Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
SECTION I
Instructors Manual
to Accompany
JUMPSTART: A Sentence-toParagraph Worktext with
Readings
Recharge sections highlight the main points of the chapter for easy review.
End of Unit Feature
PowerUp consists of cumulative exercises that ask students to analyze the structure and
grammar of textbook passages, as well as the content, and to write a response to what they
have read.
The Exercises
A wide variety of exercises formats (one-third of all exercises are new to this edition) give
students a range of practice and keep them interested. Exercise formats include whole
discourse, continuous discourse, sentence combining, collaborative activities, and mix-oferror activities.
Exercises adapted from biology, art, education, speech, psychology, sociology, business,
music, childcare, medical assisting, communications, history, and political science textbooks
expose students to important academic content across the disciplines and help them become
more comfortable with college-level language, information, and ideas.
A new appendix includes eight multi-paragraph exercises with a mix of errors so students can
practice editing the way they should edit their own writing for more than one kind of
mistake.
Chapter review exercises appear at the end of every chapter.
Unit review exercises focusing on multiple skills appear at the end of every unit.
Group activities are offered for collaborative learning experiences.
The Readings
The twelve selections, including 7 new essays, address a range of themes by diverse authors
including Maya Angelou, Sandra Cisneros, and Amy Tan.
Chapter 30: Reading and Writing in Response to Reading includes an expanded introduction
to reading which explains the importance of reading, the connection between reading and
writing, and the reading process. It also includes instruction on how students can use context
clues to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary.
A sample marked essay in Chapter 30 illustrates the active reading process.
On Writing marginalia point out previously studied grammar, usage, or rhetorical features in
each selection.
New post-reading questions focus on critical thinking and students reading processes as well
as on reading comprehension.
Responses to each reading are framed in a Getting in Gear writing assignment that includes a
visual, weblink, and strategies for completing the assignment.
The Appendices
Appendix I provides an overview of the parts of speech.
Appendix II provides a review of word parts.
Sample Syllabus
A syllabus is a highly effective instrument that can be used by both students and teachers alike to
provide organization and direction for a writing course. To be most effective, however, a syllabus
should be a flexible and general guide rather than a carved in stone agenda for addressing the
objectives of the course. Of course, it is the nature of basic writing classes to run out of term
before running out of instructional opportunities, so remember to approach the following sample
syllabus as a guide and adjust it as necessary to fit your classroom needs.
The sample syllabus is intended to encourage the flexible use of Jumpstart: A Sentence-toParagraph Worktext with Readings while maintaining a logical order for the presentation of
course objectives. Its purpose is to provide support to those who perhaps are teaching basic
writing skills for the first time and to suggest alternative course directions for more experienced
teachers.
The syllabus is designed for a sixteen-week semester and is based on the fundamental
pedagogical principles of sentence-level skill instruction and practice coupled with whole
discourse activities.
Objective
Diagnosis of Student Skill Levels
Becoming a Better Writer
Drafting a Paragraph
Language Skills Evaluation
Writing Practice
Activity
Comprehensive Diagnostic Test
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter Tests
Writing Activity
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter Tests, Review Test Part One
Reading Selection
Writing Activity
Chapter 8
Progress Check
Using the Present Tense/Subject
Verb Agreement
Using the Past Tense
Language Skills Evaluation
Reading Skills
Writing Practice
Student Conferences
Chapter 9
Chapter Tests, Review Test Part Two
Writing Activity
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter Tests
Reading Selection
Writing Activity
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter Tests, Review Test Part Three
Writing Activity
Using Pronouns
Chapter 15
Achieving Pronoun Antecedent Agreement
Chapter 16
Language Skills Evaluation
Chapter Tests
Reading Skills
Reading Selection
Writing Practice
Writing Activity
Chapter 17
Chapter Tests, Review Test Part Four
6
Week
Objective
Activity
Reading Skills
Writing Practice
Reading Selection
Writing Activity
Progress Check
Using Adjectives and Adverbs
Using Participles and Infinitives to Describe
Using Prepositions
Language Skills Evaluation
10
Achieving Parallelism
Chapter 21
Solving Special Sentence Structure Problems
Chapter 22
Varying Sentence Openers
Chapter 23
Language Skills Evaluation
Chapter Tests, Review Test Part Six
Reading Skills
Reading Selection
Writing Practice
Writing Activity
11
Spelling Correctly
Chapter 24
Using Frequently Confused Words Correctly
Chapter 25
Language Skills Evaluation
Chapter Tests, Review Test Part Seven
Reading Skills
Reading Selection
Writing Practice
Writing Activity
12
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter Tests
Reading Selection
Writing Activity
13
Using Apostrophes
Punctuating Quotations
Language Skills Evaluation
Reading Skills
Writing Practice
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter Tests, Review Test Part Eight
Reading Selection
Writing Activity
14
Progress Check
Portfolio Presentations to the Class
Student Conferences
Presentations
15
Exam Preparation
Comprehensive Review
16
Final Examination
Final Exam
Student Conferences
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter Tests, Review Test Part Five
break from a draft before revising, that revision on a piece of writing should happen more than
once, and that it is helpful to get feedback from objective readers on drafts.
It is helpful to teach students how to make positive but substantive comments on others writing
so they can practice revising with one another in a meaningful way. Students also need to learn
that revision is different from editing (focuses on content, organization and wording) and should
be completed before editing (focuses on mechanics). Many students confuse editing with
revision and lose the benefit of engaging in both processes before doing a final proofread on their
writing.
Chapter 4: Writing an Essay
Although many students may try to pack too much into a paragraph, they are also apt to be
overwhelmed by the thought of writing an essay. You can give them the guidelines they need by
emphasizing the five-paragraph essay format. In the beginning, they will likely find reassurance
in having a structure within which to fit their point. By allowing them to follow a prescribed
format in the beginning, you also allow them to build the confidence necessary to branch out on
their own later and let their point mold their structure.
The most effective means of teaching essay writing is to read good essays. Part Nine of
Jumpstart contains excellent examples of essay writing. As you move through the reading
selections, encourage students to read actively and to look for the components good essay
writing. Point out the basic structure of introduction, body, and conclusion in the reading
selections, and indicate how the writers have worked within but expanded that structure to
communicate their ideas. Essay writing provides a good context for practicing the writing
process.
Chapter 5: Identifying Subjects and Verbs
When discussing simple sentences, you may find that many of your students mistakenly believe
that a simple sentence is a short sentence. A fun way to deal with this problem and to reinforce
the parts of the simple sentence is to put a two-word sentence such as I drove on the board and,
through class participation, continue to add to the sentence until it is quite lengthyand
probably quite humorous. Of course, some students may call out additions that would cause the
sentence to be compound or complex, but you can use those responses to reinforce the parts of
the simple sentence by looking at ways to modify the responses to keep the sentence simple.
Those responses are particularly helpful not only in studying the simple sentence but also in
moving on to discuss compound and complex sentences and sentence variety.
Chapter 6: Eliminating Sentence Fragments
It is not unusual for students to quickly recognize sentence fragments in other peoples writing
while continuing to create fragments in their own. Therefore, testing students through error
identification exercises addresses only one of the goals of this chapter. While error identification
exercises reinforce the components of a complete sentence, it is essential also to incorporate
practice in finding and eliminating fragments through student writing activities.
