Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham.

It's so good to see you here for today's lesson on parenthesis.

Now, this lesson covers a really important skill, which I think you'll find really useful in improving your report writing.

We've got lots to learn, so let's get to work.

Today's lesson is called generating ideas for parenthesis in a report about penguin from our unit called pandas or antarctic animals non-chronological report.

And if you're completing this lesson, then you're working towards writing a report about Antarctic animal, specifically the macaroni penguin.

By the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to say and write ideas for parenthesis using information about macaroni penguins.

Now you might already know quite a lot of information about macaroni penguins, and when we write our report, we want to present the information in a way that makes sense to our reader and which shows the connections between different pieces of information.

And a great way of doing that is to use parenthesis.

So we'll see if we can master that skill today.

Before we begin writing our report, let's make a step.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

My turn, you turn.

Parenthesis, text cohesion, commas, relative clause, and brackets, well done.

So parenthesis is additional information that's added to a sentence, and if it's removed, the sentence still makes sense.

Text cohesion refers to the way a text flows together to keep the reader interested and to meet its purpose.

The commas are a punctuation mark used to demarcate a relative clause or other parenthesis.

A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun, such as who, which, whose or where.

And brackets are a punctuation mark used to add extra factual information in a clause.

So now let's look at our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start by looking at using commas for parenthesis, and then we'll move on to doing the same thing with brackets.

So when we write, we're aiming to improve our text cohesion by ensuring information flows together, and we're trying to show how different pieces of information connect and relate to one another.

So one way to do this is to use parenthesis, extra information added into a sentence that could be removed.

So for instance, let's look at this sentence, "The macaroni penguin, which mostly consumes krill, is found in the Southern Ocean." Here we have a piece of parenthesis added in to the sentence, which mostly consumes krill.

We've got another one here, "The macaroni penguin, a flightless bird, spends half the year at sea." Here's a piece of parenthesis, a flightless bird, added into the sentence.

In both these cases, this is extra additional information, and in both these cases, and for all parenthesis, it could be removed and the sentence will still make sense.

For instance, if I remove this parenthesis, the sentence reads, "The macaroni penguin is found in the Southern Ocean," a perfect sentence.

And in the second case, it would read, "The macaroni penguin spends half the year at sea." So parenthesis is extra information we've added into a sentence which we could remove leaving a complete sentence.

So parenthesis often follows a noun or a noun phrase to tell us more information about it.

So if I look at this sentence, it says, "Their feathers help keep them warm." So their feathers is a known phrase.

Feathers is a noun.

So what more could we say about the feathers? Well, you might remember that their feathers are waterproof.

Well done.

So we could say "Their feathers, which are waterproof, help keep them warm." So here we've got our noun, feathers, and we followed it with a parenthesis telling us more about that noun.

And it can be shown or demarcated with commas on either side.

It's really important the parenthesis has those pieces of punctuation on either side of them, and as ever the of that rest of the sentence must make complete sense on its own.

And we know it does because we put this extra information into a sentence that already made sense.

So, of course, we can remove it.

So let's see if we can test that out.

Can you see if you can identify the parenthesis in each sentence by looking for the part of the sentence that could be removed? Because that must be the parenthesis.

Pause the video and see if you can identify the parenthesis in each sentence.

Well done.

Great effort.

So in a, it would be, which is very shallow.

In b, it's, a tiny crustacean, and c, it's, which are very communicative, very talkative, almost.

And then for d, it's, a process taking several weeks.

Notice how in each case, if we remove that parenthesis, the sentence would still make sense.

For instance, for a, it would say, "The penguin's nest is lined with stones." So in each case we've added it in so we can remove it.

Really well done for spotting those pieces of parenthesis.

So one way of creating parenthesis is to use a relative clause.

And a relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun.

Like who, which, whose or where.

And I'm sure you remember that a subordinate clause is a group of words that contains a verb but does not make complete sense on its own.

So a relative clause is a type of subordinate clause.

