Year 10 Writing – Punctuation for Meaning 1
Practise punctuating essential and non-essential clauses, integrating quotations and spotting single-rule errors in long sentences. 12 questions. 25 minutes.
Draft A: How a local council decides on a new park
(1) When a suburb asks for a new park, the council does not simply choose an empty block and send in the diggers. (2) Councillors, who are all elected by local residents, first decide whether the request deserves a proper study. (3) A survey of 200 residents in our suburb found that most families wanted a safe place for children to play.
(4) Once the survey results are published the council appoints a committee of staff and residents to compare the possible sites. (5) The planning officer explained, that the process is 'designed so that every voice is heard'. (6) The committee must consider: the cost, the traffic and the effect on nearby wildlife.
(7) Letters about the proposal go only to nearby households. (8) Residents, who live within one kilometre of the site, are invited to a meeting where they can question the committee. (9) Although the cost matters; it is not the only factor the councillors weigh. (10) The council cannot please everyone; however, it must explain its reasons clearly. (11) The mayor who chairs the final meeting only votes when the councillors are tied.
(12) The final design – which includes a playground, a shaded picnic area and a bike path is displayed at the library for a month. (13) During that month, residents can lodge objections, and the committee must answer each one in writing. (14) If the council approves the park, the funds, that the council has set aside will be released in the next financial year. (15) The residents who objected to the first plan were pleased when the committee moved the playground away from the road. (16) Because the councillors decision rests on all this evidence, residents usually accept it even when they disagree.
Which rewrite of Sentence 14 punctuates the clause about the funds correctly?
Which rewrite of Sentence 6 best repairs the punctuation?
Choose the punctuation that best completes the sentence.
The council cannot please everyone1 however, it must explain its reasons clearly.
Blank 1: , · : · ;
Which rewrite of Sentence 9 punctuates the opening clause correctly?
Which version of Sentence 2 punctuates the clause about local residents most accurately?
Which rewrite of Sentence 5 integrates the quotation grammatically?
Given Sentence 7, which rewrite of Sentence 8 punctuates the clause about distance correctly?
Circle 1 word in the sentence below.
Click the word in Sentences 3 and 4 after which the punctuation needs completing.
Asurveyof200residentsinoursuburbfoundthatmostfamilieswantedasafeplaceforchildrentoplay.Oncethesurveyresultsarepublishedthecouncilappointsacommitteeofstaffandresidentstocomparethepossiblesites.
Which rewrite of Sentence 11 gives the sentence its intended meaning?
Which version of Sentence 15 best punctuates the clause about objections?
Circle 1 word in the sentence below.
Click the word where the punctuation needs completing in Sentences 12 and 13.
Thefinaldesign–whichincludesaplayground,ashadedpicnicareaandabikepathisdisplayedatthelibraryforamonth.Duringthatmonth,residentscanlodgeobjections,andthecommitteemustanswereachoneinwriting.
Circle 1 word in the sentence below.
Click the word that should be changed in Sentences 15 and 16.
Theresidentswhoobjectedtothefirstplanwerepleasedwhenthecommitteemovedtheplaygroundawayfromtheroad.Becausethecouncillorsdecisionrestsonallthisevidence,residentsusuallyacceptitevenwhentheydisagree.