One problem that may arise as you discuss sentence fragments is that your students are
accustomed to hearing fragments used in conversation. Since we often hear fragments without
11
recognizing that they are incorrect, remind your students that reading aloud is not a good way to
identify fragments in their writing.
Students may also be accustomed to seeing fragments used (sometimes effectively) in
advertising, magazine articles, and best-selling books. Explaining exceptions to the rule can be
challenging, but one way to approach occasional and purposeful rule-breaking is to compare
proficiency in language to proficiency in a sport. For example, you must learn to hit a golf ball
straight up the fairway before you can purposely and effectively slice it to the right. Of course, if
you hit it to the right as a mistake, you may very well end up in the woods or in the lakenot an
error you want to make.
Chapter 7: Improving Sentences with Coordination
Basic writing students need to be encouraged to use a variety of sentence patterns in their
writing. As a result of their hesitancy to do so, they often end up with writing that sounds choppy
and immature. Although you certainly want to recommend that students look for two or more
short sentences in a row that they might want to make into one longer sentence through
coordination, you may also want to remind students of the importance of building sentences
according to the meaning they want to convey.
Perhaps one reason that students are hesitant to use coordination is that they fear longer
sentences give them more opportunities for mistakes, particularly in punctuation. While teaching
coordination, you may want to refer students to the chapter on comma usage, Chapter 27.
Chapter 8: Improving Sentences with Subordination
One question that students may have when revising sentences using subordination is, How do I
know which idea to subordinate because it is less important? When the question does arise, it
offers an excellent opportunity to reiterate the individual writers ability to create meaning
through sentence structure.
Once again, students may be hesitant to employ subordination due to punctuation fears. You may
want to refer to the chapter on commas. Be sure to remind students that if the dependent clause
comes before the independent clause, a comma is needed after it, but if the dependent clause
comes after the independent clause, no comma is needed. Usually an example using the same
clauses works best, such as:
Because it was raining, I carried my umbrella.
I carried my umbrella because it was raining.
It is also a good idea to use an example such as this one using the word because since many
students often mistake because for a coordinating conjunction and put a comma in front of it.
Another subordinating conjunction students frequently try to use as a coordinating conjunction is
however.
Chapter 9: Eliminating Run-On Sentences and Comma Splices
One of the most frequently occurring errors in students writing is the comma splice. In fact,
students often create comma splices by trying to avoid short sentences that they mistakenly
12
assume will be fragments. The problem gets worse when students create run-on sentences by
trying to avoid comma splices.
As is true with fragments, students are more apt to recognize comma spices and run-on sentences
in other peoples writing than in their own. Therefore, basic writing students need to deal with
these errors through whole discourse exercises as well as through error identification exercises.
In addition, be sure to advise students that however is not a coordinating conjunction and cannot
be used to join two independent clauses; to do so will result in a comma splice.
Chapter 10: Using the Present Tense/Subject-Verb Agreement
Although it is true that verbs, verb tense, and subject-verb agreement cause many students a
great deal of difficulty, most students readily recognize present tense verbs. For that reason, the
more difficult problem of subject-verb agreement is best handled along with a discussion of
present tense verbs so that students can deal with what is often a difficult issue in conjunction
with a simpler concept.
It is helpful to remind students who tend to confuse singular and plural verb forms that while
nouns usually add an s to form the plural, regular verbs form the singular with an s. Given that,
however, you may find that your students have more difficulty with singular and plural forms of
to be, to have, and to do, often because of regular misuse in their conversational language.
Therefore, it is important to remind students that they cannot always depend on what sounds
right to them when selecting singular and plural verbs
Chapter 11: Using the Past Tense
Basic writing students tend to shift from the past tense to the present, particularly when narrating
events in writing. Remind students that the first verb in a sentence and in a paragraph usually
establishes the tense of subsequent verbs unless the time of the action actually changes.
Much of the difficulty with the past tense arises from the use of irregular verbs. You may find it
helpful to have students make a list of the verb forms they regularly misuse, much like a list of
frequently misspelled words, to refer to often when writing.
Chapter 12: Using the Perfect Tenses and the Active and Passive Voice
It is helpful to begin a discussion of the perfect tenses with a discussion of the past participle. As
with the past tense, you may find it helpful to have students make a list of the past participle
irregular verb forms they regularly misuse to refer to as they write. The perfect tenses tend to
give basic writing students some degree of difficulty in terms of determining when an action
takes place. Examples that remain basically the same in content but take place in different times
are most helpful for showing students the uses of the perfect tenses.
Present Perfect:
Past Perfect:
Teaching active and passive voice can be tricky. Often, basic writers believe passive voice
structures sound more complex and sophisticated and tend to sprinkle their writing with such
structures. The result is, unfortunately, a stilted and unnatural style. Remind students that active
13
voice is typically the most clear and natural structure, and encourage them to strive for the
majority of their sentences to be in the active voice.
Chapter 13: Using the Progressive Tenses
Just as an understanding of the past participle is essential to dealing with the perfect tenses, the
present participle is essential to the progressive tenses. However, students tend to have an easier
time with the concept of progressive tenses than with the perfect tenses because of the -ing
identifier. Even so, you may find it necessary to use a number of examples to help students see
the differences in the time of the action in present progressive and past progressive verb forms.
Once again, examples that remain basically the same in content but take place in different times
are most helpful for showing students the uses of these tense forms.
Present Progressive: Juan is writing his paper.
Past Progressive:
Juan was writing his paper.
Chapter 14: Eliminating Inappropriate Tense Shifts
Tense shifts are common errors in students writing, and special care needs to be paid to Chapter
14 to help students identify when and why they are likely to make these mistakes. Most typically,
students shift back and forth between past and present tense, especially when the action should
be expressed almost exclusively in the past tense.
You may find it helpful to encourage students to read their writing aloud to identify tense shift
errors since they are more likely to hear problem shifts than to see them. In addition, sometimes
students get too good at recognizing shifts and place every action in the same tense. You will
need to remind students that sometimes shifts in tense between sentences and even within
sentences are called for to indicate changes of time.
Chapter 15: Using Pronouns
To help students understand how pronouns can be used as subjects and objects, you may want to
review the discussion of the subject in Chapter 5 You may also find it helpful to refer to the
discussion of prepositions and their objects in Chapter 20. You may find that students have the
most difficulty with these forms of pronouns when choosing subject and object pronouns in
compounds. It is helpful to remind them to check their usage by isolating the pronoun to see if it
makes sense alone. Another area of difficulty arises with choosing subject and object pronouns in
comparisons, so you will want to remind them to check their usage by mentally adding implied
but unstated words.
Chapter 16: Achieving Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Like subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement is a problem area for many basic
writing students. The problem, in part, arises from the regular misuse of pronoun number in
conversational English, especially in the use of they for a singular antecedent. Students need only
to listen to the radio or watch television, even news shows, for a few minutes to hear the pronoun
they used several times to refer to one person.
14
Because the overuse of the singular he or she is awkward, you may want to encourage your
students to change antecedents that would require the repeated use of the singular pronoun he or
she to plural antecedents requiring the smoother sounding they.
