Lesson video

Hello, I'm Ms. Chu.

Welcome to another exciting English lesson with me.

Are you ready to get started? Let's go.

Today's lesson outcome is I can edit the introduction and first section of a non-chronological report.

The key words that will help you in your learning today are, my turn, your turn, editing, punctuation, sentence structure, language.

You said those really, really well.

Editing is the process of improving writing to ensure text flow and overall quality.

Punctuation is a set of standardised symbols and marks used in written language to structure sentences.

Sentence structure refers to the way words are arranged and organised within sentences to convey meaning.

Written language is the use of specific words and phrases to convey meaning.

Today's lesson outline looks like this.

Editing punctuation, editing sentence structure, and finally editing language.

Let's start with editing punctuation.

Editing is the process of making changes to improve writing to ensure text flow and overall quality.

When you edit, you decide what you will change and what you will keep the same.

Even really successful writers need to edit their work.

Editing doesn't mean rewriting everything again.

It is about being selective with what you want to improve and choosing parts that you want to improve.

The job of an editor is to check for mistakes and punctuation, one of our keywords, make improvements to sentence structure, another one of our keywords, make improvements in language choices, another one of our keywords.

And in this lesson, you are gonna be editors.

Let's do a quick check for understanding.

What is editing? Editing is the process of, A, rewriting a whole piece of text, B, making improvements to language choices, C, making improvements to sentence structure or D, only correcting handwriting.

Pause the video and have a think about what you think editing is the process of.

Editing is the process of making improvements to language choices.

Well done.

And was there another one in there? Did you say it was also making improvements to sentence structure? If you did, well done.

Editing we know is not the process of rewriting a whole piece of text, and it's not only about correcting your handwriting.

When we edit punctuation, we check for missing or incorrectly used capital letters, full stops, and commas.

we're just gonna focus on missing capital letters in this sentence.

The Anglo-Saxons were a group of people that lived in England during the Middle Ages.

I know that there are missing capital letters in this sentence.

We need a capital letter for the, because it is the start of a sentence.

A capital letter is needed at the beginning of every new sentence.

We also need capital letters for proper nouns, so not common nouns that we use every day, but for those important nouns like Anglo and Saxons that are the names of people, and England is the name of a country.

We also have capital letters for Early Middle Ages because that is the name of a period of time in history.

Let's do a quick check for understanding.

What are the two uses of capital letters? Are they used at the beginning of sentences? Are they used at the end of sentences? Are they used to begin proper nouns? Or, are they used to begin all nouns? I want you to point to two of the correct answers.

Shall we have a look? Did you point to A, they are used at the beginning of sentences? If you did, super well done.

Did you also point to C, they are used to begin proper nouns? Excellent.

They are not used at the end of sentences.

Those are.

Do you remember what they are? Full stops, and they are not used to begin all nouns, only proper nouns.

When we edit punctuation, we check for missing or incorrectly used capital letters, full stops, and commas.

There are missing full stops in this sentence.

The main grains grown were barley, oats, and wheat.

Furthermore, they ate leeks, cabbages, and onions.

I can see that we are missing two full stops in these two sentences here.

The main grains grown were barley, oats, and wheat, full stop.

We need to change the lowercase f into a capital F because we are now starting a new sentence.

And then at the end of that sentence, we also need a full stop.

So after the word onions, we put our full stop there.

Should we just have a closer look at why we are missing those full stops? We said we needed a full stop after the word wheat because a full stop is needed at the end of a sentence.

And then we said a capital letter begins a new sentence, and then a full stop at the end of the second sentence.

True or false.

Full stops are used at the beginning of a sentence.

Point to whether you think this is true or false.

Get ready to point in three, two, one.

It is false.

Is it false because the main purpose of a full stop is to mark the end of a sentence or is it false because capital letters are used at the beginning of a sentence? Which one of those helps you to justify your answer? Yes, it is A.

The main purpose of a full stop is to mark the end of a sentence.

It's not B because we are not talking about capital letters in this true or false statement.

When we edit punctuation, we check for missing or incorrectly used capital letters, full stops, and commas.

Let's just focus on commas now.

There are missing commas in this sentence.

Interestingly, the main grains grown were barley, oats, and wheat.

The second sentence, "Furthermore, they ate leeks, cabbages, and onions." also have missing commas.

There is a missing comma after interestingly and also after furthermore.

