LONDON -- Who doesn't love ending a sentence dramatically with an exclamation mark? The British government, it seems!
The Department of Education is clamping down on the use of exclamation marks by seven-year-olds in grammar exams this summer, The Sunday Times reports, because they're being overused in social media activity and text messages.
The Department told Mashable that a sentence taking the form of an exclamation starts with "What" or "How," for example: "What a good friend you are!" The Sunday Times reports that sentences using exclamation marks will be considered correct only in these instances. However, the Department does concede that the punctuation mark has "wider usage."
“A high-quality education in English -- and the ability to communicate effectively -- is an important part of the government’s commitment to extend opportunity to all," a spokesperson for the Department said, adding that students should learn how to use sentences with different forms such as a question, command or exclamation.
There's been concern raised that the move will force young people to write in what could be viewed as an old-fashioned style.
As someone on Twitter pointed out, even the Minister of State at the Department of Education, Nick Gibb, doesn't follow the advice.
Apparently the Schools Minister has told 7 year olds how to use exclamation marks. Let's see if he follows his rule. pic.twitter.com/M6426hc6KC— dan barker (@danbarker) March 6, 2016