Transcript Chapter 24

The Call to Write,
Third edition
Chapter 24, Working with Sentences
Chapter overview




Looks at options for composing sentences, and
gives guidelines for editing sentences
Examines nonsexist and nondiscriminatory
language
Provides strategies for proofreading sentences by
looking at 10 common problems, as well 10
problems for ESL writers
Concludes by looking at logical fallacies
Options for composing sentences



Coordination links two or more clauses to
show their equal weight in a sentence.
Subordination links clauses in ways that
show that some clauses modify, qualify, or
comment on the main clause.
See pages 682-683 for examples.
Modification



Another way to compose more interesting
sentences is to modify, or add details, to
some of the words.
Modifiers are used with nouns, adverbs,
verbs, phrases, and clauses.
See the examples on page 684.
Two types of clauses
A clause is a group of words that includes a
subject and an object. There are two types
of clauses.
 An independent clause stands alone; it
expresses a complete idea.
 A dependent clause must be combined with
an independent clause.
Active and passive voice
Active or passive voice refers to the way sentences are
written.
 Joe hit the ball (active).
 The ball was hit by Joe (passive).
 The active voice is the best choice under most
circumstances; however, scientific writing is often
done in the passive voice.
 See pages 686-687 for more details.
Diction and tone



Diction refers to word choices made by the
writer. These choices also affect the tone of
the document.
Tone reveals the attitude of the writer.
Tone ranges from formal to informal.
Informal to formal


Informal: The new Harry Potter movie is just
totally awesome. (Okay to write in an e-mail to a
friend).
Formal: The recently released Harry Potter movie
has done well in its opening weeks, and the general
consensus of reviewers is that it has a strong plot
and solid casting. (More appropriate for an essay).
Jargon


Jargon refers to the special terminology
used by people in the same profession or
group.
Think of the terms that the following
people might use: police officers, computer
geeks, nurses, or teachers.
Jargon, cont.


The text comments that “to speak and write
in that vernacular is a sign of membership”
(689).
However, if your audience is not part of
that group, your jargon will become
barriers to their understanding your
document.
Nominalization



Academic and professional jargon results from
a number of strategies, including
nominalization.
This happens when new words are created by
adding –tion, -ity, -ness, -ance, -ment, and -ism
to existing words.
Unfortunately, too much of this packed into one
sentence can turn a simple idea into one that is
almost unreadable.
Guidelines for editing sentences



Editing a document by looking at individual
sentences is an important part of the writing
process. Three main guidelines to edit
sentences include:
Clarity (clearness)
Emphasis
Variety
Clarity




Refers to clearness of a sentence. Problems that
interfere with clarity include:
Confusing sentence structure
Wordiness
Vagueness
See pages 691-693 for examples and strategies for
correcting them.
Emphasis
Direct the readers to the most important part of a
sentence, which is usually the beginning and ending.
To do so, look at:
 Word order
 Parallelism and repetition
 Climatic order (saving the best for last)
 See pages 693-695 for examples and details.
Variety



Variety refers to having sentences that differ in their
length and structure; otherwise, all of the sentences
will start to sound alike, and can become
monotonous.
See the text on page 695 for an explanation of when
shorter, middle length, and longer sentences are most
effective.
Two strategies: Vary sentence length, and add
elements of surprise.
Nonsexist language



See the Ethics box, pages 698-699.
“… certain words and phrases convey
attitudes about racial, ethnic, and other social
groups” (698).
Writers have a responsibility to be aware of
how their language choices reflect stereotypes
and offend people.
Three guidelines
1.
2.
3.
Replace masculine nouns with more
inclusive words.
Replace masculine pronouns when referring
to people in general.
Use nongendered terms when discussing
occupations and social roles.
See pages 698-699 for examples.
Ten common problems


The text next discusses the 10 most common
problems found with sentences.
This section is one to which you will want to refer as
you look at your own papers, as well as those of
your peers, because it gives examples and
explanations of the errors, as well as ways to edit or
fix them.
Fragments, Comma Splices, and
Fused Sentences




Sentence fragments do not express a complete
idea.
Comma splices join two complete sentences
using a comma.
Fused sentences join two sentences but do not
use a comma.
See pages 697 and 700-701 for examples, as
well as remedies.
Agreement and verb shift



Subject-verb agreement means that singular
verbs go with singular subjects.
Verb shift refers to changes in tense that are
not consistent or logical.
See pages 701-703.
Pronoun agreement



Pronouns need to agree with their antecedents:
Singular antecedents take singular pronouns.
An antecedent is the word to which the pronoun
refers. Jane always drinks milk with her meals;
“Jane” is the antecedent for the pronoun “her.”
See page 703 for more details, including how to
treat collective nouns.
Pronoun reference, modifiers




