Composition Practice · Narrative Writing 4.1 Characters in Biographical Narratives . . . . . . . ....

Grammar and Composition

Composition PracticeGrade 11

Copyright © 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce material contained herein on the condition that such material bereproduced only for classroom use; and be provided to students, teachers, and familieswithout charge; and be used solely in conjunction with Writer’s Choice. Any other reproduction, for use or sale, is prohibited without written permission of the publisher.

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AcknowledgmentsGrateful acknowledgment is given authors, publishers, and agents for permission toreprint the following copyrighted material. Every effort has been made to determinecopyright owners. In the case of any omissions, the Publisher will be pleased to makesuitable acknowledgments in future editions.p. 3 from Covered Wagon Women: Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails

1840–1890 edited & compiled by Kenneth L. Holmes. Copyright © 1990 byKenneth L. Holmes. Published by The Arthur H. Clark Company.

p. 8 from Away Goes Sally by Elizabeth Coatsworth. Copyright © 1934 by TheMacmillan Company. Published by The Macmillan Company.

p. 21 from The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial by Herman Wouk. Copyright © 1954 byHerman Wouk. Used by permission of Doubleday, a division of BantamDoubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

p. 29 from Max Perkins, Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg. Copyright © 1978 by A.Scott Berg. Used by permission of the publisher, Dutton, an imprint of NewAmerican Library, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.

p. 46 from Elements of Argument: A Text and Reader by Annette T. Rottenberg.Copyright © 1985 by St. Martin’s Press, Inc. Published by St. Martin’s Press.Reprinted by permission of the author.

p. 52 from The Death of the Moth and Other Essays by Virginia Woolf. Copyright ©1942 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. Published by Harcourt BraceJovanovich, Inc.

Personal Writing1.1 Writing to Discover I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1 Writing to Discover II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.2 Writing in a Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.3 Writing to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.4 Writing a Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.5 Writing a College Application Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.6 Writing About Literature: Writing About Nonfiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71.7 Writing About Literature: Writing About Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Writing Process2.1 Writing: A Five-Stage Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.2 Prewriting: Finding Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102.3 Prewriting: Questioning to Explore a Topic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112.4 Prewriting: Audience and Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122.5 Prewriting: Observing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132.6 Drafting: Achieving Unity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142.7 Drafting: Organizing an Essay I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152.7 Drafting: Organizing an Essay II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162.8 Drafting: Writing with Coherence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172.9 Revising: Using Peer Responses I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182.9 Revising: Using Peer Responses II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192.10 Editing and Presenting: Completing Your Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202.11 Writing About Literature: Analyzing a Character in a Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Descriptive Writing3.1 Creating Vivid Description I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223.1 Creating Vivid Description II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233.2 Using Sensory Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243.3 Creating a Mood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253.4 Writing a Character Sketch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263.5 Describing an Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273.6 Writing About Literature: Writing About Mood in a Play. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Unit 3

Unit 2

Unit 1

iii

Contents

Narrative Writing4.1 Characters in Biographical Narratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294.2 Writing a Biographical Sketch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304.3 Structuring the Long Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314.4 Writing About Literature: Identifying Theme in a Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . 324.5 Writing About Literature: Responding to Narrative Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Expository Writing5.1 Writing Expository Paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345.2 Explaining a Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355.3 Analyzing Cause-and-Effect Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365.4 Writing an Essay to Compare and Contrast I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375.4 Writing an Essay to Compare and Contrast II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385.5 Analyzing Problems, Presenting Solutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395.6 Using Time Lines and Process Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405.7 Building a Reasonable Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415.8 Writing About Literature: Comparing and Contrasting Two

Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425.9 Writing About Literature: Comparing and Contrasting Two

Poems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Persuasive Writing6.1 Stating Your Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446.2 Sifting Fact from Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456.3 Evaluating Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466.4 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476.4 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486.5 Recognizing Logical Fallacies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496.6 Writing and Presenting a Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506.7 Writing a Letter to an Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516.8 Writing About Literature: Evaluating a Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Unit 6

Unit 5

Unit 4

Contents

iv

Writer’s Choice: Composition Practice, Grade 11, Unit 1 1

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Charting Significant Events

The left-hand column in the chart below lists general areas in which any writer might findideas. Fill out the middle and right-hand columns for at least three areas as you recall signifi-cant events in your life. You may list more than one item in each column.