I found missing comma between barley and oats, and leeks and cabbages.

Let's have a closer look at why those commas are needed in those two sentences.

A comma is needed after interestingly because interestingly is a viewpoint fronted adverbials, and all fronted adverbials are followed by a comma.

Furthermore is a formal fronted adverbials so it also needs a comma.

We use commas for items in a list, and in this sentence, we were listing the main grains.

We also needed a comma after leeks because leeks, cabbages, and onions are a list of food items that they grew.

Remember, you only use a comma when you know the rule.

Let's do a quick check for understanding.

When are commas used? Tick two.

Is it to mark the end of a sentence? Is it to denote a direct question? Is it used after a fronted adverbial.

Or, is it used to separate items in a list? Point to two of the correct answers.

Did you point to C, they are used after a fronted adverbials? If you did, well done you.

Did you also point to they separate items in the list? That's fantastic.

You got both of them right.

We are now onto Task A.

In this task, I would like you to edit the introduction and first section of your non-chronological report about Anglo-Saxons.

The introduction and section one are the first two parts of your entire report.

When you edit, you should check for missing or incorrectly used punctuation, focusing on capital letters, full stops, and commas.

Good luck and I can't wait to see your edits.

Introduction.

The Anglo-Saxons were a group of people that lived in England during the Early Middle Ages.

This period in history started in the late 5th century, and it ended in the late 11th century.

Intriguingly, the Anglo-Saxons changed parts of British ways of life because they came from different places.

In this report, you'll be educated about Anglo-Saxons' settlements and farming practises.

When I read through that, I could see that there were missing capital letters, full stops, and commas, but I'm just going to start with capital letters.

I have changed Anglo-Saxons Early, Middle, and Ages to capital letters, and also British needed a capital letter too.

So now that I've done that, I can tick that one off.

Let me see if I have put in the right full stops.

I needed a full stop at the end of the sentence.

This period in history started in the late 5th century, and it ended in the late 11th century because that is the end of that sentence, so it needs a full stop.

I also need a full stop after the sentence, "In this report, you will be educated about Anglo-Saxons' settlements and farming practises." because I was missing a full stop in that sentence.

So now that I've done that, I can tick that off.

The last thing I need to check is for missing commas.

I was missing a comma after intriguingly because that is a viewpoint fronted adverbials, and I was also missing a comma after in this report, which is also a fronted adverbial.

So now that I've done that, I can tick that one off.

What were Anglo-Saxons' settlements like? Anglo-Saxon houses were commonly made from timber, thatch, and wattle and daub.

In addition to this, they were rectangular in shape and they were called a hall house.

Intriguingly, the main living area had a central hearth for cooking and heating.

Significantly, the social structure of Anglo-Saxon society meant that kings and nobles were at the top followed by commoners and enslaved people.

As a result, kings and nobles had the largest house in the village where important decisions took place.

Lots of missing punctuation in that section, but I'm just gonna start with my capital letters.

I'm missing a capital letter for Anglo and Saxon again, so I need to change that.

And also, I need a capital letter for significantly because that is the start of that sentence.

Tick it off.

What about my full stops? Well, I'm missing a full stop after hall house because it is the end of that sentence, and also after cooking and heating.

And finally, I am missing one at the end of enslaved people.

And because I put a full stop there, I need to change as a result, change as to a capital letter.

Done.

Finally, my commas.

In addition needs a comma after that.

Intriguingly needs a comma, and significantly needs a comma.

Is there one more I can spot? Yes.

As a result also needs a comma after it, and this is because they are all types of fronted adverbials.

In addition is a formal fronted adverbial.

Intriguingly and significantly are viewpoint fronted adverbials.

And as a result is a fronted adverbials of course.

So I can tick that one off.

We are now onto the second part of our lesson, editing sentence structure.

When we edit sentence structure, we make changes to the way sentences are constructed.

That means formed to improve text flow.

When editing, you should reread each sentence to check that it makes sense because sometimes it doesn't.

We also should check that compound sentences are joined by an appropriate coordinating conjunction, and also check that you have included a variety of sentence types.

Let's do a quick true or false.

When we edit sentence structure, we slowly and carefully read our writing back.

Is this true or is this false? I'd like you to think about whether this is true or false and point to the correct answer in three, two, one.

Yes, it is true.

