Tài liệu Beginning writing 1 part 5 pdf

DEVELOPING SENTENCES: AVOIDING AND CORRECTING FRAGMENTS I A fragment is a group of words that has been incorrectly punctuated as a complete sentence.. Rewrite the word group as two compl

DEVELOPING SENTENCES: AVOIDING AND CORRECTING FRAGMENTS I

A fragment is a group of words that has been incorrectly punctuated as a

complete sentence But a fragment is only part of a sentence

EXAMPLES: Hatch in the spring (no subject)

The colorful hummingbird (no verb) When the bird swoops and soars (incomplete thought)

A. Write C for complete or F for fragment beside each item below.

1 _ Each day hummingbirds drink twice

their weight in nectar

2 _ Fly to tropical climates for the winter

3 _ Attracted to the colorful flowers in

our yard

4 _ Did you know that hummingbirds

can be mean?

5 _ Weigh about as much as a nickel

6 _ The tiny birds regularly explore

new habitats

7 _ Some species migrate 500 miles

from their summer home

8 _ Lay eggs the size of a pea

B. What does each fragment need to become a complete sentence?

Circle subject or verb.

1 ( SUBJECT / VERB ) Attack each other like little dive bombers

2 ( SUBJECT / VERB ) Chicks in their nests on the tree branches

3 ( SUBJECT / VERB ) Feeds the chicks with her four-inch bill

4 ( SUBJECT / VERB ) Need to keep feeders out year around

5 ( SUBJECT / VERB ) Can best be seen hovering at dusk

CHALLENGE: On the back of this sheet, rewrite two fragments from Part B

as complete sentences Underline the subject and verb

DEVELOPING SENTENCES: AVOIDING AND CORRECTING FRAGMENTS II
Fragments are not complete thoughts Most fragments are

missing either a subject or a verb

A. Each item below contains a fragment Rearrange the

words (or change the punctuation) to make a complete

sentence You may need to add or remove some words.

1 Thinking she might miss the bus Jane hurried faster

2 She stumbled on the curb Also dropped her books

3 Got on the bus Jane saw her friend

4 When I travel by bus Can read or sleep

5 Jane pulled the buzzer As the bus approached her stop

B. Rewrite each fragment below to make a complete sentence

1 Boarded the tour bus carrying his heavy bags

2 Looking for an empty seat by the window

3 The woman sitting behind him snoring loudly

4 At the strange group of passengers getting off

5 Wondered why he liked riding buses so much

CHALLENGE: On the back of this sheet, write a complete sentence that asks

a question about public transportation Then write a complete sentence

that answers the question

DEVELOPING SENTENCES: RUN-ONS I

A run-on is two separate sentences incorrectly written as if they are

one Beware of this sentence error in your own writing!

EXAMPLES:

RUN-ON: The first moving pictures were in black and white

and had no sound, today’s films have come a long way

CORRECT: The first moving pictures were in black and white

and had no sound Today’s films have come a long way

A. Correct the following run-ons by writing separate

sentences The first one has been done for you

1 Willis O’Brien made a life-sized bust of King Kong it was a fearsome sight

2 The huge model was built of wood, wire, cloth, and metal it was covered with 40 bearskins

3 Audiences screamed as King Kong descended upon New York they

believed he was real!

B. A second way to correct a run-on is to use a comma and a conjunction

Correct these run-ons by adding a comma and one of these conjunctions:

and, or, for, but The first one has been done for you.

1 King Kong was mechanical modern monsters move by complex electronics

2 Models contain sensors the technicians activate them by remote control

3 The operators can make the model monster look sad they can make it look fierce

Willis O’Brien made a life-sized bust of King Kong.

It was a fearsome sight.

King Kong was mechanical, but modern monsters move by complex electronics.

DEVELOPING SENTENCES: RUN-ONS II

A. Read the following paragraphs Underline any run-ons you

find Hint: In all, you should underline four word groups

Bigfoot: Legend or Fact?

For over 150 years there have been sightings of

a mysterious creature known as Bigfoot Reports of

the ape-like beast come from around the world they

seem to come mainly from Pacific Northwest forests

According to observers, Bigfoot is 8 feet tall he appears

to weigh about 500 pounds “He looked like a large human

being in a gorilla suit,” one hiker explained Many people claim to

have spotted the creature itself others report seeing his giant footprints Researchers think Bigfoot travels at night His diet, they believe,

consists of plants, small deer, mice, and fish There has been, however,

no solid proof that Bigfoot exists Did people really see a bear were their eyes fooled by tree stumps or shadows? Was the sighting a prank? Is

Bigfoot a real being or just a legend?