■ B. Creating a Life Map

On a separate sheet of paper, map out the events from the chart in chronological order.Examine your life map, and write answers to the questions below.

1. Do you see a pattern of causes and effects? Any other type of pattern? ______________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What specific events from the life map are part of the pattern(s) you identify?________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Composition PracticeC

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1.1 Writing to Discover I

In personal writing you may express your thoughts, feelings, and experiences for yourself or others. A life map, chart, or personal time line can help you find experiences from your life to generate writing ideas.

Key Information

School

Family

Trips/Vacations

Current Events

Friendships

Games/Sports

EventPlace/TimeArea of Experience

2 Writer’s Choice: Composition Practice, Grade 11, Unit 1

Planning Your Writing

Select an event or chain of events that represents part of a pattern in your life. Brainstorm for interesting details to include in a personal writing assignment. Record your ideas in thegraphic organizer below. Write the experience to be described on the “trunk” of the “tree” andsupporting details on each of the “branches.” Add as many branches as you need. Considerhow the experience affected you and how you felt and reacted at the time.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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1.1 Writing to Discover II

Patterns connect events like a path that often cannot be seen until it has been traveled. Sometimesone event can cause a string of reactions resulting in a great accomplishment. Through personal writing you can gain a better understanding of your own path.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Identifying Features of a Journal

Read this excerpt from the diary of Ruth Shackleford, who traveled from Missouri toCalifornia with her family in 1865. Then answer the questions that follow.

1. Why do you think Shackleford is keeping a journal?

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What does she record in her journal?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

■ B. Keeping a Travel Journal

Imagine you are keeping a journal during a trip. After choosing a situation from the list below,jot down some images or phrases that come to mind. On a separate sheet of paper, write aone-paragraph entry for your journal.

1. seeing a city, landform, or well-known monument for the first time

2. a day of travel by car, train, bus, or plane

3. encountering severe weather conditions


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1.2 Writing in a Journal

A diary or journal lets you record information, impressions, feelings, and events. What you writein your journal is your choice.

Key Information

Clark County, Missouri, May 1, 1865. Thismorning we started from Clark in company

with two other families. . . . I feel very sad andlow spirited on account of Frankie being sickand seeing them part with their friends. . . . Wetravelled today over very rough, muddy roads.The children and I rode in At's horse wagon, thecattle being unruly and it raining. Frank's teamstalled twice; had to pry the wagon out withfence rails. . . .

May 2 . . . We had a big time getting the unrulycattle yoked. It is still cloudy and the roads areawful muddy. Every now and then the womenand children have to get out and walk through

a mud hole. We are camped tonight by a housein a lot; turned the cattle in the lot and fedthem. The wind being very high, we liked neverto get supper [we thought we'd never get sup-per ready], it being the first time we havecooked out of doors.

May 3 A beautiful morning. We all slept in ourwagons. Frankie was sick all night with a pain inhis side. I feel very uneasy about him. . . . Wepassed through Memphis, a very pretty littletown. We stopped there while Frank got twoiron rods made to put in his wagon; paid $1 forthem. Circuit court was in session.

Ruth Shackleford, from Covered Wagon Women

Literature Model


■ A. Describing Learning Styles

Read the following excerpt from a geography textbook. Then, in the space provided below,explain how people with different learning styles would best learn and remember the informa-tion presented.

1. a visual learner__________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. an auditory learner ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. a tactile learner _________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

■ B. Keeping a Learning Log

Evaluate your understanding of the International Date Line. Imagine the lines below are partof your learning log, and use them to summarize the material above in your own words. Readyour summary, and then list facts or concepts you need to clarify. Use a separate sheet of paperif necessary.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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1.3 Writing to Learn

People use primarily three basic learning styles: visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), and tactile (doingor manipulating). Analyzing your primary learning style and keeping a learning log will help you getmore out of the time you spend studying.

Key Information

Look [at a time zone map, and you can see that] moving east, you lose time. Moving

west, you gain time. However, if you were tokeep moving west, you would eventually losetime at the International Date Line. Suppose, forexample, that you traveled west fromGreenwich, starting at 12 noon on Thursday,and returned in 24 hours. You would be travel-ing as fast as the Earth is rotating. You wouldgain an hour in each of the 24 time zones you

entered. You would seem to be returning thesame day you left. However, in Greenwich it is 1day later. To avoid such confusion, an imaginaryline was established at 180 longitude. At thisline, called the International Date Line, the daychanges. The calendar date on the east side ofthe International Date Line is 1 day earlier thanit is to the west.