And why is it true? Is it because we make sure that there is only one sentence type in our writing, or is it true because we make changes to the way sentences are constructed to improve text flow? Yes, it's B.

We make changes to the way sentences are constructed to improve text flow.

Let's have a look at editing these sentences.

The Anglo-Saxons, a group of people that lived in England during the Early Middle Ages.

This period in history started in the late 5th century.

It ended the late 11th century.

Intriguingly, changed parts of British ways of life because they came from different places.

Hmm.

Do those sentences make sense? Have I reread each sentence to check that it makes sense? Yes, I have, but some of those sentences don't make sense, so I do need to correct them.

The Anglo-Saxons were a group of people, so it's missing the verb there.

Also, intriguingly, the Anglo-Saxons change parts of British life makes more sense than intriguingly changed parts of British ways of life.

It's missing the subject there.

Now that that I have done that, I;m going to check if I've used a coordinate in conjunction to join two main clauses, and I can see that I need an and between this period in history started in the late 5th century and it ended in the late 11th century.

This compound sentence needs to be joined by the coordinating conjunction and.

Great.

And finally, have I use a variety of sentence types? I have.

I've used a compound sentence there, and also I have written a complex sentence joined by the subordinating conjunction because, so I can tick that one off.

Let's do a quick check for understanding.

How do you form a compound sentence? Is it A, join two main clauses with any conjunction, B, join two main clauses with a coordinating conjunction, C, join two main clauses by removing a full stop, or D, write two separate main clauses? I want you to have a go at trying to work out what the correct answer is for this question.

Okay, did you say it was B, that you joined two main clauses with a coordinating conjunction? If you did, big well done to you.

We are now onto task B of editing sentence structure.

We're going to read the introduction and first section of our non-chronological reports again, but this time we're going to focus on rereading each sentence to check that it makes sense.

We are also going to check that our compound sentences are joined by an appropriate coordinating conjunction and we're going to check that we have included a variety of sentence types.

I would like you to pause the video now and have a go at your task, and then when you have finished press play to resume.

I hope you gave task B a really good go.

I'm going to now have a look at my introduction.

First, I'm going to read my introduction, then I'm going to use the checklist to edit my work.

Introduction.

The Anglo-Saxons were a group of people in England during the Early Middle Ages.

This period in history started in the late 5th century.

It ended the late 11th century.

Intriguingly, changed parts of British ways of life.

They came from different places.

In this report, you'll be educated about Anglo-Saxons settlements and farming practises.

Have I reread each sentence to check that it makes sense? I have reread it and they don't.

Some of them don't make sense, so I do need to correct that now.

I need to say that the Anglo-Saxons were a group of people that lived in England.

I also need to put the Anglo-Saxons change parts of British ways of life.

So now that makes more sense.

I can tick that off.

I need to check my coordinating conjunctions are used appropriately.

This period in history started in the late 5th century, and it ended.

Yes, I need to put my and in there.

So I can tick that one off.

And have I used a variety of sentence types? Well, yes, I've used and to join my two main clauses, so I've made that a compound sentence.

I've also used because, so that's now a complex sentence.

So I can tick that one off.

Let's now have a look at the first section of my non-chronological report, and then use the checklist to edit my work.

What were Anglo-Saxon settlements like? Anglo-Saxon houses were commonly made from timber, thatch, and wattle and daub.

In addition to this, they were rectangular in shape.

They were called a hall house.

Intriguingly, the main living area had a central hearth for cooking and heating.

Significantly, the social structure of Anglo-Saxon society that kings and nobles were at the top, followed by commoners and enslaved people.

As a result, kings and nobles the largest house in the village where important decisions took place.

Lots of things there don't make sense.

I need to change them.

I need to say that, significantly, the social structure of Anglo-Saxon society meant that kings and nobles were at the top.

And also, I need to put had for, as a result, kings and nobles had the largest house in the village.

Now those sentences make sense.

I can tick that off.

Now I need to look for my coordinating conjunction to join my two main clauses.

Yes, I've put it there.

In addition to this, they were rectangular in shape and they were called a hall house.

So I can tick that one off.

What about my sentence types? I can see that I've used two sentence types mainly in this section.

I've used simple sentences and I have also written one compound sentence.

So I'm happy with that and I'm going to tick that one off.

Now we are on the final part of our lesson, editing language.

When we edit language, we carefully review and make changes to words and phrases.

