4. PUNCTUATION
Task:
- Use prior knowledge to help you explain why certain punctuation marks are used.
- For eg., quotation marks usually show that the author is trying to distance himself from the view, to highlight that he does not agree with it, or only partly agrees with it. But you must always CONTEXTUALISE your answer.
Examples:
i. Why does the writer use quotation marks for the word ‘advances’? (AJC Prelim 2007)
Ans. The writer does not agree (or does not subscribe to the belief) that the arrival of shopping malls is a sign of progress and development when they are in fact evidence of regression.
ii. Why does the author intend you to understand by the three dots (…) at the end of the first paragraph?
| Lifts | Explanation |
| “We want to choose for ourselves and this demand stimulates invention and production, which increases employment and wealth, which…” [line 9-10] | The three dots (…) are meant to emphasize the point that our desire for personal choice would stimulate growth and assets for the economy in a ceaseless/repetitive manner. |
iii. What is the writer’s purpose in using the three dots (….) in the sentence, ‘They are sullen and distant and… armed.’?
Ans. He uses the three dots to build up anticipation/to create suspense/to highlight for dramatic effect [1/2] to show the extreme aggression that young people are capable of [1/2].
:i:
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