McGraw-Hill World Geography

Literature Model


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Planning to Write

Imagine that you have spent a month of your summer vacation visiting the family of a formerneighborhood friend who now lives some distance away. During the vacation your hosts tookyou sightseeing, to a baseball game, to the beach, and to a theme park. In the space provided,make two lists. One list will include items you want to mention in a letter to your friend. Theother list will include items you want to say in a letter to your friend’s parents. The purpose ofboth letters is to thank your hosts for their hospitality. Think about the differences in languageand tone for these two audiences.

Friend Parents

___________________________________ _______________________________________

___________________________________ _______________________________________

___________________________________ _______________________________________

___________________________________ _______________________________________

■ B. Writing a Letter

Write a letter of thanks either to your friend or your friend’s parents. Use the appropriate listfrom Part A to help you decide what to include in the letter.


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1.4 Writing a Letter

Your purpose and your audience should influence the language and tone of your personal letters.

Key Information


■ A. Highlighting Personality Traits

A common type of college application question asks you to describe yourself. Below are examples from essays in which students were asked to describe themselves based on an adjective. Choose the excerpt that comes closest to something you might write, making slightrevisions if you wish. Then add at least two sentences of your own to “personalize” the essay.

1. I am very superclastic. Superclastic means “adventurous around new people in new situations as

well as always looking at the familiar with new eyes.”____________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. I could use words that were very broad and subject to a wide range of interpretations. I considered

words such as industrious, accomplished, and motivated. _________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. Unfortunately, I am doomed to see eighteen solutions to every problem, six sides to every square,

because I’m very analytical.________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. I guess what I fear most is being described as ordinary. __________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

■ B. Preparing to Write a Self-Descriptive Essay

List some adjectives that you think best describe yourself, including one of your own creation.Jot down examples, experiences, or other details you could use to back up this assessment ofyourself.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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1.5 Writing a College Application Essay

A good college application essay reveals what is unique about you. Before writing, think about yourpersonality traits, accomplishments, and skills. Aim for clarity as well as creativity.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

Responding to an Article

Read the excerpt below. Respond to the information presented by describing your initial reac-tions on the journal page that follows. If necessary, read the excerpt more than once.


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1.6W R I T I N G A B O U T L I T E R A T U R E

Writing About Nonfiction

Writing about what you have read is one way of organizing your thoughts and deepening your under-standing of the information. You can respond to nonfiction by recording your reactions in a reader-response journal. As you develop your response, you may want to write another article with adifferent perspective, write a research paper on the same topic, or fashion your thoughts into a poem,short story, or script.

Key Information

[Bill and Kathy Magee are the founders of]Operation Smile, a non-profit organization thatdispatches medical teams to developing coun-tries to perform free corrective surgery on disfig-ured children. The things they deal with aremisfortunes that brand the spirit as much as theflesh: cleft lips and palates, congenital hand andfoot deformities, burns and facial tumors. . . .

[Operation Smile] resembles a mini-Peace Corps,with a $2 million annual budget, 14,000 volun-teers, and chapters in a dozen U.S. cities andfour countries. To date, the Magees havelaunched 32 medical missions to nine countries,

including China, Vietnam, Colombia, Ghana,and Kenya, where a total of 4,800 children havebeen treated. The money—the existing missionsrequire about $1.5 million in cash and $1 mil-lion in supplies each year—comes from privatecontributions and corporate gifts or just frombursts of inspiration. For example, the cost ofthe Panama mission was offset in part by$6,500 raised by teenagers in Greensboro, N.C.,who organized a bowlathon.

Richard Lacayo,“No One Will Ever Laugh at Me Again,”

People magazine

Quotation or paraphrase from text What text makes me think of

Literature Model


■ A. First Response

On the lines provided, describe your first response to the poem below. What images came tomind as you read the poem? What words or features did you like?

■ B. Extending Your Response

Read the poem again, and then complete the activities below.