So here's an example of a relative clause used as parenthesis.

"The penguins, whose blubber layer keeps them warm, are able to dive into the icy ocean for up to three minutes." So we know that's a relative clause because it's a subordinate clause, it doesn't make complete sense, and it starts with a relative pronoun, in this case, whose, and it's following on from that noun phrase, the penguins, to tell us extra information about it.

Here's another one.

"The vulnerable species, which consumes more food than any other seabird in the world, has suffered a huge decline in numbers." So here we've got a relative clause, starting with the relative pronoun, which, it's coming after the noun phrase, the vulnerable species, to tell us extra information about it.

And it could be removed, leaving a complete sentence.

The vulnerable species has suffered a huge decline in numbers.

Here's one more.

"The penguin's egg, which is incubated by both father and the mother, is placed in a shallow nest called a scrape." So this time we've used which, as our relative pronoun again, and this time it follows the noun phrase, the penguin's egg, to tell us extra information about that.

So in every case, the relative clause follows a noun phrase and it could be removed from the sentence.

For instance, in that last example, the sentence would read, "The penguin's egg is placed in a shallow nest called a scrape." So we can use relative clauses for parenthesis as a way of combining linked information to boost our text cohesion.

So we're showing our reader how closely related two pieces of information are by combining them together into one sentence that includes parenthesis shown with a relative clause.

So if I take these two separate sentences, we've got, "The penguins' bodies are well-insulated." And, "They have a blubber layer." So we could combine those using a relative clause.

We could say, "The penguins' bodies, which have a blubber layer, are well-insulated." So we've taken that second sentence and made it a relative clause.

We've started it with a relative pronoun, which, and we put it after the noun phrase it relates to, which is the penguin bodies.

So we're telling everyone more about the bodies by using that information as a relative clause.

So here are two more facts we could use.

We've got, "Macaroni penguins at 70cm long." And, "They weigh around 3.

5kg." So that second fact is also about macaroni penguins, isn't it? So we could place it after that noun phrase, macaroni penguins in a relative clause.

And we could say, "Macaroni penguins, which weigh around 3.

5 kilogrammes, are 70 centimetres in length." Let's look at one more.

"The penguins can swim quickly." "Their feet are webbed." Their feet are webbed is again describing the penguins.

So we could put it as a relative clause after the known phrase, the penguins.

"The penguins, whose feet are webbed, can swim quickly." So we've combined two pieces of information into one sentence using a relative clause as parenthesis.

And this is a way of improving our text cohesion by showing our reader the connection between those two pieces of information.

So can you see if you can do that now? Let's see if you can combine the two pieces of information below to create a sentence containing parenthesis using a relative clause.

So you've got these two pieces of information.

"Macaroni penguins can survive for weeks on their fat stores." And, "They often have to fast for weeks on end." Pause the video and see if you can create a sentence with a relative clause using those two pieces of information, have a go.

Well done, great effort.

So you might have come up with something like this.

"Macaroni penguins, which often have to fast for weeks on end, can survive for weeks on their fat stores." So the second fact, they often have to fast for weeks on end, was also about macaroni penguins.

So I've placed it after that noun phrase.

Let's have a look.

So we've got the parenthesis after the noun phrase it tells us more about.

We've used the relative pronoun, which, because penguins are not named people.

If they were, we'd use who.

And the parenthesis could be removed and the sentence would, of course, still make sense.

Really well done if you managed that, great job.

Now another way of adding parenthesis is to add a noun phrase, demarcated, shown by commas after the first noun or noun phrase.

So it's almost like we're clarifying what that noun phrase means.

So the macaroni penguin is already a noun phrase.

Then we've got a second noun phrase in our parenthesis with commas on either side.

"The macaroni penguin, a flightless bird native to the Southern Ocean, is considered a vulnerable species." Or we could say, "Krill." There's a noun.

We've got a second noun phrase now, in parenthesis, "The main component of the penguin's diet, is becoming less and less common as a result of climate change." So here the parenthesis is clarifying something about the noun or the noun phrase it describes, it's saying what it is in another way.