Students can also be reminded to look at other factors within their sentences to determine
singular or plural pronoun usage. For example, if the subject and verb are plural, it is likely that
the pronoun will be plural as well. Many students, in fact, benefit from a review of subject-verb
agreement when studying pronoun-antecedent agreement, so you may want to go back to
Chapter 10 to look at agreement. In addition, identification exercises in paragraph form requiring
students to choose correct subject-verb agreement as well as pronoun-antecedent agreement can
be most helpful here.
Chapter 17: Eliminating Other Pronoun Errors
Person shifts are common problems for basic writers, particularly shifts to you and your when the
reader is not being addressed directly. You may want to try having students read their writing
aloud to a partner, with the partner paying special attention to determining whether the writing is
addressing him or her in particular or an audience in general. If, in fact, the writer uses you or
your when the audience is actually general, the partner will be quick to point out the shift.
Another typical problem involves unclear reference in pronoun use. Again, putting writers with a
partner to read their writing aloud is effective here. Unclear references typically occur because
the writer knows what he or she means, but the audience has no way of knowing without reading
the writers mind. The partner will again be quick to point out the area of confusion, and this is a
perfect opportunity to reinforce the writers responsibility to say what he or she means and not
leave it to the audience to try to figure it out.
Chapter 18: Using Adjectives and Adverbs
Collaborative paragraph work can be an effective exercise in helping students to see the power of
adjectives and adverbs. For example, you may want to try composing a simple paragraph
containing no modifiers, distributing copies of it to groups of students, and asking them to add
appropriate adjectives and adverbs to it.
A collaborative effort can also be effective in teaching the
modifiers. Ask groups of students to work together to write
and contrast two simple things, such as two foods, two
automobiles. They will find that they must work carefully
superlative forms of their modifiers.
15
When using participles and infinitives to describe, students often inadvertently create dangling
modifiers. You will want to caution students to check every sentence they write that begins with
ing and -ed verb forms (participles) and with to + a verb (infinitives) to be sure that the
participle or the infinitive is closely followed by a word it sensibly describes.
Once students understand the concept of participles and infinitives as modifiers, you can
reinforce the problem of dangling modifiers with group activities that are both fun and
instructional. You may want to try having groups of students write sentences with dangling
modifiers that are especially absurd in the images they create. This is one case where
understanding what not to do may best teach what should be done.
Chapter 20:Using Prepositions
Once students can easily identify prepositions and prepositional phrases, they need to understand
how common expressions with prepositions vary with usage as these expressions are commonly
misused. Ask students to keep a list of idioms they find in speeches and in published writing for
sharing with the class. You may want to center some of your discussion on the fact that the
idiomatic use of many prepositions is often a matter of custom and discuss some little known or
unusual expressions.
You will want to be especially careful that your ESL students understand how prepositions are
used in English. In some languages, the use of prepositions is handled very differently than in
English.
Chapter 21: Achieving Parallelism
The issue of achieving parallelism takes on greater significance when we teach not only how
disruptive faulty parallelism can be but also how powerful a rhetorical device effective parallel
construction can be. You may want to find and share with your class examples of powerful
parallel constructions from magazines and newspapers. In particular, Martin Luther King, Jr.s
Letter from Birmingham Jail is an excellent example of how parallel structures are both
emphatic and cumulative in power.
Chapter 22: Solving Special Sentence Structure Problems
You are most likely to find examples of subjects and verbs that do not make sense together in
your students writing when forms of the linking verb to be are used. A reminder that linking
verbs cannot be used to connect things that are unequal may prove helpful.
In addition, illogical combinations of subjects and verbs tend to occur when students open
sentences with explanatory words, such as The flu is when. . . or A recession is where. . . or
The reason is because... In these cases, you will want to encourage students to eliminate is
when and is where and is because from their writing.
Many students find it easier to hear their mixed constructions than to recognize them on paper.
For this reason, try suggesting that students read their writing out loud, either to themselves or to
a partner, to edit for sentence structure problems.
Chapter 23: Varying Sentence Openers
16
Basic writing students often find that their writing sounds choppy, not because of a lack of
sentence combining, but because too many of their sentences in a row begin the same way and
they tend to use few sentence patterns. Students are particularly fond of subject-verb-object
patterns beginning with the word The. Suggest that students examine their sentence openings
carefully and try rewriting several sentences that open in the same way and to mix up sentence
constructions.
Of course, solving this problem is also another example where editing aloud can be helpful.
Students are more apt to hear the repetition of sentence openers than to see the problem on paper.
Chapter 24: Spelling Correctly
Although Chapter 24 works well in its placement in the overall organization of Jumpstart, you
may decide to work on spelling problems earlier in the term. If so, Chapter 24 can be dealt with
at any time, including interspersing it with other instruction throughout the term.
If your students use spell checkers, be sure to remind them that these devices dont actually find
mistakes but, rather, they find character strings they dont recognize. For example, if the student
typed too when he or she should have used to, a spell checker will recognize too as a word and
fail to identify it as an error.
Because spelling is such a frustrating problem for so many students, you may need to remind
them repeatedly that they should not let concern about spelling interrupt their drafting process
when writing. Encourage students instead simply to underline words that they think may be
misspelled as they draft as a reminder to check them during the editing process. Of course, this
reminder serves double duty in that it also reinforces the progression of the writing process.
Chapter 25: Using Frequently Confused Words Correctly
As is true with Chapter 24, you may want to incorporate Chapter 25 throughout the term of your
course rather than to address frequently confused words toward the end of the course. One way
of handling the list of frequently confused words is to break it into manageable units of five-to
ten-word groups per week for discussion, practice, and testing.
Chapter 26: Using Capital Letters and Endmarks
Capitalization is another area you may want to incorporate earlier in your instructional term, as
the self-contained nature of all the chapters in Jumpstart allow you to do easily. Whenever you
choose to approach capitalization, however, your lesson might best be served by a quick review
of common and proper nouns.
For the most part, students do not have a great deal of difficulty determining when to use periods
and when to use question marks, but they may misunderstand the role of the exclamation mark
and overuse it in their writing. Remind them that exclamation points are rarely appropriate in
college writing except when writing dialogue and that, even in less formal writing, the overuse of
exclamation marks gives writing a tone of immaturity.
You may want to incorporate Chapter 26 throughout your course, especially when studying
independent clauses, fragments, comma splices, and run-on sentences. In addition, you can
17
reiterate the importance of the writers responsibility in conveying meaning through the selection
of appropriate end punctuation.
Chapter 27: Using Commas
The study of comma usage can be handled at any time during your course. You may find that
some students are so focused on comma usage that you need to address it as soon as possible,
particularly in conjunction with coordination and subordination and with fragments, run-on
sentences, and comma splices.
Many basic writers either over-compensate for their confusion and pepper their writing with far
too many commas or under-compensate and use as few commas as they can. It is helpful to
remind students that even professional writers must stop from time to time to look up certain
comma usage rules.
Many students mistakenly believe that they should place a comma wherever they pause in a
sentence. Breaking this habit may be difficult, but remind them that the comma should actually
be the readers signpost to know when to pause, not the writers proclamation that he or she
paused. The writer may have paused to think or simply rest his or her hand.
One common comma usage error that may need your special attention is the habit of many
students of always putting a comma before and, regardless of its function in the sentence.
Remind students that the only time they will place a comma in front of and is when it is used as a
coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses and when it precedes the last item in a
series.
