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Commas, Dashes and Parentheses for Extra Information — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 8 punctuation worksheet.

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Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheetYear 8 · English · Punctuation

Commas, Dashes and Parentheses for Extra Information — Answers

Part A: Find the extra information

Extra information (called parenthesis) can be lifted out and the sentence still makes sense. It is marked off by a pair of commas, a pair of dashes or parentheses.

1.Underline the extra information: "My cousin, who lives by the sea, is learning to surf." Does the sentence still make sense without it?

Answer: Extra information: who lives by the sea. Yes: My cousin is learning to surf.

2.Underline the extra information: "The blue whale — the largest animal that has ever lived — feeds on tiny krill."

Answer: Extra information: the largest animal that has ever lived.

3.Underline the extra information: "The museum (open every day except Monday) has a new dinosaur exhibit."

Answer: Extra information: open every day except Monday.

4.Which sentence does not contain extra information that could be removed?
  1. AOur coach, a former champion, never shouts.
  2. BThe students who finished early helped pack up.
  3. CMount Everest (the highest mountain on Earth) is in the Himalayas.
  4. DElla — always the first to volunteer — raised her hand.

Answer: The students who finished early helped pack up.

Who finished early tells us which students. Without it the meaning changes, so it is essential and takes no commas.

Part B: Choose the mark

Each mark has a slightly different effect. Circle the best choice.

5.Which mark gives the extra information the most emphasis?
  1. Acommas
  2. Bdashes
  3. Cparentheses

Answer: dashes

Dashes make the reader pause and notice the extra information. They are often used for drama or surprise.

6.Which mark makes the extra information feel like a quiet aside the reader could skip?
  1. Acommas
  2. Bdashes
  3. Cparentheses

Answer: parentheses

Parentheses suggest the information is less important, such as a date, a translation or a quick explanation.

7.Which mark is the most neutral and common in formal writing?
  1. Acommas
  2. Bdashes
  3. Cparentheses

Answer: commas

A pair of commas is the everyday choice for adding information smoothly.

8.Best choice: "The prize [ ] a trip to the science museum [ ] went to the youngest entrant." The writer wants it to sound surprising.
  1. Acommas
  2. Bdashes
  3. Cparentheses

Answer: dashes

Dashes highlight the surprising detail.

Part C: Fix it

Rewrite each sentence with the correct punctuation.

9.Fix the missing comma: "Our dog, a scruffy terrier loves chasing seagulls."

Answer: Our dog, a scruffy terrier, loves chasing seagulls.

  1. Extra information needs a comma at both ends.
10.Fix the unpaired dash: "The storm — the worst in fifty years, knocked out power to the whole town."

Answer: The storm — the worst in fifty years — knocked out power to the whole town.

  1. Use the same mark at both ends: two dashes, or two commas.
11.Add commas: "Leo who had never been on a plane gripped the armrest."

Answer: Leo, who had never been on a plane, gripped the armrest.

12.Add parentheses: "The recipe serves six people about three cups of rice."

Answer: The recipe serves six people (about three cups of rice).

  1. Also correct: The recipe (about three cups of rice) serves six people.
13.The commas in "My brother, Sam, plays drums" tell the reader that the writer has only one brother.

Answer: True

The commas mark Sam as extra information, so it is not needed to identify which brother. Without commas (My brother Sam plays drums) it could suggest more than one brother.

Part D: Your turn

14.Your turn: write three sentences about a place you know well. Use a pair of commas in the first, a pair of dashes in the second and parentheses in the third. Then explain in one sentence why you chose dashes for your second sentence.

Model answer: 1. The local pool, which opened when my parents were children, has just been painted bright blue. 2. On the first hot day of summer, the line for the waterslide — all two hundred people of it — stretched past the car wash next door. 3. The kiosk sells frozen fruit bars (the mango ones sell out by noon). I chose dashes in the second sentence because the huge number of people is surprising and I wanted the reader to notice it.

Success criteria:

  • One correct sentence each with paired commas, paired dashes and parentheses
  • The extra information can be removed and the sentence still makes sense
  • Punctuation is paired correctly at both ends
  • A sensible reason is given for choosing dashes
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Marking tips

  • Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
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