Creative Writing Punctuation Cheatsheet

A clear, student-friendly punctuation cheat sheet designed to help primary school learners master commas, full stops, speech marks and more. Perfect for improving writing accuracy, exam confidence and everyday English skills — created by Grace Learning Academy.

✨ Punctuation	When do I use it?	✔ Example	⚠ Reminder
Full Stop ( . )	End a sentence	I went home.	Every sentence must end properly
Capital Letters	Start of sentence, names, places, I	Yesterday, I met Sarah.	Check for missing capitals
Comma ( , )	Lists, after openers, before names	After school, I ate snacks.	Do not join sentences
Question Mark ( ? )	Asking a question	Where are you going?	Only for questions
Exclamation Mark ( ! )	Strong feelings	Watch out!	Do not overuse
Speech Marks (“ ”)	When someone speaks	“I’m scared,” said Tom.	Must open & close
Comma in Speech ( , )	Before closing speech marks	“Help me,” she cried.	Easy to forget
Apostrophe ( ’ )	Short forms & belonging	don’t, Sarah’s bag	Not for plurals
Dash ( — )	Extra info or sudden thought	I froze — my heart pounding.	Use only if confident
Ellipsis ( … )	Pause or trailing off	“I thought I heard…”	Use sparingly