Have you ever asked a novice reader to read and comprehend a sentence with 20 words or more? For them, comprehension can get foggy. Help them overcome.
What every teacher MUST teach: The dash (—) and commas (,) that interrupt words in a sentence.
The DASH (—)
There are many common comprehension mistakes novice readers make when reading a long sentence. One major oversight is not paying attention to the dash—a strategically placed little horizontal line that indicates a pause. The phrase that follows the dash is used to introduce an explanation, give a definition, or provide an example to the details that are in front of it.
EX: There are many common comprehension mistakes novice readers make when reading a long sentence. One major oversight is not paying attention to the dash—a strategically placed little horizontal line that indicates a pause.
In the example above, notice how I provide readers with a visual description of the word /dash/. I intentionally place the dash punctuation mark after the word /dash/. Following, I provide the phrase “—a strategically placed little horizontal line that indicates a pause” that gives more information about the word /dash/. Dashes are designed to interrupt a thought to add more ideas. The ideas are important, but the abrupt break can create confusion for readers. So teach them.
Commas that Interrupt (,)
Commas that interrupt words in the sentence, as in this case, are used to add information. The general rule is that if the word(s) simply add information for the reader and is not necessary to the meaning of the sentence, use commas around it. Make sure you use two commas, one before and one after.
EX: My daughter Nia is visiting for Christmas.
My daughter, Nia, is visiting for Christmas.
Do you set off Nia with commas? It depends. What do you think the difference is between these two sentences?
In the first sentence, Nia is necessary. You can’t leave it out, so it has no commas. Why can’t you leave it out? The most obvious answer here is that in this sentence you have more than one daughter, so you need to identify which daughter.
But in the second sentence, Nia is set off with commas. Her name is not necessary to the meaning of the sentence. Why? In this example, you have only one daughter so her name is additional information and not necessary.