1. Paraphrase the main idea or message of this poem. _____________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Add images of your own to illustrate that “swift things are beautiful.” ______________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. Add images of your own to illustrate that “slow things are beautiful.”_______________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. If you were to add two more stanzas to this poem, what would their first lines be? ____________

______________________________________________________________________________

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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Writing about Poetry

Readers may respond to the same poem in different ways. Some are moved emotionally; others take a more intellectual approach, analyzing the literary elements of the poem. You can enrich yourresponses by writing about your reactions to a poem, by finding out more about the poet, or by creating a poem of your own.

Key Information

Swift things are beautiful:Swallows and deer,

And lightning that falls

Bright-veined and clear,

Rivers and meteors,

Wind in the wheat,

The strong-withered horse,

The runner's sure feet.

And slow things are beautiful:

The closing of the day,

The pause of the wave

That curves downward to spray,

The ember that crumbles,

The opening flower,

And the ox that moves on

In the quiet of power.

Elizabeth Coatsworth,“Swift Things AreBeautiful”

Literature Model


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Understanding the Components of the Writing Process

Fill in the following flow chart by first writing the name of each stage in the writing process.Then under each stage, write the letters of the tasks that writers do in that stage.

■ B. Using the Writing Process

Imagine that you are writing an essay or speech and you get stuck for the reasons describedbelow. To which earlier stage of the process would you return? Write your answers in thespaces provided.

1. You are having trouble deciding what information to put in and what to leave out because you are

not sure of your purpose. Go back to ___________.

2. You think of a new piece of evidence that would strengthen your position. Go back to___________.

3. You are running for local office and discover that you have prepared your speech for tomorrow

night’s audience instead of tonight’s. Go back to ___________.

4. You notice that your paper is full of typographical errors. Go back to ___________.

5. Your friend reads your essay and gives you suggestions to make it flow better. Go back to

___________.


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2.1 Writing: A Five-Stage Process

The writing process consists of five stages: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing/proofreading,and publishing/presenting. Writers progress from one stage to the next and accomplish specifictasks within each stage. Writers often go back to earlier stages to rework their material.

Key Information

a. correct grammar, spelling,mechanics

b. write first version

c. set neatly in final form

d. research topic

e. organize material

f. improve content, structure,flow

g. find topic

h. identify audience and purpose

TasksStage 5:

Stage 4:

Stage 2: Stage 3:

Stage 1:

FINISH

START


■ A. Using Writing Starters

Use one of the following starters to freewrite on the lines below. You may continue on anothersheet of paper if you need more room.

1. If I were a famous . . .

2. Americans love to . . .

3. The first thing I see when I wake up is . . .

4. A perfect day would be . . .

■ B. Using a Tree Diagram

Take one of the topics that emerged from your freewriting above, and use the tree diagrambelow to explore it further. Write a word or a brief phrase to designate the topic at the base ofthe tree. Then write specific ideas about the topic in the branches that grow out of the trunk.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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2.2 Prewriting: Finding Ideas

When you need a writing topic, freewriting can help. Begin writing about a word or subject andallow yourself to move freely from one idea to the next. To help you get going in the freewritingprocess, you can use a writing starter like the ones in Part A, below. When you have decided on atopic, you can use a tree diagram to explore different ways of thinking about the topic.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Exploring a Subject

You are preparing to write a character sketch of a close friend or relative. Complete the chartbelow by identifying the type of question provided. Then choose your subject, and brieflyanswer each question.

■ B. Identifying Questions to Generate Detail

The details about spring in each of the following sentences were generated by different types ofquestions. Identify the type of question that was most likely used with a P for personal, C forcreative, A for analytical, or I for informational.

______ 1. After nature’s long inertia in the winter, the sudden activity in the spring is like themolecules in a pot of boiling liquid.

______ 2. In the spring I feel enthusiastic about the most mundane activities.

______ 3. Some flowers bloom when their sensors measure the lengthened day of spring,while others bloom in response to increased temperature.

______ 4. By midspring in the country, the temperature can reach 75°.

______ 5. Streets that were drab and lifeless only weeks before have become almost tropical,exotic places with abundant color and vigorous life.