Chapter 28: Using Apostrophes
Students all too often mistakenly form plural nouns with apostrophes. You may want to use a
number of examples of the differences between plural nouns and possessive nouns to reinforce
the role of the apostrophe. In addition, you will want to caution students to be especially careful
not to confuse contractions with the possessive forms of personal pronouns, such as whos and
whose. Thus, a discussion of apostrophes ties nicely to a discussion of frequently confused words
in Chapter 25.
Chapter 29: Punctuating Quotations
Students may display some degree of confusion over punctuation when using direct quotes.
Encourage your students to become familiar with the chart in Chapter 29 that deals with
quotation marks, comma usage, end punctuation, and capitalization in direct quotations and to
refer to it often.
In addition, because of the subtleties of wording, students may more readily discriminate
between direct and indirect quotations when they read their work aloud. You may also want to
caution students to watch for wording such as said that... as signals that what follows is likely an
indirect quotation.
18
19
20
21
22
Remind students that their mistakes are not indications of failure but, rather, are opportunities
to improve their writing.
Encourage students to build on what they already know about writing and language skills by
recognizing their strengths and fashioning their writing in such a way as to enhance those
strengths.
Work with students to set intermediate goals rather than to aim for perfection in their writing.
By doing so, you will help students to understand better that the process of writing involves
slow, steady gains rather than dramatic turnarounds.
Emphasize the value of students ideas by making positive comments about what they have
said. By praising their ideas, you set the stage for encouraging them to make their ideas
clearer through improved language and writing skills.
has been singled out. You may find that the most economical use of your time is to conduct
individual conferences while other students work at their desks on work sheets or writing
assignments. Even so, it is a good idea to call students to your desk one at a time for conferences
so that your conversations can be private.
One of the goals of student conferences should be for you and the student to lay out periodically
all of his or her work to that point and to examine the progression the student is making. All too
often, basic writing students tend to make the same mistakes over and over in their writing and
complain that they can never get it right. Through conferences, however, you can point out areas
of progression and encourage students not only to improve areas of weaknesses but also to
continue to build on the strengths they have and the progress they have made. Therefore,
conferences are an ideal time to work with students on individual progress logs so that they can
actually see in black and white how far they have come and can recognize their trouble spots.
If your schedule permits, student conferences are most effective when they are scheduled on a
regular basis and as an integral part of the composition course. During the conference, it is best
to deal with a students content in a piece of writing before addressing sentence-level concerns.
In that way, you have the opportunity first to compliment the student on what he or she has said
and then provide direction, if necessary, for saying it better through more detail and through
correct grammar, punctuation, and mechanicsin other words, to reinforce on a very personal
level the process and point of writing.
A sample student progress log for use in student conferences is provided on the following page
for you to use or modify according to your needs.
24
Strong Points
Areas to Improve
25
Assignment
26
2. Are you interested in reading about this topic? Why or why not?
7. Does the writing come to a satisfying conclusion? If not, how do you suggest concluding it?
8. Do you have any advice for the writer that is not covered by the previous questions? If so,
what?
Source for Peer Review Sheet: Adapted from Barbara Clouse, Working It Out, p. 140. copyright 1993. Used with
permission.
27
2. Did you attempt to make your topic more interesting. If so, how?
3. Did you build on the identified strengths of this writing? If so, how?
4. Did you attempt to further prove or support any points? If so, how?
6. Did you delete any detail that strayed from the topic? If so, what?
8. Did you incorporate any other advice of your peer editor? If so, what?
28
Take advantage of the Jumpstart Test Bank that has been designed to free you from the timeconsuming task of creating individual chapter tests and review tests.
Use peer review sessions to handle practice writing assignments, freeing you to concentrate
more of your time on graded assignments. You will, of course, respond to practice writing
assignments, but your responses may be more about how students revised and edited papers
to express themselves better rather than on specific sentence-level concerns.
Tape-record your responses to a students writing rather than fill the paper with corrections
and suggestions. Tape-recorded responses that the student can listen to provide a more
personal touch to the evaluation process and are the next best thing to face-to-face
conferences.
Mark only one or two kinds of errors each time you grade a writing assignment, emphasizing
the course and text objectives just covered.
Instead of marking every error, write brief summary comments of chief strengths and
weaknesses of the writing. Students are often overwhelmed by too much feedback.
If you are using a computer-based writing lab, take advantage of the opportunity to enter and
store comments on the students disks containing their writing. If you are somewhat
computer-proficient, you can even store often used comments in macro files to call up and
insert in your students writing where appropriate. Of course, if you do use canned
comments, be sure to add a personal touch to your comments by responding to specific issues
pertaining to the subject of the piece of writing.
Use student conferences to grade some pieces of writing with the student in front of you so
that he or she gets immediate feedback to the assignment and so that you can explain your
comments more completely than if you write the comments on the paper itself.
useful when it is a place for students to practice the early stages of writing and, therefore,
evaluate the journal based on the expression of ideas and the regularity of writing rather than on
the correctness of language and organization. Thus, the journal can be evaluated periodically
throughout the term based on the requirements of what kind and amount of writing should be
included and how often the student should write, with the accumulated journal grade carrying the
same weight as one test grade at the end of the term. Regardless of how the assignment is
handled, however, the journal should always be a place where students feel comfortable writing.
Although journal writing is free and unstructured, basic writing students respond best to journal
requirements when they come with some set of expected guidelines. Chapter 1 in Jumpstart
provides your students with specific guidelines on how to keep a journal, including how often to
write and how to set up the journal. You may want to add your own touch to these guidelines by
explaining how often the journal will be collected and read, how long journal entries should be,
how often (if at all) you will allow class time for journal writing, and how you will expect the
students to use journal entries periodically to shape more formal writing activities.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle to overcome when requiring a writers journal is helping your
students to understand that the journal is not a daily log of their activities. One of the best ways
to help them understand the difference between a journal and a diary is to tell them to write about
their responses, their observations, and their reactions to events, rather than to write about the
events themselves. Basic writing students respond favorably to suggested lists of topics to write
about. Such lists encourage students to write about the past and the future as well as the present
and steer them away from entries such as, I woke up, I ate breakfast, I went to school, and
nothing much happened. Some journal topics are provided in Chapter 1, and more are provided
here that you may want to add to your own lists:
Additional Journal Writing Topic
Write about something that angers you, pleases you, or frustrates you.
Record your reactions to your writing class so far, and describe what you have found
confusing and what you have found helpful.
Describe the sounds you hear in a ten-minute period in a crowded place such as a ballpark or
a mall.
Think of the last argument you had with someone, pretend you are the other person, and
describe the argument from that persons point of view.
30
Write a letter to a company praising one of its products (or complaining about one of its
products).
Record quotations that mean something to you and explain why they are meaningful.
Obviously, the nature of some of the suggested journal topics may result in some very personal
entries. Although the temptation to help students deal with emotional difficulties and problems
may be strong, you should avoid taking on the role of personal counselor and, instead, make
professional referrals when necessary.
Students should be encouraged to look upon the journal as a place to write independently and to
explore, discover, observe, and experiment. It is a place to develop, refine, and rehearse ideas for
composition. It is a place to practice writing as a means to learn. Most of all, it is a place where
students can find their unique voice and feel confident that they do, indeed, have something to
say.
