Antony West (Author)

Punctuation. The little dots, dashes, and squiggles that hold our sentences together. They’re not just an afterthought; they’re essential. A misplaced comma can change the entire meaning of a sentence. And while it might seem boring, we need to teach punctuation with purpose. Don’t just lecture on semicolons; show how a semicolon can link two related ideas and create a more sophisticated sentence. Doug Lemov’s ‘Stretch It’ technique can be great here. “Can anyone improve this sentence by adding a colon?” or “How could we use an ellipsis to create suspense?” It’s about showing them that punctuation is a creative tool, not a grammatical prison.