What a macaroni penguin is, is a flightless bird.

What krill is, is the main component of the penguin's diet.

So we're clarifying that first noun with a second noun phrase.

So again, the parenthesis could be removed and the part of the sentence outside the commas would still make sense.

So in the first example, it would read, "The macaroni penguin is considered a vulnerable species." So where could the commas be placed to show parenthesis in these sentences? Pause the video and have a think.

Good work, well done.

So in a, it would be, a process where the penguin renews its feathers, 'cause that's describing what moulting is.

It's clarifying the meaning of the noun moulting.

So b, it would be, a shallow dent in the ground.

Here the noun phrase is clarifying what is the penguin's nest? And in c, it would be, the most common of all penguins.

This is clarifying what macaroni penguins are.

It's another way of saying what they are.

We're restating it with another bit of additional information included.

Really well done if you manage to spot those pieces of parenthesis shown by commas.

So as with relative clauses, we can combine pieces of information by using a noun phrase to create parenthesis.

And we can often use the articles a, an, and the to start the piece of parenthesis.

Lemme show you.

We've got these two separate facts.

"Climate change is putting the penguins at increased risk." And, "Climate change is a process caused by human activity." Can you see how that second fact is actually an explanation of what climate change is? So we can turn that into a noun phrase and make it like this.

"Climate change, a process caused by human activity, is putting the penguins at increased risk." We've taken that second fact.

We've made it into a short noun phrase describing what climate change is.

And so it comes after the noun phrase, climate change, to clarify its meaning and it's got a comma on either side.

Here's another one.

"The macaroni penguin breeds on three different continents." "It is the most common species," of penguin, most common penguin species.

So here I'm giving another way of saying what a macaroni penguin is.

So I can put that as parenthesis after the noun phrase, the macaroni penguin.

So I've got, "The macaroni penguin," comma, "the most common penguin species," comma, "breeds on three different continents." We've taken the second fact, we've made it a noun phrase, and put it after the noun phrase.

It clarifies it, it describes it in more detail.

So can you try and do that now? Combine the two pieces of information below to create a sentence containing parenthesis using a noun phrase.

So you won't use a relative pronoun this time.

Instead, you're gonna turn that second sentence into a noun phrase that describes something in the first sentence.

Pause the video and see if you can have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

Hopefully, you've got something like this.

"The macaroni penguin, a sociable and communicative animal, breeds in a colony of up to 100,000 birds." So I've taken that second fact and I've made it a noun phrase.

It's not our verb anymore, a sociable and communicative animal.

And we've put that after the noun phrase, it's clarifying the macaroni penguin.

So let's just recap.

We've got that parenthesis after the noun it clarifies, we've used the article "a" in this case to start the parenthesis, a sociable and communicative animal.

And the parenthesis could of course be removed and the sentence would still work.

Fantastic job if you managed to do that.

So let's do our first task of this lesson.

I'm gonna show you some pairs of facts like this.

I'd like you to combine each pair of facts into one sentence with parenthesis.

You could either use a relative clause starting with which or who's in this case, or a noun phrase, starting with an article a, an or the, it's up to you how you combine them together.

So pause the video and thinking carefully write a sentence for each pair of ideas to connect them to improve text cohesion using a piece, a parenthesis, have a go.

Well done.

Fantastic effort.

Let's take a look at some examples of the sentences being combined using parenthesis.

And remember, you have to make sure your parenthesis could be removed from the sentence.

So the first example you could have, "Krill, a crustacean found in huge numbers in the Southern Ocean, makes up a huge proportion of the macaroni penguin's diet." So here I've used a noun phrase, haven't I? To clarify that word krill.

For this one, I've used a relative clause, "Macaroni penguins, which spend six months of the year swimming, have a streamlined body and webbed feet." I know it's a relative clause 'cause it starts with a relative pronoun "which".

