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A Writing Primer
Parts of Speech
Sentence Structure
Writing Skills
Types of Writing
The Five Paragraph Essay
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Parts of Speech
The main par ts of speech explain the ways words can be used in di fferent ways. Every wordfunctions as at least one part of speech; many words can serve as two or more parts of speech,
depending on how they are used.
noun A word or phrase that names a person, place, thing (Fred, New York, table).
adjective A word or combination of words that modifies a noun (old, central, smooth ).
pronoun A word that substitutes for a noun and refers to a person, place, thing that was previously mentioned
or that can be figured out from the meaning of the sentence (he, she, it, that)
verb A word or phrase that expresses action (throw, feel).
adverb A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; they often end in ly (slowly, obstinately).
conjunction A word that connects other words, phrases, or sentences (and, but, or, because).
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Basic Elements of Every Sentence
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Mary playstennis.
Simple Sentence
one subject one predicate
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&
Tom and Mary playtennis.
Simple Sentences
compound subject one predicate
Tom and Mary playtennis and swim.
compound subject compound predicate
&&
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Compound Sentence
with Coordinating Conjunctions
SUBJECT PREDICATE
SUBJECT PREDICATE
and
FORAND
NOR
BUT
OR
YET
SO
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Compound Sentence
with Coordinating Conjunctions
Tom swims,
Mary plays tennis.
and
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Compound Sentence
with Conjunctive Adverbs
Tom is atheletic;
he is successful.
moreover,
MOREOVER
OTHERWISE
THEREFORE
HOWEVER
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Tom has benefited from his exercise program; he is fast
and energetic.
Compound Sentence
Semicolon
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Complex Sentence
with Subordinating Conjunctions
SUBJECT PREDICATE
SUBJECT PREDICATE
even though
EVEN THOUGH
WHEN
BECAUSE
UNLESS
WHEREAS
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Complex Sentence
with Subordinating Conjunctions
Tom is overweight
he is athletic.
even though
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Compound Complex
Sentence
Tom is overweight;
he is fast and energetic
however,
he is athletic.
because
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My fr iends and I play tennis and go bowling every weekend.
Simple Sentence
REVIEW
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Native and nonnative English speakers have different needs;however,
some schools fail to distinguish between these groups.
Compound Sentence
Conjunctive Adverb
Compound Sentence
with Coordinating Conjunction
Men may exercise harder, but they may not exercise as
regularly as women do.
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When people had to hunt for food, they had continuous exercise.
People had continuous exercise when they had to hunt for food.
Complex Sentence
Subordinating Conjunction
(Adverb clause)
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Descriptive: The idea behind descriptive writing is to bring something, someone, or someplace to life
through words. You might be asked to describe the house your family lives in, to express what it's like to
ride a roller coaster, or tell what life was like in America during the Civil War. The goal is to bring
something to life so vividly that even a reader who has never seen or heard of the subject before will beable to picture it.
Expository: This type of writing includes simple explanations, summaries, and anything that falls under
the header of "How to". Instructions on how to use appliances, directions from point A to point B,
invitations to a birthday party, and retellings of a sequence of events are all forms of expository writing.
Clarity and brevity are key; flowery details and opinions should be omitted. You should include enough
information to make the instructions or communication clear to an average person but not so much detail
that the reader gets overwhelmed or bored.
Narrative: Narrative writing tells a story. Stories like "What I did on my vacation" or "The most
important day of my life" are narrative in nature. The task is to describe an experience you have had.
This type of writing is almost always written in the first person (using "I") to show that it's a personal
experience. Make sure that the story has a beginning, middle, and end; an introduction that explains
what the story is about, the story itself, and a conclusion that wraps up the experience. You should use
detail, adjectives, and personal thoughts to make the story come alive and make it specifically your own.
Persuasive: Persuasive writing focuses on using prose to convince the reader to do something, from
buying a new stove to voting for a candidate. For example, you might be asked to argue one side of a
debate, such as whether or not a principal should be allowed to search students' lockers or if movie stars
make too much money. A successful persuasive essay will contain evidence (such as statistics, facts, and
quotes) to support the arguments, a discussion of the opposing view's side, and a well-formed conclusion.
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The five-paragraph essay is the most popular way to learn how to structure a longer piece. Its structure is constant and easily
assessable, so its easy to judge each essay against your prior work or the work of others.
A five-paragraph essay contains an introductory paragraph, three supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion that together discussa main point or thesis. It is a little like a sandwich, with two slices of bread keeping the meat of the sandwich together. The
first and last paragraphs hold together each piece of the essay neatly within.
The introduction discusses the subject generally, briefly touches on what the points will be in the next three paragraphs, and
contains the thesis. If the essay's argument is, "The BLT is the best sandwich ever," the introduction might start with a broad
statement about sandwiches, then talk about meat, lettuce, and tomato, and end with a statement about the BLT's superiority. It
should start with the general and move to the specific.
The three main paragraphs explain in detail a single idea, example, or argument that supports the main point or thesis. In the
BLT essay, the second paragraph might talk about the wonders of lettuce, the third about the crispiness of bacon, and the fourth
about the juicy complement of tomato.
The concluding paragraph summarizes, briefly, your main point and supporting ideas. After that, it should discuss more of why
this is important (i.e. because the BLT isn't served at fast food restaurants), what it means to you the author (i.e. my
grandmother and I ate BLTs every Saturday for lunch), or some other larger concept related to the thesis (i.e. if everyone ate
BLTs the world would be a better place). The conclusion is sort of the opposite of the introduction, in that it tends to start with
the specific and become more general.
The last thing to think about when writing a five-paragraph essay is the transitions between paragraphs. The final line of one
paragraph should flow logically into the first sentence of the next. For example, if the second paragraph ended with, "Lettuce
gives the sandwich the perfect crunch." The first line of the third paragraph might begin, "The crunchiest part, though, is the
bacon." Look for relationships that can be formed between the two ideas. Good transitions can be comparisons or contrasts,
using lead-ins like, "Others feel the bacon adds too much crunch" or "Although bacon is important, it's the tomato that makes
the meal."
This basic five-paragraph approach can be adapted to both shorter pieces and longer papers.
The Five Paragraph Essay