B. Correct each run-on you underlined in Part A Rewrite the word group

as two complete sentences Do this by adding a capital letter and an

end mark or by adding a comma and a conjunction.

1

2

3

4

CHALLENGE: On the back of this sheet, write a paragraph describing a strange creature It can be a creature you’ve read about, seen in a movie, or merely imagined Check your writing and correct any run-on sentences

DEVELOPING SENTENCES: PARALLEL ELEMENTS

If your shoes don’t match, people might think you’d made a mistake

Just as shoes should match, elements, or parts, of a sentence should

match They should be parallel in form

EXAMPLES:

NONPARALLEL FORM (mismatched sentence parts): At work I like helping

customers, designing stock displays, and to solve problems

PARALLEL FORM (parts match in form): At work I like helping customers,

designing stock displays, and solving problems

OR: At my job I like to help customers, design stock displays, and solve problems

A. Each of the following sentences ends with a group of similar ideas

One idea in each group is expressed in a form that does not match

the others Underline the idea whose form doesn’t match The first

one has been done for you

1 Karen thinks her friend Angie is (honest), (loyal), and

(a humorous person)

2 The new puppy began its life in our house by (chewing the table legs), (he barked all night), and (jumping on the furniture)

3 While the cat is away the mice will (play), (eat), and (be making a mess)

4 The students agree that their school should (be offering art classes),

(build a new gym), and (improve lunches)

B. Correct the following sentences by writing the similar parts in parallel forms

1 The cat scratched the burglar, and he was bitten by the dog

2 Great music and how good the decorations looked made the party a hit

CHALLENGE: Answer the following questions on the back of this sheet

Express the elements of your sentences in parallel form

1 What are three of the best (or worst) ways to spend a Saturday?

2 What are four qualities you look for in a friend?

DEVELOPING SENTENCES: INVERTED SENTENCES

In an inverted sentence, the verb comes before the subject When you write

an inverted sentence, you must be clear about whether the subject is

singular or plural Remember that the subject and verb must agree

EXAMPLES: On the grass were piles of leaves (Correct)

On the grass was piles of leaves (Incorrect)

A. Circle the verb that correctly completes each sentence

1 Enclosed ( is / are ) the directions to my house

2 On the corner ( are / is ) a large supermarket

3 Across the street ( is / are ) some apartment houses

Some inverted sentences begin with an adverb such as what, why, where,

here, or there These adverbs are not the subject The subject is a noun or

pronoun that appears later in the sentence

B. Underline the subject in each sentence

1 Why don’t you go trick or treating on Halloween?

2 There are many reasons for staying at home

3 Where is the bag of candy you bought?

4 Here comes another big group of children

C. Circle the verb that correctly completes each inverted sentence

1 From our house ( come / comes ) eerie sounds to scare people

2 There ( is / are ) the biggest pumpkins I’ve ever seen

3 Why ( do / does ) some holidays seem more fun than others?

CHALLENGE: Write three inverted sentences on the back of this sheet

Begin the first sentence with the word why In the second sentence,

use a singular subject and verb In the third sentence, use a plural

subject and verb

DEVELOPING SENTENCES: ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS
Authors usually write in the active voice That means the subject of the

sentence performs an action When the action is done to the subject, the

verb is in the passive voice

EXAMPLES: The animal trainer used a special collar to control the cheetah (active)

A special collar was used by the animal trainer

to control the cheetah (passive) Active verbs carry a stronger, clearer message Try

to write most of your sentences in the active voice

Each sentence below has a passive verb

Rewrite the sentences, using an active verb

1 April 8, 1974, will never be forgotten by baseball fans

2 That night baseball history was made by Hank Aaron

3 Until then, the major league home run record had been held by Babe Ruth

4 The sign for a fast ball was given by the catcher

5 The ball was smacked hard by the mighty Aaron!

6 The fence was cleared by the ball!

7 A major moment in baseball history had just been witnessed!

CHALLENGE: Improve the following paragraph by using active-voice verbs

Rewrite the paragraph on the back of this sheet

Many strong earthquakes have been suffered by Mexico In 1985,

Mexico City was rocked by violent earth movements Nearly ten thousand people were killed by the quake Even more homes and lives were taken

by fires after the earthquake It is, however, a fact well-known by all

Mexicans that another big one could hit at any time.

