Beginning writing 1 part 10

USE COMMAS TO: • SET OFF WORDS THAT INTERRUPT AND ARE NOT NECESSARY TO THE SENTENCE • SET OFF NOUNS OF ADDRESS • SEPARATE ITEMS IN A SERIES • SET OFF A GROUP OF WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ANOTH

EXAMPLE:

The magician, believe it or not, made the woman disappear.

Ladies and gentlemen, I will pull a rabbit from this hat! The audience whistled, clapped, and shouted.

Wizardo, the talented magician, had amazed the crowd again!

USE COMMAS TO:

• SET OFF WORDS THAT INTERRUPT AND

ARE NOT NECESSARY TO THE SENTENCE

• SET OFF NOUNS OF ADDRESS

• SEPARATE ITEMS IN A SERIES

• SET OFF A GROUP OF WORDS THAT

DESCRIBE ANOTHER WORD

CHECKING YOUR WRITING: COMMAS I

The chart below describes four uses for commas Study the chart before

completing the activities

A. Add commas to each sentence where they are needed

1 A one-horned rhinoceros a ten-foot lizard and a

miniature buffalo all live in the jungles of Indonesia

2 The orangutan an ape with reddish-orange

hair also makes its home in Indonesia

3 Professor Durand can you explain why the

orangutan is called “man of the jungle”?

4 Orangutans are if you can picture this about the size of humans

B. Follow the instructions to write four original sentences Refer to the

chart at the top of the page for help with comma usage

1 Write a sentence about three things you like to do on weekends

Name three items in a series

2 Write a sentence stating your opinion about something At some point, interrupt the sentence with the words “if you ask my opinion.”

3 Write about someone you admire Write a sentence in which a group

of words describes or tells more about the person

4 Write a sentence directed at a member of your family At the beginning

of the sentence, attract the person’s attention by using his or her name

CHECKING YOUR WRITING: COMMAS II

A comma tells the reader to pause As you can see in the examples, commas

are used for clarity—to prevent misreading and confusion

A. Each of the following sentences needs at least one comma for clarity

Add necessary commas to help prevent misreading

1 Because they are big football players usually eat a lot

2 At our school assemblies are held in the gym

3 The committee was made up of the following four students:

Carol Sue Carlos Molly and Ruth

4 For those who love chocolate chocolate cake is the perfect dessert

5 The five stars of the play were Peggy Anthony Mary Jo and Sam

6 Rather than red orange is my favorite color

7 Instead of Michael Jordan received the award

8 While Brenda was climbing down the ladder slipped

9 Recognizing the man as his uncle Joseph shouted a welcome

B. Here’s a punctuation puzzle! It will demonstrate how important it can

be to pause in the correct places Add commas and end marks to make

sense out of the following words Rewrite the item on the line Turn

this sheet upside down to find the correct answer

That that is is that that is not is not is that not it it is!

_

CHALLENGE: Review comma usage by writing the following on the back of this sheet:

1 an address, including street number, city, and state

2 a sentence naming four good friends

3 a sentence telling three places you’d like to visit

4 a sentence using the phrase “in my opinion” about a school policy

Of those twenty five will be chosen as winners.

Of those twenty, five will be chosen as winners.

Betty Lou Thomas Mary and Jackson were among the winners Betty Lou, Thomas, Mary, and Jackson were among the winners Betty, Lou, Thomas, Mary, and Jackson were among the winners.

EXAMPLES:

• CONFUSING :

COMMA ADDS CLARITY :

• CONFUSING :

COMMAS ADD CLARITY :

OR :

A NSWER TO P ART B:

That that is

, is That that is not, is not.

Is that not it? It is!

CHECKING YOUR WRITING: PUNCTUATING QUOTATIONS I

The exact words someone says are a direct quotation Quotation marks are

used at both the beginning and end of a direct quotation A comma or an end

mark belongs inside the closing quotation marks

EXAMPLES: “I hate snakes!” exclaimed Christina

“Most snakes are quite harmless,” Waldo assured her

A. Put a checkmark (✓) beside each sentence that contains a direct quotation

1 _ “More than 80 percent of all snakes

are harmless,” Waldo explained

2 _ Waldo said it was silly to fear all snakes

3 _ “Snakes are slimy!” Christina insisted

4 _ “On the contrary,” argued Waldo,

“snakes have a dry skin.”

B. Circle a letter to show the correctly punctuated sentence

1 a Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “a little rebellion is a good thing

b Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “A little rebellion is a good thing.”

2 a “Genius,” explained Thomas Edison, “is one percent inspiration

and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

b Genius explained Thomas Edison, “is one percent inspiration

and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

3 a Abraham Lincoln declared that the ballot is stronger than

the bullet

b Abraham Lincoln declared, “that the ballot is stronger than

the bullet.”