Pronoun reference: readers should be able to
connect the pronoun with its antecedent.
Modifiers can be problematic in three ways:
Dangling modifiers use the –ing ending, but their
placement in the sentence is confusing.
Misplaced modifiers have a word or phrase that
seems to be in the wrong place
Disruptive modifiers separate the subject and
verb. See pages 704-705 for more details.
Mixed construction, faulty
predication and parallelism




Mixed construction refers to sentences that
seem to shift sentence structure.
Faulty predication happens when the second
part of a sentence seems to be on a different
topic than the first part of the sentence.
Parallelism refers to putting items in a list in
the same structure.
See pages 705-707 for more details.
Ten problems for ESL writers



The next section of the chapter covers the 10 most
common errors for ESL writers.
“ESL” refers to English as a Second Language.
These writers share some struggles, which are not so
much about how sentences are put together as they
are about how to use specific types of words such as
articles.
Nouns, pronouns and articles



Subject/pronoun repetition: Refers to repeating the
subject, which is not done in English.
Articles (a, an, the): Refers to knowing when to use
them.
Singular and plural proper nouns: A proper noun is
the capitalized name of a person, place, group, or
thing. Singular nouns rarely use an article, but plural
nouns often do.
Nouns, pronouns and articles, cont.


Singular- and plural-count noun: These terms refer
to words for people and things that can be counted.
Use “a” or “an” before a singular-count noun when it
refers to something in general. Use “the” when
referring to something specifically.
Noncount nouns name things that can’t be counted
and take no article or “the.” See pages 708-709 for
more details.
This, that, these, and those


This, that, these and those: These words are
sometimes called demonstrative adjectives or
pronouns because they point at something
specific.
This and that are singular; these and those are
plural. Make sure they agree in number with
the nouns they modify.
Adjective form and sequence



Adjective form: Adjectives never take a plural
form to agree with nouns they modify.
Adjective sequence: When using more than
one adjective to modify a noun, there are
some guidelines to follow.
See pages 709-710 for guidelines and
examples.
Prepositions at, on, and in

A.

These prepositions indicate time and
location.
Time: use “at” for a specific time and “on”
for days and dates.
Use “in” for months, seasons, and times
during the day.
Prepositions at, on, and in, cont.



Use “at” for specific addresses, named locations,
general locations, or locations for a specific activity.
Use “on” for names of streets, modes of
transportation, floors of buildings, pages, and tracts
of land.
Use “in” for the names of geographical areas of land
(cities, states, countries, continents).
Participles



Use the present (-ing) form to describe when
someone or something produces a result.
Use the past (-ed) form to describe how
someone or something experiences such
results.
See pages 711-712 for more details.
Auxiliary verbs




In the present tense, third person –s endings
are needed on verbs.
Auxiliary verbs: do, does, did; and have, has
had.
Use the base form of the main verb with do,
does, and did.
Use the past participle (-ed) form for have,
has, and had.
Conditional clauses and idiomatic
two- and three-word verbs


Conditional (if) clauses allow a write to state a
condition and then describe the result. See pages
712-713 for details on the proper tense to use to
convey the correct result.
Idiomatic two- and three-word verbs: Refer to verbs
that take on a preposition or adverb, and change their
meaning. Look into the means to investigate; see
page 713 for more examples.
Logical fallacies



“A flaw in reasoning that weakens the
legitimacy of a writer’s argument” (714).
They are to be avoided; however, we see them
used sometimes either intentionally or
unintentionally in political campaigns as well
as advertising.
Here is a list of nine types of logical fallacies.
Faulty cause and effect, false
analogy


Faulty cause-and-effect relationship:
Mistakes a sequence of events for a causal
relationship.
False analogy: Makes the assumption that
because things resemble each other in some
ways, conclusions about one can be applied
to the other.
Slippery slope

Slippery slope: Predicts a chain of events
that is seen as unavoidable and
catastrophic, so “if we do X, Y will happen,
and we will be doomed!”
Red herring, ad populum and more



Red herring: Something thrown into an argument
to distract from the real issue.
Ad populum: Refers to arguments that address bias
and prejudice, not reasoning.
Ad hominem: Refers to personal attacks on an
opponent rather than rational debate on issues.
Bandwagon, begging the question,
and either/or



Bandwagon appeal: “Everyone else is doing it”
(used extensively in advertising)
Begging the question: Refers to assuming
something that needs to be proven.
Either/or: Reasoning that polarizes people and
issues with the idea that there are really only two
options.
Student Companion Website


Go to the student side of the Web site for
exercises, chapter overviews, and links to
writing resources for this chapter:
http://www.ablongman.com/trimbur
Click on the textbook cover, and then select
Student Resources.