And the last one I've done as a noun phrase, "The penguin, a member of the Eudyptes family of crested penguins, is well-adapted to staying warm in the cold ocean." So here my noun phrase clarifies more about the penguin.

Fantastic work there.

And hopefully, you can see how combining these facts together helps our reader to see the connection between them.

Really good job.

So I'm now going to move on to looking at how we can use brackets to show parenthesis.

So the way that we use brackets to show parenthesis is very similar to how we use commas.

And we use brackets in a nonfiction text to add parenthesis, that's extra factual information about a noun or a noun phrase.

So let's look at some examples.

We have, "The Southern Ocean (also called the Antarctic Ocean) is where macaroni penguins spend half the year swimming." So we've got that noun phrase of the Southern Ocean.

And our parenthesis and brackets tells us more about that noun phrase.

So we could also have this, "The macaroni penguin, (Eudytes chrysolophus) is considered vulnerable to extinction." We have the noun phrase, the macaroni penguin.

And then the information in brackets tells us something extra about that noun phrase.

And finally, "The penguins have solid bones (instead of hollow like most birds) in order to enable them to dive quite easily." So here the parenthesis tells us more about those bones, which is the noun phrase it follows.

So the parenthesis and brackets as with the commas, could be removed from each sentence.

Notice how there's always a bracket on either side of the parenthesis.

And just like with our commas, we can tell whether the parenthesis works in a sentence by trying to remove it and the rest of the sentence should still make sense.

So if you take this example, we've got, "The penguin (a sociable bird) breeds in crowded, populous colonies." We've got brackets either side of a piece of parenthesis that says a sociable bird.

If I remove that, the sentence reads, "The penguin breeds in crowded, populous colonies." Which is a complete sentence.

So that sentence worked well with the parenthesis inside it.

Now let's imagine we have a sentence which we know contains the parenthesis, but we're not sure where it should be.

So we can identify the parenthesis in a sentence by looking for the part that could be a sentence on its own, because that must be the part outside the brackets, the part that isn't the parenthesis.

So if you take this sentence, I know there's some parenthesis inside, but I'm not sure where it is, let's read it.

It says, "The penguin's nest a shallow, rock-line dent in the ground is called a scrape." I bet you spotted that this part could be a sentence, couldn't it? The penguin's nest is called a scrape.

So the part which I haven't circled there is the part that is the parenthesis.

So we would say, "The penguins nest (a shallow, rock-lined dent of the ground) is called a scrape." So we've identified the part that could be a complete sentence and the other part we've put as the parenthesis in brackets.

So where could the brackets be placed to show parenthesis in each of these sentences? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, let's take a look.

So for a, we would say, Antarctica, South America, and Africa because the rest of the sentence would be, "Three continents contain macaroni penguin breeding grounds." For b, it would be warming.

So here we would say, "The male and female macaroni penguin each take turns incubating the egg while the other forages for food." And for c, "It would be unlike many other penguin species." Really well done if you spotted those pieces of parenthesis in brackets.

So brackets are not always used in the middle of a sentence.

They can also be used to add extra factual parenthesis at the end of a sentence.

For example, "As a species, macaroni penguins consume more than 9 million tonnes of seafood food every year (more than any other seabird)." So there my parenthesis has come at the end of the sentence in the brackets.

I could say, "This distinctive creature is one member of the family of crested penguins (Eudyptes)." And finally, "Macaroni penguins are sociable birds and they're gather to breed in huge colonies (of up to 100,000 animals)." So as ever, the rest of the sentence is complete on its own.

So which sentence has brackets in the correct position to show the parenthesis? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, well let's test it out, in a, the sentence would read, "The macaroni penguin is around half the height of a 10-year-old." That could work, but it's not quite right is it? For b, it would be, "The macaroni penguin is about half the height." That definitely doesn't work.

For c, it would be, "The macaroni penguin is around half the height of a 10-year-old boy." So that one does work.

And we can tell a again was wrong because boy at 70 centimetres doesn't sound right.