31
32
You may want to try blindfolded freewriting, especially if you find yourself stopping to
correct errors when freewriting. No, you do not really blindfold yourself or even close your
eyes; you just turn off the screen. Find the switch that controls the brightness of the monitor
and turn it all the way down until the screen is dark. Then freewrite for five or ten minutes
before turning the screen back on to see what you have written.
List by using the computer to generate ideas. Write the first idea that comes to mind. Put it in
the form of a word or a short phrase, and do not censor yourself; write it down even if it
sounds like a rotten idea. Then press the enter key, and write another idea. Repeat these steps
until you run out of ideas. What you will end up with is a vertical list of ideas, much like a
shopping list. Now use your delete key to eliminate ideas you want to strike from your list.
Next study your list and decide what order is suggested. Try out the order using the copy-
33
paste sequence that is part of your word processing program. Rearrange your list as often as
you like until you have a suitable scratch outline to guide your first draft.
Outlining
Create a post-draft outline on the computer to refer to as you edit and rewrite. After writing
your first draft based on your scratch outline, save the file. Then create a second copy of the
draft by renaming the file with an .OUT (for outline) extension. Reduce this second copy
to an outline by identifying the topic sentence of each paragraph and deleting everything else
from each paragraph.
Next, identify your thesis sentence and write it at the top of your outline. Now use Roman
and Arabic numbers, capital and lowercase letters to sequence the sentences below the thesis
into a formal outline. Study this outline and make any necessary adjustments. Then you can
place your outline in a window and the original draft of your paper can be recalled and
revised according to the insights gained from making the outline. If your word processing
program does not offer a window, simply print the outline and use it as a revision guide.
Writing Your First Draft
Start writing your first draft on a full, blank screen with your outline in a window on the
screen or beside you if your word processing program does not offer a window. Using your
outline as a basic guide, begin writing. Do not worry during this stage whether your margins
are set just so or whether you have your line spacing correct. This is the time to get your
ideas down; do not worry whether they look pretty. Allow your draft to be rough by writing
fast and not looking back and resisting the temptation to rewrite as you draft. Keep forging
ahead to discover where your ideas will take you. You will be able to rewrite and polish the
rough spots later.
Revising
If your computer allows you to split the screen, place a revising checklist in a window to
refer to as you reread and edit your work. If you make up your own checklist, be sure to
include reminders on content, organization, and expression. Of course, your instructor may
have a revision checklist that you can use.
If you are unsure about parts of your draftif you do not know whether or not they should
be changeduse the boldface function of your word processing program to highlight the
areas in question. Then print out your draft and give it to two or more reliable readers and ask
them to react to the parts in boldface type.
If you think your draft is too short, go through the draft on the computer, and before each of
your main points press the insert key and then hit the space bar ten times. This should
visually separate each main point and its support. Now you can study each main point
individually to determine whether you can add an example, a story, or some description.
After adding detail to develop the main points, rejoin your sentences to form a longer draft.
Use your word processing programs search function to find general words you are in the
habit of using that may be replaced with more specific words. For example, you can ask the
34
computer to spot where you have used general words such as very, quite, a lot, rather, really,
great, good, bad, and some. Once the computer has located these words, you can decide
whether to keep one or more of them or to replace them to be more specific.
Editing
Edit your work for sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics by placing an
editing checklist in a window. Consult the checklist as you edit, paying special attention to
mistakes you know that you are prone to make.
Try reformatting your text on screen with four spaces between each line. This way, you can
edit one line at a time with less of your text entering your visual field to distract you from the
words you are studying.
Look for sentence fragments in your writing by isolating every word group you call a
sentence. Insert eight spaces before each capital letter that marks the start of a sentence. Then
read each word group separately to hear if something is missing. Because each word group is
now physically separated, finding fragments can be easier. When you are finished with this
aspect of editing, reformat your text to draw everything back together.
Look for run-on sentences by using the search function to find the run-on warning words he,
she, it, they, however, therefore, hence, as a result, then, thus, finally, in addition, moreover,
furthermore, consequently, on the contrary, nevertheless, similarly, next, and for example.
Once these words are identified in your text, check for independent clauses on both sides of
these words. Wherever you find independent clauses on both sides of a warning word, be
sure you have a period, a semicolon, or a comma and a conjunction before the word.
Check your use of pronouns by using the search function of your word processing program.
First set the search to look for they, their, and them. Check to be sure that you have plural
nouns for these words to refer to. Also, check to be sure that they has a stated noun to refer
to. Next, use the search function to locate everyone, everybody, everything, someone,
somebody, something, anyone, anybody, and anything. Check to see if a pronoun refers to
each of these words. If so, use the singular form for formal usage. Finally, use the search
function to locate every use of you. Then see if you need to change this pronoun because it is
not really referring to the reader.
http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/
http://www.nutsandboltsguide.com/
http://www.powa.org/
http://www.paragraphpunch.com/
http://www.essaypunch.com/
http://www.junketstudies.com/rulesofw/
35
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/index2.html
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/
http://writing.richmond.edu/writersweb/
http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/eslcafe.html
Many instructors find it helpful to schedule some of their class time in classrooms outfitted with
computers. Others find it more appropriate simply to encourage students to take advantage of the
computer facilities of the college on their own time. Whatever the approach, using computers in
the composition class provides a supplement to the total writing process and prepares students to
take advantage of the benefits of an increasingly prevalent technology.
Source for Student Activities Using a Computer: Adapted from Barbara Clouse, Working It Out, chapter by chapter
Use a Computer suggestions. Copyright 1993. Used with permission.
36
Many languages use a phonetic alphabet. Spelling in English, however, is seldom as logical.
Word order in sentences may vary in some languages. For example, Arabic languages use a
verb-subject-object pattern, whereas English uses a subject-verb-object pattern.
In some languages there are no plural forms of nouns and no variations in verb tense. In
English, however, words often change their form according to context and function.
Adjectives and adverbs usually follow the noun they modify in Arabic, French, Spanish, and
Italian whereas in English they usually appear before the nouns they modify.
In some languages, the use of prepositions is handled very differently than in English. For
example, whereas a native English speaker might use the prepositional phrase different from,
an ESL speaker is likely to express the same phrase as different to.
In languages such as Spanish, the subject does not have to be included in a sentence when the
conjugated verb form indicates who is performing the action; however, such an omission in
English constitutes a sentence fragment.
In many languages, passive sentence construction is not only common but more acceptable
than active sentence construction; in English, however, passive constructions are more often
considered a weak style.
37
A big birthday bash is being planned for someone you respect and care a great deal for (you
pick the persona friend, a relative, a teacher, a coach, a member of the clergyanyone
you regard highly). You have been asked to write a one-paragraph character sketch of that
person which presents and illustrates one of that persons best traits. Mention the trait in the
beginning of your paragraph, and go on to give examples that illustrate the trait(s). The
sketch will be photocopied and distributed to everyone at the birthday party.
Your audience, therefore, will be people who also know and care for the person.
Your role as writer is that of an admirer.
Your purpose is to praise the person by sharing impressions and experiences.
You are a member of the local Chamber of commerce, which is putting together a brochure to
promote tourism in your area. Pick a spot in your area (a recreational spot, a historic area, an
educational place, an amusement spot) and write a description of it to be included in the
brochure. Your description should be one paragraph.
Your audience is the traveler looking for a place to spend some time.