4 a There never was a good war or a bad peace, “Ben Franklin

wisely said.”

b “There never was a good war or a bad peace,” Ben Franklin

wisely said

CHALLENGE: Rewrite the following sentences on the back of this sheet

Be sure to add the missing quotation marks!

1 Remember that time is money, Benjamin Franklin advised

2 In this world, wrote Franklin, nothing is certain except death and taxes

CHECKING YOUR WRITING: PUNCTUATING QUOTATIONS II

Writers often use dialogue to reveal a character’s personality Remember these punctuation rules when you write direct quotations:

•Use a comma to separate a direct

quotation from the rest of the sentence.

•When a direct quotation is interrupted,

do not begin the second part with a

capital letter unless it is a new sentence

or a proper noun.

•When a quotation is a question or exclamation, place the question mark or exclamation point inside the quotation marks.

•Begin a new paragraph when the speaker changes.

The following selection is a dialogue—a conversation between two

characters The writer, however, has left out the quotation marks!

Add quotation marks where they are needed

Bosco studied the weird machine He read the strange sign Enter here to travel through time, the words said All tickets ten dollars.

Would you like to buy a ticket? asked a little round man in a blue suit You can go forward, backward, or any-which-way!

Bosco was fascinated How can I pass up this opportunity? he whispered He pulled out

a ten-dollar bill.

All aboard, shouted the little man Quickly now Quickly now!

Bosco climbed three metal stairs and passed through a swinging gate.

He heard a lock click behind him Suddenly he felt nervous.

I’ve changed my mind, he called out.

Too late! said the little man Have a good journey.

The strange contraption shook and groaned as it hurled Bosco into the future.

CHALLENGE: On the back of this sheet, write a dialogue about a trip into

the past The conversation should be between a character from today’s

world and a famous historical figure from the past Make sure you

correctly punctuate all direct quotations

CHECKING YOUR WRITING: UNNECESSARY REPETITION

Sometimes inexperienced writers feel that the more they write,

the more they say That is not always the case Good writers

avoid using unnecessary words and repeating thoughts

A. Underline the word or words that can be eliminated

from each phrase The first one has been done for you

1 the year of 1952 3 hurried quickly 5 victorious winners

2 a frown on his face 4 square shape 6 round circles

B. Remove the repetitious words and phrases from these sentences Get

right to the point! Write the shorter, improved sentences on the lines

The first one has been done for you (Hint: There may be more than

one way to improve the sentence )

1 Ten years from now I would like to be working at my future occupation

in the field of medicine and doctoring

2 Doctors help and assist their patients by treating illnesses and diseases

3 When I once had trouble walking one time, I quickly hurried right

away to a doctor

4 Tests showed indications that I needed to have a surgical knee operation

CHALLENGE: Improve this paragraph by removing unnecessary words and

phrases Write the improved version on the back of this sheet

think is, in my opinion, an exciting novel packed with thrills It is the story

of the canine Buck, a dog who shows bravery and courage in the face of dangerous perils Buck is stolen from his home in warm, sunny California.

He is shipped to the northern Yukon and sold for money as a sled dog.

Buck has to be tough to survive and stay alive, but in addition, he also

learns lessons about the real, true meaning of loyalty and faithfulness.

Ten years from now , I would like to be a doctor.

CHECKING YOUR WRITING: DOUBLE NEGATIVES

Words like not, never, none, neither, nothing, nobody, nowhere, and no are

called negatives They all say “no.” Did you notice that every one of these

words begins with the letter n? The words hardly and scarcely are also

negative words When writers use two negatives to express one meaning,

they are making a writing error called a double negative

EXAMPLES:

– OR – The teacher told us nothing about the history test

A. Circle the word that correctly completes each negative statement

Be careful to avoid a double negative! (Hint: It may help to read

the sentence aloud.)

1 Some people say you can’t ( ever / never ) teach an old dog new tricks

2 In scarcely ( any / no ) time at all, I taught old Rex to sit and lay

3 Hardly ( anybody / nobody ) believes Rex is smart

4 They think he sits and lays because he

hasn’t ( any / no ) pep!

5 It makes ( any / no ) difference to me

6 Rex may not ( ever / never) be the smartest

dog in the world, but I think he’s the greatest!

B. Put a checkmark (✓) by each sentence that contains a

double negative (You should check three sentences as incorrect.)

1 _ Hardly no one volunteered for the cleanup committee

2 _ Doesn’t anybody understand the importance of the job?