______ 6. The combination of increased temperature and moisture provides an environmentsuitable for plant growth.


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2.3 Prewriting: Questioning to Explore a Topic

To generate ideas for your writing, you can ask four different types of questions: personal, creative,analytical, and informational. Each type of question serves a different purpose in the search forinformation and perspective on a topic.

Key Information

1.

AnswerTypeQuestion

What kinds of clothes does theperson like to wear?

2. What do I like about this person?

3. When I think about this person’shabits, what patterns of behaviorbecome evident?

4. How does this person resemblea famous character or famous person?


■ A. Adjusting Purpose to Fit the Audience

For each topic listed in the chart, write two possible audiences and two corresponding purposes for presenting the topic to those audiences.

■ B. Writing for Your Audience

Choose one of the topics above in Part A. Describe briefly the kinds of details (factual, descrip-tive, fantastic), the tone (serious, poetic, humorous, casual), and the choice of words (technical,simple, slang) that you would use for each of the audiences you selected.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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2.4 Prewriting: Audience and Purpose

Before you can start to write about a topic, consider your audience. Keep in mind the reader's or lis-tener’s identity, needs, and interests. Is your audience the general public or a highly specialized group?What is the average age of its members? How much does the audience know about your topic? Afteridentifying the nature of your audience, decide whether your purpose in writing about your topic isto explain, entertain, describe, persuade, or narrate.

Key Information

the local newspaper

roller-skating

mall walking

learning to drive

PurposeAudienceTopic

a.

b.

a.

b.

a.

b.

a.

b.

a.

b.

a.

b.

a.

b.

a.

b.

a.

b.

DetailsAudience Word ChoiceTone

Topic:


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Recording Sensory Observations

Examine the following observation chart. In the first column is a list of subjects—people, ani-mals, objects, places, or situations—that are under observation. In the second column is spacefor notes recording the sensory information learned from observation. Record details from asmany of the five senses as possible for each category.

■ B. Developing Observations

Choose one of the scenes from the chart above to focus on further. Think about your ownassociations, emotions, and impressions in regard to the scene. Then imagine the scene from adifferent perspective: inside the toy shop, for instance, or outside the movie theater during thedaytime. Record these additional impressions on the lines below.


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2.5 Prewriting: Observing

To create a sharp, vivid description, start by observing sensory details: sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. Then go beyond simple sensory details to record your own associations, impressions, andobservations from different perspectives.

Key Information

a rainy dayin the city

Sensory ImpressionsSubject

the windowof a toy shop

lunch with a friendin a restaurant

inside amovie theater

a favorite pet


Writing Unified Paragraphs

The following sets contain information about a subject for a paragraph. Each set, however,contains one irrelevant detail that does not belong in the paragraph. Draw a line through theirrelevant detail in each set. Then use the remaining information to write a paragraph. Be sureto state the main idea clearly in your topic sentence.

SET ASUBJECT: the characteristics of a good auctioneer1. a sense of humor to hold the audience's attention2. sharp eyes to spot bidders’ signals3. a clear, carrying voice4. comfortable shoes5. the ability to deal with large audiences6. a talent for showmanship7. the ability to think quickly in a fast-paced auction

SET BSUBJECT: a navy flier’s rescue by dolphins1. a navy flier is shot down over the ocean2. he loses blood and waits for an air-sea rescue3. dolphins were considered sacred by ancient Greeks4. a school of dolphins drives off sharks5. dolphins circle the flier until the rescue plane arrives6. sharks’ triangle-shaped fins were seen to infest the entire area

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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2.6 Drafting: Achieving Unity

To achieve unity in your written work, first make sure that you have clearly stated the main idea inyour topic sentence. Then make sure that all the details, facts, and examples you use support themain idea.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

Selecting an Organizing Technique

Each set below contains a statement of purpose and a description of the data that will be used in an essay. Select the best organizing technique for the purpose and data given ineach set by writing compare and contrast, order of importance, pro and con, spatial order, orchronological order.

