RADZI CHINYANGANYA: Well we are in BJL which is a communication agency in Manchester. And among all the things they do here they also do advertising and as an advertising agency they help promote productsby making adverts to hopefully persuadepeople to buy those goods. These days we can't go very far without seeing adverts. They are everywhere. Using punctuation in adverts is really important. It helps to deliver the product's core message quickly and clearly. So this next challenge is about the use of the bracket the dash and the hyphen in three different adverts. Alex this challenge is for you my friend and all you need to do is correctly identify which of the three different adverts are properly punctuated.
Come on let's walk this way.
Commas brackets and dashes can be used as a form of parentheses. The phrase in commas brackets and dashes gives us extra information but if taken out of the sentence the sentence would still make sense.
Take a look at this. The phrase in commas gives us extra information but without it the sentence still makes sense. In these adverts the commas brackets and dashes also help to clarify their meaning. Without them the sentencewould be too long and difficult to understand.
Alex let's take a look at the first advert.
In this advert the punctuation we're looking at is the correct use of the brackets. Here the brackets are used to give additional information about the product but which of the three adverts shows the brackets in the right place? What do you think? Try and have a go.
Let's see what Alex thinks.
So is it advert A advert B or advert C?
Advert C.
Let's see if you're correct.
Alex correctly identified advert C. The words in the brackets are more of an aside. They show that the information inside of the brackets is a bit separate from the rest of the sentence.
You are right.
THEY CHEER
Alex let's take a look at the second advert. In this advert the punctuation we're looking at is the correct use of the comma. The comma is a very versatile punctuation. Here the comma is used to give a break within the sentence and adds information. But which advert shows the comma in the correct place? Have a go yourself.
Let's find out what Alex thinks. So which advert do you think is correct - advert A B or C?
It's advert A. Let's see if you're correct.
Once again Alex has correctly pointed out the right advert. We can see that the commas in advert A don't interrupt the sentence and they're used here because the words between the commas are part of the sentence.
Alex you are right!
THEY CHEER
Alex let's take a look at the third and final advert. In this advert we're looking at the correct use of dashes. Now dashes are used when making a brief interruption within a statement which gives you extra information or makes an additional comment and is still relevant to the sentence but which advert shows the dashes in the correct place? What do you think? Let's find out what Alex thinks.
So which advert is correct? Is it advert A B or C?
B.
Let's see if you're correct. Yet again Alex has correctly identified that advert B is using the dashes in the right place.
Dashes are less formal but they also make something stand out more so they can be used in slogans or advertising to emphasise a point.
Alex you are right!
THEY CHEER
So that is another punctuation challenge successfully completed. Who fancies another one?
ALL: Me!
Great.
Video summary
Radzi and a group of children visit an advertising agency to learn about the importance of punctuation in advertisements.
The children are given three adverts with multiple choice questions to test their knowledge of parentheses.
They learn how and why brackets, commas and dashes are used.
This short film is from the BBC series, Punctuation Rules.
Teacher Notes
Use the format as a template for a similar workshop in the class, where pupils are tasked with testing their knowledge of parentheses.
This short film is relevant for teaching English language and literacy at KS2 and KS3 in England, Wales and Northern and 2nd Level in Scotland.
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