Editing word choices can have a significant impact on writing by improving clarity, that means whether the sentences are clear and make sense, tone, and effectiveness.

When editing, make sure you check that language choices are ambitious to engage the reader, and also choose language that matches the text type.

True or false.

When editing language for a non chronological report, you don't need to change any of the words and phrases.

Is this true or is this false? I'd like you to point to whether this is true or false in three, two, one.

It is false.

Why is it false? Is it false because, when we edit language, we carefully review and make changes to words and phrases, or is it because when we edit language, we make changes to the way sentences are constructed? Yes, it is A, when we edit language, we carefully review and make changes to words and phrases, because the language is related to words and phrases and not the sentence construction.

Let's look at how we edit language together.

The Anglo-Saxons were people that lived in England during the Early Middle Ages.

This period in history started in the late 5th century, and it ended in the late 11th century.

They changed parts of British ways of life because they came from different places.

Have ambitious language choices been used here to engage the reader? I think we could do better, so I'm going to change my language.

I've said the Anglo-Saxons were a group of innovative people that lived in England during the Early Middle Ages, and I've said this influential period in history started in the late 5th century, and it ended in the late 11th century.

I've also added, intriguingly, these fascinating migrators changed parts of British ways of life because they came from different places.

And I think that now I've definitely chosen some ambitious language.

I've used the beginning of a noun phrase, a group of innovative, the beginning of a noun phrase.

The noun phrase would be a group of innovative people.

I've also used the noun phrase, these fascinating migrators.

I've put an adjective before period, so I can tick that one off.

I also used intriguingly as my viewpoint fronted adverbial which does match the text type, so I can also tick that one off.

We are now onto task C.

You are going to read the introduction and first section of your non-chronological report about Anglo-Saxons again.

This time, when editing, you should check that language choices are ambitious to engage the reader, and also they match the text type.

Pause the video and have a go.

Let's now have a look at how I edit the introduction of my non-chronological report using the checklist.

Let's first read it and then answer the questions on the side.

Introduction.

The Anglo-Saxons were people that lived in England during the Early Middle Ages.

This period in history started in the late 5th century and it ended in the late 11th century.

The Anglo-Saxons changed parts of British ways of life because they came from different places.

In this report, you will be educated about Anglo-Saxon settlements and farming practises.

Have I used ambitious language choices to engage the reader? Hmm.

I don't think I have fully, so I'm going to change the language in my introduction.

I'm going to say the Anglo-Saxons were a group of innovative people.

I'm going to insert influential before period, and I'm also going to add another adjective before farming practises.

And now that I've done that, I can tick it off.

I've just got to check that the language matches the text type.

Yes, it mainly does.

I'm just going to change the Anglo-Saxons by saying, intriguingly, these fascinating migrators.

So I'm adding my noun phrase there.

Then I'm just going to add an extra part, in Europe.

So I've said they came from different places and I'm just gonna add a little bit more detail, in Europe.

And now that I've done that, I can tick that second question off.

What about the first section of my non-chronological report? What were Anglo-Saxon settlements like? Anglo-Saxon houses were commonly made from timber, thatch, and wattle and dob.

They were rectangular in shape and they were called a hall house.

The living area had a central hearth for cooking and heating.

The social structure of Anglo-Saxon society meant that kings and nobles were at the top, followed by commoners and enslaved people.

As a result, kings and nobles, the largest house in the village where important decisions took place.

Hmm.

What ambitious language choices could I insert into this section? I could say that the main living areas.

I'm giving a little bit more information about the living area, and I could say that the important kings and nobles were at the top.

So again, I'm inserting adjectives, and I've crossed out important because I've used it once for kings and nobles, and so I'm going to use a synonym, critical, so I'm not repeating my language choices.

Have I checked that the language matches the text type? Well, I think I could insert intriguingly because it is a viewpoint fronted adverbials.

Intriguingly, these practical structures.

So I've added a little bit more information again.

I've replaced houses with practical structures, were rectangular in shape, and I've given a bit more information after cooking and heating.

I said where many social gatherings took place.

I've also inserted significantly after that.

So now that I've done that, I can tick that one off.

In summary, editing is the process of making changes to improve writing.

The job of an editor is to check punctuation, make improvements to sentence structure, and review language choices.

The editing process is a critical part of the whole writing process.

I really hope that you enjoyed this editing lesson.