SET 1Purpose: To give a balanced view of the benefits and dangers of nuclear powerData: Historical facts about accidents in nuclear power plants; statistics on safe and unsafeperformance; explanation of problems of waste disposal; facts about low air pollution fromnuclear power

Organizing Technique: _______________________________________________________________

SET 2Purpose: To provide instructions for putting a bicycle togetherData: Suggestions for common household tools that can be used; descriptions of each step inputting the bicycle together; diagrams


SET 3Purpose: To describe an old house in which a crime takes placeData: Details of the house’s location in relation to neighboring houses and to the nearby town;description of the exterior appearance of the house; details of the locations of rooms and fur-nishings within the house


SET 4Purpose: To argue that a busy intersection needs the installation of a traffic light rather than astop signData: Eyewitness accounts of motorists’ confusion at the intersection; police statistics on thenumber of cars that have been caught speeding through the intersection; statistics and descrip-tions of traffic accidents that have occurred at the intersection


SET 5Purpose: To describe common characteristics and differences among four siblingsData: Descriptions and examples of physical appearance, temperament, likes and dislikes, workhabits



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2.7 Drafting: Organizing an Essay I

Five techniques that you can use to organize the information you have gathered into an essay arecompare and contrast, order of importance, pro and con, spatial order, and chronologicalorder.

Key Information


Understanding the Parts of an Essay

Read the following short text on ultrasound. Then answer the questions below.

a. Two and a half million pulses of sound per second are fired through the skin, and the echoesthat bounce off the body’s internal structures are converted rapidly into a visual map.

b. This is the miracle of the ultrasound transducer, which already has changed medicine andpromises to play a role in a wide range of human activity.

c. In medicine, the list of ultrasound’s uses grows longer every year.

d. Ultrasound provides clear views of the brain, heart, arteries, liver, and other internal organs, aswell as easier and less painful treatments for kidney stones, eye tumors, and glaucoma.

e. Ultrasound is also used to seal plastic packaging and to clean minute crevices in jewelry andlaboratory equipment.

f. In the future, fishermen could use ultrasound to locate schools of fish deep below the ocean’s surface.

g. All kinds of equipment could be inspected with ultrasound for cracks and other flaws.

h. Ultrasound enables us to see things that we could never see before.

______ 1. Which sentences are part of the introduction?

______ 2. Which sentence is intended to capture the audience’s attention?

______ 3. Which sentence states the main idea?

______ 4. Which sentence sets up the organizing technique?

______ 5. Which sentences are part of the body?

______ 6. Which sentence provides an overview, or conclusion?

7. What organizing technique is used? ____________________________________________

8. What new perspective does the conclusion offer? _________________________________

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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2.7 Drafting: Organizing an Essay II

An essay comprises three parts. The introduction presents a general picture of the essay’s subject andpurpose. The body presents a long, close-up view of the subject consistent with the general picturepresented in the introduction. The conclusion presents a new view of the material.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Using a Transitional Statement

The two following paragraphs could be found together as part of an essay. However, their logi-cal connection is weak. Add a sentence at the beginning of the second paragraph to serve as atransition from the first paragraph.

The science of devising and breaking secret ciphers and other secret codes is calledcryptography. Cryptographers who specialize in the breaking rather than the making of codesare known as cryptographic analysts. Their work is as challenging as a game of chess but farmore difficult to master than most games of skill. In fact, secret codes that are based on a codebook that lists code words with their decoded meanings are almost impossible to break. Thecode book is the key. Therefore, the captain of a naval vessel threatened with capture mustalways jettison his lead-bound code book.

Secret ciphers, which encipher the actual letters in a message, are of two basic types—substitution and transposition. In substitution ciphers, each letter of the alphabet stands foranother letter. For example, A could stand for Z, B could stand for Y, C for X, and so on. Youcould quickly set up this substitution system yourself by printing the alphabet twice, first inthe normal order and then, right below, in reverse order. In a transposition cipher, the letters of the message are scrambled in a systematic way. Here is a simple example of transposition:Each word is written backward is changed to drawkcab nettirw si drow hcae. Guided by cluesrooted in the nature of the English language, cryptographic analysts can and do break theseciphers, no matter how complex the systems by which they are enciphered. Of course, recipi-ents of such an enciphered message do not need to carry a heavy code book; they need only tomemorize the encoding system.

HINT: If you can decipher this cryptographic question, it will give you a hint about the transi-tional sentence for the second paragraph: Dsrxs rh vzhrvi gl wvxrksvi, z xlwv yzhvw lm z xlwvyllp li z xrksvi?

■ B. Identifying Words That Develop Connections

Underline the transitional words and phrases, pronoun references, and repeated words andimages in the sentences of the two paragraphs above.


