colon before the list, especially if it is a long list. So: For my birthday, I would like: a bike, a scooter, an iPod, lots of chocolate, a train set, a phone and new trainers.

10. The comma contd. A word or phrase might be used at the start of a sentence to add extra meaning. This often has a comma after it. Examples: First of all, I switched the computer on. However, I would also like to watch ‘Godfather 2’. All of a sudden, Bradley Wiggins was hit by a van. Unfortunately, your attendance has not been very good. These are simple examples of marking the main clause by a comma.

11. Semi-colons Use a semi-colon between two connected, but independent clauses, not joined by a conjunction. Eg – Try this one; red seems to be your colour. Your car is a nice red; mine is a bit dull. His mother won’t let him; she is afraid he might get hurt.

12. Semi-colons continued Use a semi-colon to avoid confusion in a list when the items are long and complicated. Eg Among those present were Dr Jones, Mr Smith, Miss Brown and Mrs Chaterjee. BUT Among those present were Dr Jones, head of the city council; Mr Smith, headteacher of Anytown Academy; Miss Brown, the local MP and Mrs Chaterjee, Health and Safety Advisor to schools in Lancashire.

13. Common Traps - 1 Accept (receive)Except (not) Affect (a verb)Effect (usually a noun) Stationary (still)Stationery (pencils etc) Have a go at using each of these words in a sentence of your own.

14. Common traps - 2 Could/should/would have not could/should/would of Too/two/to There/their/they’re A lot not alot

15. Some general spelling rules  When a verb ends in ‘e’ this is dropped if ‘ing’ is added  Skate becomes skating  Emanate becomes emanating  Decide becomes deciding  ant/ent  Most words end in ‘ent’ rather than ‘ant’  Dependent  Confident  Patient

16. Spelling Continued  our drops the ‘u’ when ‘ous’ is added  Humour becomes humorous  Glamour becomes glamorous  ‘y’ is dropped and ‘ies’ added to make a plural noun  Treaty becomes treaties  Nappy becomes nappies  UNLESS there is a vowel before the ‘y’  Donkey becomes donkeys  Boy becomes boys  Tray becomes trays

17. Spelling continued When 'ful’ is added to a word it just has one 'l'. If you add 'ly' to any word ending with 'ful' you keep the existing 'l'. Example hand + full = handful rest + full = restful restful + ly = restfully

18. Some Spelling Strategies Say it carefully. Say it in syllables: se/pa/rate. Spelling is visual too – look at the whole word and tell yourself about it. Look at the tricky bit (often the middle). Read and write a lot.