Transcript Presentation

for Language Arts Enrichment and
Cross Curriculum Writing
Hilary Hardin
NGA
LMS
–Is it a fragment?
• Remember that all true sentences MUST
HAVE 3 COMPONENTS: a subject, a
verb, and a complete thought.
–Example: Before Carolyn begins studying.
Carolyn is the subject and begins is the verb,
but the phrase is a fragment because it makes
no sense by itself.
– Is it a run on?
• A comma cannot join 2 simple sentences. The
following methods are acceptable
– A COMMA AND A CONJUNCTION
» My dad bought me a car, but I have to pay him back.
– A SEMICOLON
» In one way Ethel has proven to be a very sweet dog;
she always greets Carl with a big sloppy kiss.
– A SEMICOLON, CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB , and
COMMA
» I don’t think I’ll be joining you for dinner; however,
Susan may be feeling well enough to meet you there
now.
Commas are too wimpy to hold 2 independent clauses
together. Connect them with semicolons instead.
Comma Splice:
You need to work out
more, your arms are really
weak.
Corrected Sentence:
You need to work
out more; your arms
are really weak.
• A SUBORDINATE CLAUSE before an
independent one needs a comma.
– Ex: If you want to win, you must work hard.
• Words that commonly begin a subordinate
clause: if, when, since, because, as, as if, after,
although, so that, than, though, unless, until,
when, whenever, wherever, while, before, even
though, in order that, in order to
(SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS—
ADVERB CLAUSES)
• Use a semicolon to replace a comma when
items in a series already have commas.
– EX: I have lived in Huntsville, Alabama;
Shelbyville, Tennessee; and Tallahassee, Florida.
• Use a comma with a conjunction ONLY when
the conjunction joins 2 sentences or 3 or more
items in a series.
• Use a semicolon to join 2 sentences on the
same topic.
• Quotation marks are to be used with DIRECT
QUOTES—someone's EXACT words. Ex: Joe
said, " I hate pickles."
• INDIRECT QUOTES do NOT require quotation
marks. EX: Joe said that he hates pickles.
• Use a colon at the
END OF AN
INDEPENDENT
CLAUSE if a LIST of 3
or more things is to
follow.
– EX: Bring these items
in your backpack:
binder, pencils, books,
and lunch box.
• ITALICIZE WHOLE WORKS or WHOLE PIECES,
names of vehicles, art and music. If the work is
NOT a smaller part of something else, underline
it. Ex: New York Times, Romeo and Juliet,
Airforce One, Titanic.
• UNDERLINING IS THE SAME AS ITALICIZING WHEN
A PERSON IS HANDWRITING SOMETHING.
• Use QUOTATION MARKS for works that are a
smaller part of something larger.
– “Article Title” (part of Magazine)
• Proper nouns (names of people and things) need to
be capitalized.
• Different from—not different than
• Too: also or extent
– EX: too much cake or me too
• To: preposition
– EX: to the store (has an
object)
• To: infinitive (to plus a verb)
– I was ready to eat.
• Two: 2
– EX: She is two years old.
• Where: place
– EX: Where is she?
• Were: past tense plural
of to be.
– EX: We were going to the
beach.
• Your: possessive pronoun
– EX: your book
• You're: contraction for
you are
– EX: You're wrong.
• There: a place
– EX: I live there.
• There: begins a sentence
– EX: There is one child.
• Their: possessive pronoun
–
EX: their home
• They're: contraction for
THEY ARE
–
EX: They're here.
AVOID THESE COMMON
PROBLEMS!
• Make sure each PRONOUN
AGREES with its
ANTECEDENT.
• Be especially careful of
pronouns that end in BODY,
ONE, or THING; they are
ALWAYS singular and take
singular verbs and
pronouns. EX: Everyone
must wash HIS hands.
• When EACH and EVERY are attached to a
compound subject they make it SINGULAR.
– EX: EACH BOY and GIRL listen to the presentation.
• Avoid a TENSE SHIFT.
– Ex: I ATE a burger, LISTEN to a CD, WATCH
television, and MAKE my bed.
• Use the same tense throughout your
sentence.
– Always match the first one used. EX: I ATE a
burger, LISTENED to a CD, WATCHED television, and
MADE my bed.
PARALLELISM
• Parallelism: Each item in a series should
FOLLOW THE SAME PATTERN.
– EX: Jeremy drank some eggnog, then some
presents needed to be wrapped, he took a walk,
and listened to Christmas music.
– SHOULD BE CHANGED TO: Jeremy drank some
eggnog, wrapped some presents, took a walk, and
listened to Christmas music.
– The pattern is verb-direct object, verb-direct
object, and verb-direct object.