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2.8 Drafting: Writing with Coherence

Coherent writing is writing that develops connections between sentences and paragraphs.Transitional words and phrases, pronoun references, and repeated words and images will helpto make your written work a coherent piece.

Key Information


Describing the Roles of the Writer and the Reviewer

The box below includes the tasks of both the writer and the peer reviewer. Choosing the cor-rect tasks for each person, write a paragraph describing the role of the writer in the reviewprocess and another paragraph describing the role of the reviewer.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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2.9 Revising: Using Peer Responses I

A peer reviewer can give you an objective reading of your work. In a successful peer review, thewriter and the reviewer understand their different roles.

Key Information

1. directs criticism at the writing

2. seeks fresh insights into thework

3. tries to bring out the writer’sbest work

4. questions confusing comments

5. asks for suggestions

6. begins with praise

7. seeks to understand thewriter’s intentions

8. takes careful notes

9. directs criticism at the writing

10. decides on all final changes

11. seeks to understand thewriter’s meaning

12. suggests specific solutions

13. listens with an open mind

Tasks


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

Reviewing a Written Piece

You are asked to review the following paragraph, written by a classmate. Read the paragraph atleast twice, and then answer the questions below.

1. Briefly describe your first impression of the paragraph.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Does the opening make you want to keep reading? Can you suggest a better one?

______________________________________________________________________________

3. What is the main idea of the paragraph? Where is it stated?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. Which sentences in the paragraph do not support the topic sentence?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5. Ask two questions that will elicit new supporting details, facts, or examples.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

6. Is the ending strong? Can you suggest a better ending?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


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2.9 Revising: Using Peer Responses II

Reviewers read a written work at least twice—first, to get an overall impression of the piece and, second, to examine its content, coherence, and flow. Reviewers should not be concerned withmisspelled words or grammar problems but should ask themselves questions about the clarity of the thesis, the strength of the supporting evidence, and the expression of the argument.

Key Information

Humor is not always easy to define. Psychologists have identified many sources of humor, fromrepetition to sudden incongruities of behavior. Sometimes when you aren’t trying to be witty, you

come up with something that makes everyone laugh. Other times, you find that your best jokes fallflat. Comedians say that their most effective lines occur to them when they are doing something else,like shopping for groceries or taking the dog to the vet. When they let their subconscious do thework, they think of their most successful jokes. The best humor is usually spontaneous. What one person finds funny another person will not find funny at all.

Model


Editing and Proofreading a Paragraph

Read the following paragraphs first to edit them and then to proofread them. Use correctproofreading marks to indicate changes. Note that all proper names have been spelledcorrectly. (If you wish, you may refer to pages 91 and 92 of your textbook.)

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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2.10 Editing and Presenting: Completing Your Essay

Editing involves examining the construction of the sentences and paragraphs; proofreading involvessearching for errors in capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Key Information

When Lady Mary Montagu traveled to turkey from England in 1717 she

was’nt planning to save thousands of lives. She was simply a curious

tourist observing people and customs. The local method for avoiding

smallpox, a disease that is desimating people back home, especially

fascinated her—injections of small doses of the smallpox virus. The

injection resulted in a few days of illness , but afterward the patient

will no longer be suggestible to the disease.

Upon returning home, Montagu experimented with this procedure and

published a report of her findings; however, his discovery of what we

now call innoculation did not receive much attention. In 1796 physician

Edward Jenner became interested in Montagu’s findings. His similar

studies and publications made smallpox vaccinations a widely accepted

practice. Reducing the death rate in England by two thirds. In the 1970s

the World Health Organization declared the disease evaluated.

Model


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

Freewriting About a Character in a Play

Read the following lines from a play about a fictitious Navy court-martial during World War II.Fill in the cluster diagram with adjectives or phrases about Greenwald.


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Analyzing a Character in a Play

Begin an analysis of a character in a play by freewriting or by creating a cluster diagram to focuson his or her character traits.

Key Information

MARYK: I don’t like the way you’re handlingme.

GREENWALD: Good. That makes us even.

MARYK: How’s that?

GREENWALD: I don’t like handling you.