It doesn't give us the information we were looking for.

So c is the correct one there, really well done for spotting it.

So in the same way as we did with commas, we can improve text cohesion by adding parenthesis using brackets.

So if we take two separate facts, we've got the macaroni penguin is a flightless bird and that this is true of all penguin species.

So we can make that second fact into a phrase like this.

"The macaroni penguin (like all species of penguin) is a flightless bird." I can do the same thing with these two.

"Every year, the penguins spends six months swimming in the ocean," and "This is equivalent to half a year." Well, that second fact is about the six months, isn't it? It's clarifying what six months of the year is.

So I could write like this.

"Every year the penguin spends six months (half a year) swimming in the ocean." So each time we've changed the second fact into a short phrase.

So can you do the same thing here? Can you combine the two pieces of information to create a sentence containing parenthesis using brackets, pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

Good effort.

So hopefully, you've got something like this.

"The penguin has solid bones (unlike most birds) that help it to dive more easily." So we've placed the parenthesis after the noun, it gives more information about and it could be removed.

And of course, the sentence will still make sense.

Really well done if you manage that.

So we can do the same thing to add parenthesis at the end of a sentence.

So if you take these two facts, we have, "Penguin numbers have fallen considerably in the last 50 years," and "They've fallen by 50% in places." So I could take that second fact and put it at the end of the sentence in parenthesis.

"Penguin numbers have fallen considerably in the last 50 years (by 50% in places)." We could do the same here.

"Penguins' muscles store oxygen, allowing them to dive very deep.

They can dive up to 80 metres in depth." I can take that second fact and make it a short phrase like this.

"Penguins' muscles store oxygen, allowing them to dive very deep (up to 80 metres in depth)." So can you try and do the same thing now? Can you combine the two pieces of information to create a sentence that has parenthesis in brackets at the end? Pause the video and have a try.

Well done.

So hopefully yours looks something like this.

I've got, "Macaroni Penguins can survive for a long time on their fat stores (up to several weeks)." I've taken the second fact.

I've made it a short phrase and I've put it in parenthesis at the end of the sentence.

Again, we have a shortened second sentence into a short phrase and the parenthesis could be removed and the sentence would still make sense.

So let's do our final task for this lesson.

Again, I'm going to show you some pairs of facts.

I'd like you to combine each pair of facts into one sentence with parenthesis.

And you need to use brackets to add the parenthesis in an appropriate place in the sentence.

It could best be somewhere in the middle or perhaps it might be able to be placed at the end as we just saw.

So pause the video and let's make some parenthesis using brackets.

Well done.

Great effort.

Let's take a look at some examples of the sentences being combined using parenthesis.

Now, yours might look slightly different, but please ensure your parenthesis can be removed and the sentence will still make sense.

So the first one, I put, "The macaroni penguin (the most common species of penguin) used to be much more common." For the second I wrote, "The penguins' thick blubber (large layer of fat) helps them to stay warm in the ocean." "Macaroni penguins form breeding colonies on the three continents (Antarctica, South America, and Africa)." And each time I could remove this, leaving a complete sentence and make extra sure that you've got a bracket on either side of your piece of parenthesis, even if as in the last example, it comes at the end of a sentence, notice how we have the closing bracket and then the full stop afterwards.

Really well done.

Fantastic work.

Let's summarise our learning of this lesson.

We learned that parenthesis is extra information added into a sentence that can be removed.

We learned that using parenthesis is a good way of combining linked information to improve text cohesion.

And we learned that we can demarcate the parenthesis using commas to add in a relative clause or a noun phrase.

And we learned that we can also demarcate the parenthesis using brackets when we're adding in extra factual information.

You did a fantastic job in this lesson, I'm hoping you can see how combining pieces of information using parenthesis really improves our text cohesion by showing our reader these connections between these facts.

So hopefully, you can apply that to your writing when you come to do it.

Fantastic work.

And I hope to see you again in the future lesson.

Goodbye.