ACT Prep

Parentheses, dashes,
periods, question marks,
and exclamation points.

Parentheses
What do you notice about the
following sentece?
Mrs. Carr and Mrs. Millers road trip
(which they made in a red
convertible) lasted three weeks and
spanned fourteen states.

Parentheses
Parentheses usually surround words
or phrases that break a sentences
train of thought but provide
explanatory information for it.
Mrs. Carr and Mrs. Millers road trip
(which they made in a red
convertible) lasted three weeks and
spanned fourteen states.

Parenthetical Sentences
What do you notice about the
following sentence?
Their road trip lasted three weeks
and spanned fourteen states. (The
one they took two years ago lasted
two weeks and covered ten states.)
When they got home, they were
exhausted.

Parenthetical Sentences
add additional information without
diverting the flow.
Their road trip lasted three weeks
and spanned fourteen states. (The
one they took two years ago lasted
two weeks and covered ten states.)
When they got home, they were
exhausted.

Parenthetical Sentences
The parenthetical information is
interesting but not completely relevant
to the other sentences.
Their road trip lasted three weeks
and spanned fourteen states. (The
one they took two years ago lasted
two weeks and covered ten states.)
When they got home, they were
exhausted.

Parenthetical Sentences
When an entire sentence is enclosed
within parentheses, the period should
be inside them as well.
Their road trip lasted three weeks
and spanned fourteen states. (The
one they took two years ago lasted
two weeks and covered ten states.)
When they got home, they were
exhausted.

Dashes
What do you notice about the following
sentences?
He walked so slowlywith his lame
leg he couldnt go much fasterthat
even his neighbors toddler eventually
overtook him.
I dont have the heart to refuse a
friends request for helpdo you?

Dashes

Dashes function similar to parentheses.

They indicate either an abrupt break in
thought or an insertion of additional,
explanatory information.
He walked so slowlywith his lame
leg he couldnt go much fasterthat
even his neighbors toddler eventually
overtook him.
I dont have the heart to refuse a
friends request for helpdo you?

Ending punctuation
What do you notice about the following
sentences?
The sentence ends here.
Does the sentence end here?
Hooray! The sentence ends here!

Ending punctuation
The sentence ends here.
Does the sentence end here?
Hooray! The sentence ends here!
Exclamation points should be used
sparingly to indicate statements made
with great emotion (for example, anger,
excitement, or agitation).
Ending punctuation is sometimes on the
test but the least tested punctuation item.