Your role is that of someone who takes pride in the spot you are describing.
Your purpose is to persuade the reader to visit your area.
For the last week you have been home with the flu, and to pass the time you have watched a
great deal of television. The programming aimed at children, you have noticed, is mindnumbing. Even worse, the shows and accompanying commercials are manipulative, aimed at
getting children to pester their parents for toys and sugared foods. You become outraged and
write a letter of protest to the networks.
Your audience is the person at the network responsible for scheduling childrens
programming.
Your role is that of a concerned citizen.
38
Your purpose is to persuade the networks to improve the quality of shows and commercials
aimed at children.
You have recently acquired a pen pal who lives in a third world nation. He or she has asked
that in each letter you describe a different facet of American life, as honestly and precisely as
possible. Pick one aspect and write a thorough description.
Your audience is your pen pal who knows very little about this country.
Your role is that of an ambassador and teacher.
Your purpose is to inform through description.
As part of a job application, you have been asked to write a character sketch of yourself that
presents and illustrates your chief strengths and weaknesses. Your sketch should be two
paragraphs.
Your audience is the personnel director responsible for hiring.
Your role is that of job applicant.
Your purpose is to present a realistic, yet favorable portrait.
Source: Adapted from Barbara Clouse, Working It Out, pp. 131-134. copyright 1993. Used with permission.
39
Building Vocabulary
Chapters 24 and 25 of Jumpstart offer excellent instruction on spelling and frequently confused
words. However, you will likely want to incorporate additional vocabulary building skills
throughout your course. The reading selections are an excellent place to start to help students
build vocabulary skills.
You may want to encourage your students to keep a vocabulary notebook where they record
words they encounter in the reading selections which are unfamiliar to them. Each entry could
include the word itself, its definition, the sentence in the reading selection in which it is used, and
another sentence written by the student using the word. While students should be responsible for
recording unfamiliar words they find in their vocabulary notebook, you may want to point out
particular words in the selections that you suspect are unfamiliar to most of your students and
have them include those words in their notebooks as well.
In addition, many excellent sites exist on the Internet for vocabulary building. A few such sites
are listed here, but you may know of others to add to the list.
The Miriam Webster Online Dictionary
http://www.m-w.com/
This site includes a dictionary, a thesaurus, a word of the day, and word games.
Your Dictionary
http://www.yourdictionary.com/
This site includes language dictionaries, a thesaurus, and a game room that includes word of the
day crossword puzzles.
Vocabulary University
http://www.vocabulary.com/
This site includes vocabulary puzzles and exercises that help prepare for the SAT and ACT tests.
Although it is designed for high school students, it is also an excellent site for basic college
writing students.
Dictionary.com
http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/
This site includes a word of the day with examples.
Oxford English Dictionary
This site includes a word of the day.
http://www.oed.com/cgi/display/wotd
40
Transparency Masters
The following transparency masters are provided in conjunction with the skills taught in
Jumpstart and are intended to assist you in classroom instruction. While not all competencies in
the text are covered in the following transparencies, we have made every effort to cover many of
the competency areas which may need additional reinforcement.
41
42
Supporting details
develop the main
idea mentioned in the
topic sentence.
If
students
follow
these
Source: Adapted from Barbara Clouse, Jumpstart A Workbook for Writers, p. 34. Copyright 1995. Used with permission.
Copyright 1996 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Every sentence has two parts: (1) the subject and (2) the predicate.
To find the subject, ask who or what does or did something. If the sentence does not express
action, ask who or what exists or existed in a particular way.
Sentence: The instructor postponed the test.
Who or what did something? The instructor did something (postponed the test). Therefore, the
instructor is the subject of the sentence.
Sentence: The championship game was exciting.
Who or what existed in a particular way? The championship game existed in a particular way
(exciting). Therefore, the championship game is the subject of the sentence.
To find the predicate, ask what about the subject.
Sentence: The instructor postponed the test.
What about the instructor? The instructor postponed the test. Therefore, postponed the test is the
predicate of the sentence.
Sentence: The championship game was exciting.
What about the championship game? It was exciting. Therefore, was exciting is the predicate of
the sentence.
(Page 1 of 3)
Copyright 1996 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
44
substitutes for a noun such as I, you, he, she, it, we, or they), or a form of a verb ending in -ing or
beginning with the word to.
Sentence: The instructor postponed the test.
Complete subject: the instructor
Simple subject: instructor
Sentence: The championship game was exciting.
Complete subject: the championship game
Simple subject: game
Sentence: They are my friends.
Complete subject: They
Simple subject: They
Sentence: Playing golf involves patience.
Complete subject: Playing golf
Simple subject: Playing
Sentence: To win a tennis match takes agility.
Complete subject: To win a tennis match
Simple subject: To win
Some sentences have more than one subject. In this case, a sentence is said to have a compound
subject.
Sentence: Two students and the instructor watched the movie.
Complete subject: two students and the instructor
Simple subject: students and instructor
Be careful: The simple subject is never part of a prepositional phrase.
Sentence: The flowers in your garden are beautiful.
Complete subject: the flowers in your garden
Simple subject: flowers
Sentence: The books on the table and the papers on the desk belong to Sasha.
Complete subject: the books on the table and the papers on the desk
Simple subject: books and papers
(Page 2 of 3)
Copyright 1996 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Verb
Every predicate includes a verb. Sometimes the verb shows action (action verb), or sometimes it
links the subject to a word that renames or describes the subject (a linking verb).
45
COORDINATION
46
1. Two independent clauses can be joined in the same sentence with a comma and
a coordinating conjunction. The coordinating conjunctions include:
and
but
or
nor
for
so
yet
meanwhile
moreover
nevertheless
nonetheless
otherwise
therefore
thus
47
SUBORDINATION
1.
because
before
even though
if
since
though
unless
until
when
whenever
where
wherever
whether
while
that
48
RECOGNIZING FRAGMENTS
Test Statement:
Because the storm forced us to cancel our plans.
1. Does it have a subject (understood or stated)?
2. Does it have a complete verb?
3. Does it have enough completeness to stand independently?
FOR A STATEMENT TO BE COMPLETE,
THE ANSWER TO ALL THREE QUESTIONS MUST BE YES.
YES
YES
Even though the statement has a subject and a complete verb, if someone made this
statement to you, you would need more information for it to make sense.
THE STATEMENT IS A FRAGMENT
BECAUSE IT DID NOT ANSWER YES TO ALL THREE QUESTIONS.
49
RUN-ON SENTENCES
AND COMMA SPLICES
A run-on sentence is a problem that occurs
when two independent clauses are not separated.
I want to buy a new car I am saving my money.
but
or
nor
for
so
50
yet
With I, we, they, you, or a plural noun subject, leave off the -s or -es ending to the verb.
I swim every day.
We enjoy golf.
They believe in magic.
You seem happy.
Cars cost a lot of money.
Have/Has
With I, you, we, they, or a plural noun subject, use have.
I have a new car.
You have my books.
We have two cats.
They have many friends.
Students have many choices.
With he, she, it, or a singular noun subject, use has.
He has my keys.
She has a beautiful voice.
It has potential.
The cat has fleas.
(Page 1 of 2)
Copyright 1996 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
51
Am/Is/Are
With I, use am.
I am hungry.
