Every Punctuation Mark Matters: A Minilesson on Semicolons
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Overview
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" demonstrates that even the smallest punctuation mark signals a stylistic decision, distinguishing one writer from another and enabling an author to move an audience. In this minilesson, students first explore Dr. King's use of semicolons and their rhetorical significance. They then apply what they have learned by searching for ways to follow Dr. King's model and use the punctuation mark in their own writing.
Note that while this lesson refers to the "Letter from Birmingham Jail," any text which features rhetorically significant use of semicolons can be effective for this minilesson.
Featured Resources
Examples of Dr. King's Use of Semicolons, shorter passages: Use these excerpts from "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to analyze Dr. King's stylistic choices regarding use of the semicolon.
Example of Dr. King's Use of Semicolons, longer passage: This excerpt is useful for examining how Dr. King's use of the semicolon relates to the rhetorical device of repetition.
Example from Dr. King's Letter with No Semicolons: This passage gives students an opportunity to decide where they would place semicolons.
From Theory to Practice
Years of research and anecdotal evidence demonstrate that traditional methods of grammar instruction simply do not work. One common complaint about grammar instruction stems from its lack of context-its reliance, for example, on abstract rules and bare examples. While these stark examples clarify grammatical ideas, they fail to capture language, including its grammar and punctuation, in action, in the real-life texts that surround us. By incorporating the texts that students read or compose on their own, this lesson highlights the thoughtful choice of the semicolon to create rhetorical effect in an audience, demonstrating how one author uses the seemingly insignificant punctuation mark to express his ideas and urges students to follow the model in their own writing. Only by exploring language in context, written for a particular time and place, can students discern the subtle ways that punctuation affects meaning.
Further Reading
Common Core Standards
This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.
State Standards
This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.
NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts
- 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
- 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
- 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
- 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
- 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
Materials and Technology
- Grammar Handbook, for reference
- General classroom writing supplies (board, overheads, or chart paper, notebooks and pens/pencils, and so forth)
- Internet access
- Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail"—this text is frequently anthologized, appearing in many student textbooks and readers. The text is also available online; however, because the text is protected by copyright, the definitive copies of the letter are not printable:
- PDF version, from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project (not printable)
- Image of original, from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project (not printable)
- HTML version, from the Seattle Times (printable)
Printouts
Websites
This definitive version of the letter is copyright and cannot be printed.
Preparation
- Students should be assigned to read the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" prior to this class session, so that they are familiar with the text and its contents before they begin this activity. You can make copies of the letter for your students from the Website above, or direct students to the URL for one of the sites to read the text online.
- Ideally, students should be given time to explore the timeline at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project Website, which documents the highlights of Dr. King's life. Be sure to take time to discuss the ideas from the letter and its historical context.
- Consult the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" from the Univeristy of Pennsylvania for background information on the letter.
- Provide paper copies of the text for each student-because students will be looking closely at the text, they should have a copy of the letter that they can mark on (e.g., circle semicolons).
- Make copies of the handouts of the shorter passages and the longer passage as well as the handout of a passage with no semicolons from Dr. King's letter for students. Alternatively, make overheads of these pages and arrange for an overhead projector.
- Check your grammar textbook for information on semicolons, noting the pertinent section or page number on the board for students' reference. Alternatively, you can point students to the Purdue OWL Overview of Punctuation.
Student Objectives
Students will
- explore the use of the semicolon in their own and others' texts.
- review the rhetorical use and significance of the semicolon.
- revise their own writing, based on the stylistic knowledge gained from their exploration.
Instruction & Activities
- Ask students, working alone or in groups, to search out and circle as many semicolons in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" as they can find. Be aware that owing to different editors, the copies of King's letter included in many anthologies exhibit slightly different punctuation and phrasing. Nevertheless, these varied texts demonstrate fairly consistent punctuation, including semicolons. If there is a pertinent question regarding a semicolon, the copies of the letter on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project Website should be considered the definitive texts, as they are the copyright versions endorsed by the King family.
- Once students have had a chance to work through the letter, ask them to share passages that they have found with the class.
- Pass out the handout of sample shorter passages that use semicolons, or display the sentences on an overhead projector. Students will use these sentences to analyze Dr. King's punctuation in context, as the rhetorical work of an author trying to connect with an audience that may or may not agree with his political protest.
- Ask students to go through the sentences circling the semicolons.
