1. SPaG MAT My Writing Checklist: I have read through my work.
I have checked capital letters and full stops.
I have used sophisticated words.
I have used connectives and discourse markers.
I have used a variety of punctuation.
I have used a variety of sentence lengths.
Punctuation:
Full stop (.): To show the end of a sentence.
Comma (,): To take a pause or separate clauses.
Exclamation mark (!): To show shock, surprise or emphasis.
Question mark (?): To pose a question.
Simple sentences: contains a subject and a verb and can contain an object
Sarah likes to read in the library.
Tom enjoys reading at home.
Compound sentences: joins two simple sentences using the connectives: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Sarah likes to read in the library but Tom prefers to read at home.
Complex sentences: A complex sentence contains a conjunction such as because, since, after, although, or when .
Although the rain had stopped, the pitch was still water-logged.
Paul enjoys Music, however, he is more proficient in Art.
Speech marks (“): To show when a person is speaking.
Apostrophes (‘): To show possession or omission. Miss Green’s classroom. He couldn’t…
Colon (: ): To introduce a list.
Semi colon (;): To separate two independent clauses, often instead of because.

2. SPaG MAT Know your words! Critical Keywords
Nouns (naming words for things): Common nouns name places or things that are not specific: man, pen, county, school, table. Proper Nouns – name specific people or places: England, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare.
Verbs (action words): cheer, run, crawl, serve, talk.
Adjectives (words which describe nouns): big, small, beautiful, tall, red, intelligent.
Adverbs (words which describe verbs): lazily, quickly, before, daily, badly, less.
Pronouns (words like I or they): I, me, she, he.
CONNECTIVES
CONTRASTING: Whereas / Alternatively / Instead of / Otherwise / Unlike / On the other hand COMPARING: Equally / Similarly / In the same way / Likewise / Like / As with EMPHASISING: Above all / Significantly / In particular / Notably / Especially CAUSE AND EFECT: Because / So / Therefore / Thus / Consequently ADDING: And / Also / Moreover / Too JUSTIFYING: For example / This is demonstrated by/when / This is exemplified when…
Critical Keywords
Identify: to recognise something by analysis.
Explain: to say why, when or how.
Define: give the meaning of a word of phrase; to state something the nature of something.
Infer: to read between the line.
Evaluate: to judge or assess the impact or effect.
Contrast: to consider how things are different.
Compare: to consider how things are similar.