Transcript Writing Strong Sentences

Writing
Sentences
Copyright © 2015 by Write Score LLC
Learning Objective and Goals:
Students will be able to write strong sentences by:
stating topics clearly
using strong verbs
using modifiers properly
Characteristics of Strong
Sentences:
• Coherent:
• Easy to understand
• The topic or main point is clear
• Unified:
• Expresses a complete thought
• Includes only details that support
or enrich the thought
• Consistent:
• Tone maintained throughout
• Consistent verb
Types of Sentences:
• Simple Sentences have a subject and a verb and
express a complete thought. These are also called
independent clauses, meaning they can stand on
their own.
• Compound Sentences are two or more complete
sentences (independent clauses) joined by a comma
and a conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
• Complex Sentences are sentences that contain an
independent clause and a dependent clause, which
is a phrase that can’t stand on its own.
Making Subjects Clear:
Topic
(Subject)
Point
(Verb)
What
is the There was a ball flying through the air.
topic?
The ball flew through the air.
Using Strong Verbs:
Weak Verbs
Strong Verbs
am
was
been
are
were
been
is
was
been
pounce
bellow
sidle
heave
ponder
devour
explode
savor
amble
For Example…
Chocolate is the best type of candy.
Chocolate surpasses all other types of candy.
Soccer is a great sport for learning team work.
Soccer promotes strong team-building skills.
Using Active Voice:
Active voice means that the subject does the action in
the sentence.
Passive voice means that the noun that would be the
object of the action in the sentence and appears as the
subject of the sentence.
The dog was washed by his owner.
The owner washed his dog.
ACTIVE
PASSIVE
Adding Modifiers:
Modifiers: words, phrases, or clauses that add details
to sentences.
John was
waving in the
Modifiers should be placed close to the words they
breeze? Not
describe. When a modifier is not located near the
likely. The flag
word(s) it modifies, it can create confusion for the
was waving in
reader.
the breeze.
For Example:
Waving in the breeze, John saluted the flag.
John saluted the flag waving in the breeze.
With a Partner:
• Read each sentence.
• Revise each sentence as indicated in parenthesis.
1. There was water flooding the hallway. (clear subject)
2. The teacher was happy and was smiling at the
class. (strong verbs)
3. The boy was hit by a tennis ball. (active voice)
4. Edward drove his new truck to the store, which still
had the sticker on the window. (relocate the modifier)
On Your Own!
• Read the paragraph below.
• Rewrite it correctly using what you’ve learned about
sentence types, subjects, verbs, active voice, and
modifiers.
Skateboarding is Davis’ favorite thing to do. It is
something he does daily. On his board sometimes he
rides all the way across town but other times he stays
close to home and has his friends over
to do new tricks in the driveway. Daring
and ambitious, they are always
impressed with his moves.