With he, she, it, or a singular noun subject, use is.
He is friendly.
She is my roommate.
It is raining.
Dinner is ready.
With you, we, they, or a plural noun subject, use are.
You are lucky.
We are prepared.
They are thrilled.
The dogs are barking.
Do/Does
With I, you, we, they, or a plural noun subject, use do.
I do like chocolate.
You do well in your classes.
We do housework.
They do exercise every day.
Birds do make nice pets.
With he, she, it, or a singular noun subject, use does.
He does good work.
She does enjoy dancing.
It does look like rain.
The woman does paint well.
(Page 2 of 2)
Copyright 1996 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
52
THE TENSES
The Simple Tenses
A verb in the present tense shows that something is happening now or that
something happens regularly.
I am happy. (happening now)
The flowers bloom in the spring. (happens regularly)
A verb in the past tense shows that something took place before now.
I was happy. (irregular verb)
I drove to work. (irregular verb)
The flowers bloomed in the spring. (regular verb)
A verb in the future tense shows that something will take place in the future,
whether it is one second into the future or years into the future.
I will be happy.
I will drive to work.
The flowers will bloom in the spring.
Note: Use will to point to the future from the present. Use would to point to the future from
the past.
I hope I will arrive before evening. (points to the future from the present)
I hoped I would arrive before evening. (points to the future from the past)
(Page 1 of 3)
Copyright 1996 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
53
A verb in the past perfect tense shows that one thing occurred in the past before
another thing occurred in the past. Thus, when writing in the past tense, you can
use the past perfect to show that something happened in the more distant past.
past
A verb in the future perfect tense shows that one event in the future will occur
before another event in the future.
will happen first
(Page 2 of 3)
54
55
A verb in the past progressive tense shows that something was ongoing in the
past. The past progressive tense can be used to show that (1) one thing was going
on before another thing happened, (2) one thing was going on at the same time
another thing happened, or (3) one thing was going on after another thing
happened.
This happened second.
A verb in the future progressive tense shows future action that will be ongoing.
Mike will be spending his vacation in Maine.
I will be learning how to prepare tax returns.
(Page 3 of 3)
Copyright 1996 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
56
TENSE SHIFTS
Sometimes writers must move from one tense to the next to show a change in time.
Example: moving from the present to the future.
present
future
present
Last year I wanted to major in business, but now I want to major in computers.
However, if you move from one tense to another without a valid reason, you create
a tense shift that confuses the time frame of your writing.
Confusing tense shift:
past
present
past
past
present
57
CHOOSING SUBJECT
AND OBJECT PRONOUNS
To decide whether a subject or object pronoun is needed in a compound, rule out
everything in the compound except the pronoun.
Sam and (me or I) registered for classes.
Me registered for classes.
I registered for classes.
Correct: Sam and I registered for classes.
To decide whether a subject or object pronoun is needed in a comparison, mentally
add the missing words.
Vic runs faster than (me or I).
Vic runs faster than me runs.
Vic runs faster than I run.
Correct: Vic runs faster than I.
To decide whether a subject or object pronoun is needed when the pronoun is
followed by a noun that renames it, rule out the renaming word.
(Us or We) students are planning a party.
Us are planning a party.
We are planning a party.
Correct: We students are planning a party.
58
USING REFLEXIVE
AND INTENSIVE PRONOUNS
Singular Reflexive
and Intensive Pronouns
Plural Reflexive
and Intensive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns often indicate that the subject of the sentence did something
to or for itself.
I bought myself a new kitchen table.
Reflexive pronouns can also express the idea of being alone or doing something
without help.
We built the house ourselves.
Be careful: Do not use a reflexive pronoun without a word it can refer to.
No: Marty and myself arrived late.
Yes: Marty and I arrived late.
Intensive pronouns can emphasize the words they refer to.
The teachers themselves conducted the meeting.
59
PRONOUN ANTECEDENT
AGREEMENT
-
To choose the correct pronoun, rule out phrases that appear after the antecedent.
singular antecedent
singular pronoun
If compound antecedents are joined by or, choose the pronoun that agrees with the
antecedent closer to it.
Either the employees or Mr. Levine will present his report.
If all the people or things in a collective noun act as one unit, use a singular
pronoun.
The team won its first game.
If the people or things in a collective noun act individually, use a plural pronoun.
The team left for their vacations.
60
61
Correct:
Unclear Reference
Unclear reference occurs when a reader cannot tell which of two antecedents a
pronoun refers to.
Unclear:
Carla was talking with Sasha when she noticed a kite flying overhead.
[Who noticed the kite, Carla or Sasha?]
Clear:
Carla was talking with Sasha when Sasha noticed a kite flying
overhead.
Clear:
Carla was talking with Sasha when Carla noticed a kite flying
overhead.
Unstated Reference
A pronouns antecedent must be written out, or a problem called unstated reference
occurs.
Unclear:
When I called the telephone company, they said they would connect
my service today.
Clear:
62
ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS,
AND ARTICLES
The following paragraph contains adjective, adverb, and article usage errors, as well as errors
in comparative and superlative forms.
The more happier you are with your career choice, the more better you are likely to do
your job. As you consider your career choices, you should be as much aware of the kind of
environment you enjoy working in as the kind of work you enjoy doing. For example, a career in
computer programming may not be best for anyone who dislikes working in a office. On the
other hand, people who do not enjoy the outdoors may not do their better work in an career that
requires a great deal of outside work. If you enjoy traveling, you may want to consider a career
as an consultant. Many high trained specialists travel from company to company, working on
whatever projects require their services. Whatever your skills may be, remember that people
respond to situations and environments different, and what might be a well career choice for your
best friend may not be the best choice for you. There is nothing no better than making a living at
what you enjoy and in a place you enjoy doing it, but there is nothing. worser than making a
living at what you dislike and in a place you dislike.
Revision:
The happier you are with your career choice, the better you are likely to do your job. As
you consider your career choices, you should be as much aware of the environment you enjoy
working in as the work you enjoy doing. For example, a career in computer programming may
not be best for anyone who dislikes working in a office. On the other hand, people who do not
enjoy the outdoors may not do their best work in a career that requires a great deal of outside
work. If you enjoy traveling, you may want to consider a career as a consultant. Many highly
trained specialists travel from company to company, working on whatever projects require their
services. Whatever your skills may be, remember that people respond to situations and
environments differently, and what might be a good career choice for your best friend may not be
the best choice for you. There is nothing better than making a living at what you enjoy and in a
place you enjoy doing it, but there is nothing worse than making a living at what you dislike and
in a place you dislike.
63
USING GOOD/WELL
1. Good is an adjective, so it usually describes nouns. Good is also often used as
an adjective after the words taste, feel, and look.
Jason is a good swimmer. [Good describes the noun swimmer.]
A good book can help you make the most of a rainy day. [Good describes the
noun book.]
This cake tastes good. [Good describes the noun cake.]
This coat feels good on a cold day like today. [Good describes the noun
coat.]
Mark looks good today. [Good describes the noun Mark.]
2. Well is an adverb, so it usually describes verbs.
Patrick cooks well. [Well describes the verb cooks by telling how.]
I hope I did well on the test. [Well describes the verb did by telling how.]
3. Well is only used as an adjective when it means healthy.
Anne does not feel well today. [Well describes the noun Anne in terms of her
health.]