LAUGH OUT LOUD! MALAPROPISMS (LUDICROUS MISUSE OF WORDS)

As you read the following passage, notice the words written in italics

All of these words have been misused, and some might just make you

laugh out loud! Draw a line through each word error Then find the

correct word in the word box and write it above the crossed-out word

Context clues and the sound of the word can help you

accuse conceal crumbling evidence hovel figment private condominium hesitation ideal

revolver satchel suspected detective

THE CONDO CAPER

Primate eye Mickey Malloy respected that Bosco

was the killer Malloy could not, however, abuse Bosco until he had some hard eminence Malloy went to Bosco’s pandemonium—a miserable shovel He noticed

the plaster bumbling from the walls and thought, “These

cracks are an idle place to congeal a murder weapon!”

Without a moment’s hibernation, Malloy began ripping

away at the wall Sure enough, there was the weapon—a

pearl-handled revolter Malloy pulled the gun from its hiding

place and put it in his sandal.

Suddenly, there was a sound at the door Malloy froze

Could it be Bosco? Had the defective really heard something,

or was it just a pigment of his imagination?

CHALLENGE: Read the corrected paragraph one more time Then use your

imagination to describe what comes through that condominium door! Try

to involve at least two senses (sight, smell, etc.) in your description, and

watch your word choices! Write your paragraph on the back of this sheet

DEVELOPING SENTENCES: REVIEW

fragment run-on non-parallel structure passive voice

A. To complete the puzzle, match the clues with the words in the box above

1 –

2 –

3

4

S E N T E N C E

CLUES:

1 when parts of a

sentence do not

match in form

shook, rumbled, and

was steaming before

the eruption.

2 two complete sentences

that are incorrectly

written and punctuated

as if they were one

sentence

EXAMPLE: The people left

the town they moved

inland to safety.

3 a word group that is incorrectly written and punctuated as a complete sentence

the mountain.

4 when the action of the sentence is done

to the subject rather than by the subject

the TV and radio stations.

B. Each item below has a writing problem Find the type of problem

listed in the box at the top of this sheet Write the problem before the

sentence Then improve the item by rewriting it on the back of this

sheet The first one has been done for you

PROBLEM

1 _ Most of North America was covered by sheets of ice

2 _ Moving ice fields, known as glaciers

3 _ Glaciers picked up rocks, carried them hundreds of

miles, and were carving out valleys and lakes

4 _ The climate of Earth warmed the glaciers melted

Sheets of ice covered most of North America passive voice

DEVELOPING PARAGRAPHS: STATING THE MAIN IDEA
The first sentence in a paragraph often states the main idea We call this the

topic sentence All the details in the paragraph relate to the main idea

A. Underline the topic sentence that states the main idea of this paragraph

The ancient Maya had some unusual ideas about beauty They thought that sloping foreheads were lovely, so they strapped cradle boards against

a baby’s forehead Pressure from the boards molded the infant’s soft skull bones almost to a point The Maya also found crossed eyes attractive.

They would hang a bead from a lock of hair between a child’s eyes As a child focused on the dangling bead, its eyes would cross.

B. Read each list of details Then circle the letter of the sentence that best

states the main idea

1 Details:

• Benito Pablo Juarez was born

in 1806.

• He came from a poor family and

worked hard to get an education.

• Juarez became the president of Mexico in 1861 and again in 1867.

• He once said, “Let the people and government respect the rights of all!”

Main idea:

a Benito Pablo Juarez was one of Mexico’s greatest leaders

b Education is important for success

c Mexico has had many great leaders

2 Details:

• When we began our garage sale at 9:00 A M ,

customers were lined up and waiting.

• By noon, all the biggest items had been

sold.

• We sold some things for more than our asking price.

• By evening, we were exhausted, but $600.00 richer!

Main idea:

a There are many different ways to raise money

b Our garage sale was a huge success

c There are many good ways to spend $600.00

CHALLENGE: The paragraph below is lacking a topic sentence On the back of this sheet, write a topic sentence that states the paragraph’s main idea

Lola does her chores cheerfully She has something good to say

about everybody—even our grouchy boss at Burger World A smile

constantly lights her face.