- Invite students to discuss the ways that Dr. King uses the punctuation mark in his writing by looking closely at each of the passages (or using passages that students have identified from the letter). Questions such as these can spur useful conversations about areas of grammar and writing related to semicolon use—for example, parallelism, repetition, and contrast:
- Why did Dr. King use a semicolon here instead of a stronger period or a weaker comma?
- How does this semicolon shape the meaning of its sentence, its paragraph, the work as a whole?
- Does this semicolon help King to reach his audience? Why or why not?
- Why did Dr. King use a semicolon here instead of a stronger period or a weaker comma?
- Look closely at a longer passage from the letter. Begin by reading the passage aloud.
- Ask students what they note about the passage. If students do not volunteer details, the following discussion questions can lead to conversation:
- Where does Dr. King use repetition in the passage? What is the point of the repetition?
- Where does Dr. King use semicolons in the passage? What ideas do the semicolons join?
- Why would Dr. King choose one sentence with semicolons over two or three short sentences?
- Where does Dr. King use short sentences in the passage? What role does the short sentence play rhetorically?
- What overall conclusions can you draw about Dr. King's style, including his use of sentence length and punctuation, from this passage?
- Where does Dr. King use repetition in the passage? What is the point of the repetition?
- Next turn to students' own decisions about when to use the semicolon. Share the handout of a passage which does not use semicolons. Begin by reading the passage aloud.
- Ask students to imagine that they are the letter's authors and to identify places in the passage where they might insert a semicolon. Give them a few minutes to explore the passage alone or in groups.
- After students have had sufficient time, ask them to identify places where they would insert semicolons in the passage. Students will typically choose more than one place. Some join the sentences beginning "A just law" and "An unjust law"; others may choose to join the two sentences that begin "Any law." Encourage students to share the possibilities they have identified.
- As students share their ideas, ask them to support their choices. Discussion can include the following questions:
- Why are these two sentences related?
- What rhetorical advantage does the author gain by linking the clauses in the reader's mind?
- What rhetorical advantage does the author lose by abandoning the short, abrupt stops that periods create?
- Why are these two sentences related?
- Ask students to choose a piece of writing from their writer's notebook or another piece of writing that they are working on.
- Ask students to find one or two places in their drafts where they could insert a semicolon. Have students circle the semicolon with a pen or mark it with a highlighter to make it obvious.
- Allow students to work at their own pace. Circulate through the room, helping any students who have questions or comments. If time is short, students can revise their own texts for homework or during the next class session.
- Once students have added the semicolons, ask them to write a short reflection in their writer's notebooks that identifies the sentences they've joined and the reasons they selected the sentences. Encourage them to apply the same questions that they applied to Dr. King's letter, such as the following: Why are these two sentences related? What rhetorical advantage do I gain by linking the clauses in my reader's mind? What rhetorical advantage do I lose by abandoning the short, abrupt stops that periods create?
Extensions
- Choose among additional Web and text resources as well as find links to lesson plans and classroom activities that can be used to supplement or extend this lesson, from the January 15 entry from ReadWriteThink calendar.
- Visit these Websites to learn more about Dr. King's life:
- Today in History, for January 15, from the Library of Congress: The Library of Congress entry for King's birthday provides a linked overview of King's life and the struggle for Civil Rights.
- The Nobel Peace Prize 1964: The Nobel Prize Website includes the text of the committee's presentation speech, awarding the Peace Prize to Dr. King, as well as Dr. King's Nobel Lecture, his acceptance speech, and biographical information.
- Photo Essay: Martin Luther King in His Own Words: This Time.com collection pairs ten photos of King with excerpts from his writing. Each could provide a starting place for a classroom discussion of King's carefully chosen words.
- Martin Luther King: His Greatest Triumphs: The Life site provides a wealth of pictures of Dr. King, including this gallery of his greatest triumphs.
- Today in History, for January 15, from the Library of Congress: The Library of Congress entry for King's birthday provides a linked overview of King's life and the struggle for Civil Rights.
Student Assessment / Reflections
Kidwatching provides the perfect assessment for this activity. As you circulate through the room, note which students understand the concepts and which need more practice. Provide on-the-spot help for any students who need more examples or instruction. When students submit their notebooks, be sure to check their reflections and the sentences that they've used semicolons in. Provide supportive feedback for their choices.
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