The student felt well enough to attend class. [Well describes the noun student
in terms of his or her health.]
64
AVOIDING DANGLING
MODIFIERS
Dangling modifiers are created when participles and infinitives are not placed next
to the words they describe.
1. A dangling modifier is created when a present participle or present participle
phrase is placed next to a word it does not describe.
Incorrect:
Driving the car, my cat watched the passing scenery. [Was the cat driving the car?]
Correction:
Driving the car, I noticed that my cat was watching the passing scenery. [Now the present
participle phrase can sensibly describe I.]
Inspired by the music, a dance was performed by Sherry in her kitchen. [Was the dance
inspired by the music?]
Correction:
Inspired by the music, Sherry performed a dance in her kitchen. [Now the past participle can
sensibly describe Sherry.]
65
COMMON EXPRESSIONS
WITH PREPOSITIONS
Some expressions use specific prepositions.
I cannot decide among the pie, the cake, and the ice cream.
[among more than two things]
66
Yes:
No:
Yes:
No:
Yes:
No:
Yes:
No:
Yes:
No:
Yes:
No:
Yes:
(Page 2 of 2)
67
ACHIEVING PARALLELISM
Lacks parallelism:
Correction:
Correction:
Lacks parallelism:
Correction:
Correction:
Lacks parallelism:
Correction:
Correction:
Lacks parallelism:
Correction:
Lacks parallelism:
Correction:
68
SOLVING PROBLEMS
WITH SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Simple Subjects and Verbs
That Do Not Make Sense Together
No:
Yes:
Yes:
Yes:
No:
Yes:
Ann Maries reaction to the test was that it was very difficult.
Yes:
No:
The reason I am taking this course is because I want to learn more about photography.
Yes:
Yes:
The reason I am taking this course is that I want to learn more about photography.
Yes:
Yes:
69
70
SPELLING AND
FREQUENTLY CONFUSED WORDS
The following paragraph contains spelling errors and words that are frequently
confused.
A few days ago, I was already to spend the afternoon relaxing. However, after noticing that
my flowers had become overun with weeds, I had to except the fact that it was time to do some
gardening. Even though I am happyest when I can simply enjoy the beauty of flowers, I no that
sometimes I have to do some work to keep them healthy. After I moveed all of my gardening
equipment from the garage to the yard, I set down to think about what I needed to do first. Since
the weeds were the most noticable problem, I decided to tackle them first. I went through the
garden one row at a time, grabing and pulling weeds whereever I found them. I soon regreted
that I had waited so long to take care of my gardening because there were alot of weeds that had
grown to several feet in hieght and that were difficult to remove. Even though I beleived that I
could finish the job in about an hour, I actualy spent the entire afternoon in the garden. When I
was finally threw with the gardening, I lay down on a chaise lounge on my patio were I could
survey my work. It was then that I realized that sometimes hard work is worth the effort when
its affects are so beautiful.
Revision:
A few days ago, I was all ready to spend the afternoon relaxing. However, after noticing
that my flowers had become overrun with weeds, I had to accept the fact that it was time to do
some gardening. Even though I am happiest when I can simply enjoy the beauty of flowers, I
know that sometimes I have to do some work to keep them healthy. After I moved all of my
gardening equipment from the garage to the yard, I sat down to think about what I needed to do
first. Since the weeds were the most noticeable problem, I decided to tackle them first. I went
through the garden one row at a time, grabbing and pulling weeds wherever I found them. I soon
regretted that I had waited so long to take care of my gardening because there were a lot of
weeds that had grown to several feet in height and that were difficult to remove. Even though I
believed that I could finish the job in about an hour, I actually spent the entire afternoon in the
garden. When I was finally through with the gardening, I laid down on a chaise lounge on my
patio where I could survey my work. It was then that I realized that sometimes hard work is
worth the effort when its effects are so beautiful.
71
CAPITALIZATION
Capitalize names of people and animals.
No: My Dog fifi is a French poodle.
Yes: My dog Fifi is a French poodle.
(Page 1 of 2)
Copyright 1996 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
72
Capitalize the first and last words of a title and everything in between except
articles, conjunctions, and prepositions.
No: I enjoyed legends of the fall.
Yes: I enjoyed Legends of the Fall.
(Page 2 of 2)
Copyright 1996 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
73
ENDING SENTENCES
The following passage is difficult to understand because the punctuation ending the
sentences is either missing or inappropriate.
I walked into the classroom and sat down a few minutes later. I realized! That
the instructor was talking about history. I wondered what history had to do with
English? After another few minutes of trying to make sense of the lecture. I
realized, much to my embarrassment! That I was in the wrong classroom grabbing
my books, I stood up quickly to leave of course, in doing so I made so much noise
that everyone was aware of my mistake. Is this English 101! I asked when the
instructor shook his head to indicate that it wasnt all I could do was to get out as
quickly as I could as the door closed behind me. I shouted, Sorry?
Revision:
I walked into the classroom and sat down. A few minutes later, I realized that
the instructor was talking about history. I wondered what history had to do with
English. After another few minutes of trying to make sense of the lecture, I
realized, much to my embarrassment, that I was in the wrong classroom. Grabbing
my books, I stood up quickly to leave. Of course, in doing so I made so much noise
that everyone was aware of my mistake. Is this English 101? I asked. When the
instructor shook his head to indicate that it wasnt, all I could do was to get out as
quickly as I could. As the door closed behind me, I shouted, Sorry!
74
COMMAS
Commas used to separate items in a series.
I bought a dress, a scarf, and a pair of shoes this afternoon.
No commas with a pair.
I ate a salad and a roll.
Comma after an introductory element.
75
APOSTROPHES
Apostrophes with Contractions
A contraction is formed when two words are combined and one or more letters are
omitted. An apostrophe stands for what is omitted.
For example:
are not
could not
did not
=
=
=
arent
couldnt
didnt
is not
she will
who has
=
=
=
isnt
shell
whos
Be Careful : Be sure to place the apostrophe at the site of the omitted letters.
No: didnt
Yes: didnt
2. If a singular noun ends in -s, form the possessive by adding an apostrophe and an s.
Lois + s = Loiss
Ms. Jones + s = Ms. Joness
3. If a plural noun ends in -s, form the possessive by adding just an apostrophe.
girls + = girls
schools + schools
Yes: yours
Yes: their
Be Careful: Do not use an apostrophe with plurals that do not show possession.
No: The students brought their books to class.
Yes: The students brought their books to class.
Copyright 1996 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
76
PUNCTUATING
DIRECT QUOTATIONS
A direct quotation is the reproduction of someones exact spoken or written words.
Direct quotations appear in quotation marks. How punctuation is handled depends
on the nature of the quotation and where the quotation is placed in the sentence.
Matthew said, I must study tonight because the test is tomorrow.
I must study tonight because the test is tomorrow, Matthew said.
I must study tonight, Matthew said, because the test is tomorrow.
Mia asked, Do you want me to help you study?
Do you want me to help you study? Mia asked.
Do you, Mia asked, want me to help you study?
An indirect quotation refers to someones words or thoughts but does not
reproduce those words or thoughts exactly. Indirect quotations do not appear in
quotation marks.
Matthew said that he must study tonight because the test is tomorrow.
Matthew asked whether he must study tonight because the test is tomorrow.
77
78