3 _ If we leave a mess, we cannot never hold a party again

4 _ Without no volunteer workers, the party will be canceled

CHALLENGE: On the back of this sheet, rewrite the sentences you checked

as incorrect in Part B Be sure to eliminate the double negatives

CHECKING YOUR WRITING: PROOFREADER’S MARKS

When checking any written work, you can use standard proofreading marks

to point out errors The marks show corrections and improvements to be

made in the final draft

The following chart shows some commonly used proofreader’s marks

A. Proofread the following proverbs Use standard proofreading marks to

make corrections in punctuation and spelling You should find three

errors in each proverb The first one has been done for you

1 half a loaf is beter than none

2 You can lead a hors to water but you cant make it drink

3 Evry cloud has a Silver lining

4 Dont bit the hand that feeds yuo

5 Theres more than one way too skin a Cat

B. Rewrite each proverb in Part A, correcting the errors you marked

1

2

3

4

5

CHALLENGE: On the back of this sheet, write a paragraph explaining what

one of the proverbs means Try to give an example from your personal

experience When you finish your paragraph, exchange papers and

proofread a classmate’s paragraph Use standard proofreader’s marks

to mark errors

t

MARK MEANING

Insert a comma.

Insert a period.

Insert an apostrophe Insert a quotation mark.

Start a new paragraph.

MARK MEANING

Delete (Remove word, letter, or punctuation mark.)

Insert (Add a word, letter, or punctuation mark.)

Transpose (Reverse the order of two letters or words.)

Uppercase (Change to a capital letter.) Lowercase (Change to a small letter.)

LAUGH OUT LOUD! MISSPELLED WORDS

A. Misspelled words can sometimes make a reader laugh out loud

Find the spelling error in each item Draw a neat line through the

misspelled word Then rewrite the word correctly above the error

1 Misspellings are nothing to laff about!

2 I recently recieved an award for spelling teacher of the year

3 Typist for hire Acurrate manuscripts quickly prepared.

4 Editors and proff readers wanted.

5 Applicants must have excellent spelling and grammer skills.

6 Monica proudly showed her friends her five-carrot engagement ring

7 Flooding may be prevented by putting big dames in the river

8 Sailors were warned of shallow water by bobbing red and white boys

B. Punctuation errors can create a silly sentence! Circle the sentence in

each pair that is the most sensible

1 a There’s something wrong with the telephone’s mother

b There’s something wrong with the telephones, Mother

2 a Stop eating boys because the restaurant is closing

b Stop eating, boys, because the restaurant is closing

3 a Wait until you hear what happened

to my brother, Alice

b Wait until you hear what happened

to my brother Alice

4 a Shake hands with my dog Fido

b Shake hands with my dog, Fido

5 a Richard Sue is ready to leave

b Richard, Sue is ready to leave

The chief of the Norse gods was Odin.

CHECKING YOUR WRITING: REVIEW

A. Find one error in each sentence Put a checkmark (✓)

above the error and rewrite the sentence correctly (Hint:

The type of error is given in parentheses at the end

of each sentence.) The first one has been done for you

1 The chief of the norse gods was Odin (capitalization error)

2 Odin wanted to be wise and smart as well as strong (redundancy error)

3 “I will drink from the Well of Wisdom, Odin said (quotation mark error)

4 “The water is not never free,” said the guardian of the well (double negative)

5 The price of a drink was very high and costly (redundancy error)

6 “You must give me one of your eyes Odin,” said the guardian (comma error)

7 Odin gained wisdom the ability to see the future and the respect

of all the gods (comma error)

B. Correctly rewrite the following sentences on the back of this sheet

Make the revisions that the proofreader has indicated

1 Shaniko is a ghost town in the high dessert of oregon

2 Its called a ghost town, because most of the people are gone and the buildings are abandoned

3 In the early 1900s shaniko was a boom town a bustling railroad hub

4 A sign on the the road into Pressent-day Shaniko reads Population 30

5 some visitors say “they hear ghostly laughter in the schoolyard.”

✓

IMPROVING YOUR WRITING: SENTENCE VARIETY I: Varying Sentence Beginnings

One way to make paragraphs more interesting is by beginning sentences

with different parts of speech Compare the following examples:

The rope broke in the violent storm The boat drifted

rapidly from the shore The boy yelled for help.

Did you notice that every sentence begins with the same word?

In the violent storm, the rope broke Rapidly, the boat

drifted from the shore The boy yelled for help.

In this version, sentence beginnings vary The first

sentence begins with a prepositional phrase The

second sentence begins with an adverb

Underline the first word in each sentence Then

write that word’s part of speech on the line The

first one has been done for you

1 _ At the turn of the century, in

1900, Louis Armstrong was born

2 _ From the time he was a child, Louis loved music

3 _ Snapping his fingers to the beat, he’d stand outside

nightclubs and listen to jazz

4 _ In the streets of New Orleans, Louis Armstrong

got his musical education

5 _ Amazingly, the poor boy from Perdido Street became

the greatest trumpet player who ever lived

6 _ Around the world, people called Louis Armstrong

the king of jazz!

CHALLENGE: Notice that the sentences in the paragraph below all begin

with the same word On the back of this sheet, rewrite the paragraph

so that each sentence begins with a different word

The singer named Woody Guthrie wandered the country for much of

his life The songs he wrote told the story of America The times were hard

in Woody’s day The Great Depression had created hungry families and

jobless men The songs Woody wrote echoed the hardships he saw The

preposition