MARYK: What? Well, then, maybe I’d better—

GREENWALD: (Crossing to desk and takingpapers from briefcase) Maryk, I’d rather be pros-ecuting you than defending you. I told you thatthe first time we met. Nevertheless, I’m defend-ing you. If it’s humanly possible to win anacquittal in this case I’m going to win you anacquittal. If you want a prediction, I believe I’mgoing to get you off. But you can’t help me. Sojust leave me be. . . .

MARYK: (staring at him) Greenwald, is theresomething eating you?

GREENWALD: I don’t know. (Paces in silence fora moment. Halts) I’m a . . . good lawyer, Maryk,and I’m a pretty poor flyer. Took quite a shel-lacking at flight school from snotty ensigninstructors four or five years younger than me. Ididn’t like it. Baby-faced kids couldn’t do suchthings to Greenwald the hot-shot lawyer. I usedto daydream about a court-martial coming upon that base. And some poor joe would needdefending. And I’d step in, and take over, andtwist the Navy’s arm, and make it holler Uncle.Now—here’s my dream come true. You knowsomething? I don’t look forward to twisting theNavy’s arm. Not one bit.

Herman Wouk,from The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

Greenwald

Literature Model


■ A. Understanding Spatial Order

The sentences in the following description are out of order. Read the topic sentence below; itwill be sentence 1. Then rearrange the supporting sentences in logical spatial order, and writethe appropriate numbers on the lines provided for sentences 2–8.

Topic sentence:

______ 1. In spite of its enormous size, the room had an intimate air.

Supporting sentences:

______ 2. Both this balcony and the wall below it were lined with book-filled shelves.

______ 3. Beyond the rug, along the right-hand wall, a small fireplace flanked by tworeclining chairs formed a cozy corner.

______ 4. From this corner, your eye traveled to the rear wall, which was broken by thekitchen door and a hallway to the rest of the house.

______ 5. Centered so that it seemed to fill the doorway, the dining table glittered with crystaland china.

______ 6. To the right of the table, two couches, several straight-backed chairs, and a coffeetable were grouped hospitably on a handsome Navaho rug.

______ 7. There was even space in front of the shelves for a library table and several chairs.

______ 8. At the right of the hallway, a stairway rose to the balcony.

■ B. Using Order of Impression

Use the setting above as the basis for a paragraph describing how the room would impress youif you were entering it for the first time. Use order of impression, concentrating on thosedetails an observer would be most likely to notice. You may omit one or two details you thinkare insignificant and add people to the scene to make it more effective. Use additional paper ifnecessary.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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3.1 Creating Vivid Description I

When you write descriptions, organize sensorydetails in one of the following ways: To showhow details relate to one another in space, usespatial order. To show that some details are

more important than others, use order of importance. To organize details according tothe order in which you experienced them, useorder of impression.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Recognizing Order of Importance

The six sentences below explain why an artist chose a particular apartment as a combinationstudio and living space. Renumber the sentences to express a logical order of importance,placing what you consider the most important reason first.

______ 1. The wall of shelves might provide some storage space for supplies.

______ 2. The eastern exposure promising morning sunlight was just what she had beenlooking for.

______ 3. What’s more, huge windows were complemented by a skylight.

______ 4. The tiny bedroom offered the bonus of privacy, which she had been willing tosacrifice in order to have good studio light.

______ 5. The main room was large enough for a work space and to show prospective clientsfinished paintings.

______ 6. Even the kitchen would do, although it was dingy, and its window faced a brickwall.

■ B. Using Order of Impression

Imagine that you are the mother of the young artist who just rented the apartment describedabove. Describe your first visit to your daughter’s apartment in a letter to a friend. Use order ofimpression, beginning with your entrance to the apartment through the kitchen door.


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3.1 Creating Vivid Description II

Two ways to organize descriptive writing are order of importance and order of impression. Order of importance indicates the relative importance of each detail to the main idea of the description. Order of impression presents the details in the order in which they are noticed.

Key Information


Using Contrasting Sensory Details

Create two contrasting impressions by selecting different sensory details to fill out the descriptions below. The opening and closing sentences are provided. In the first description,complete the paragraph using details that create a positive impression. In the second, completethe paragraph using details that create a negative impression. You may wish to use some of thevivid adjectives provided in the box below.

1. When I arrived home from school yesterday, I noticed a red convertible parked in front of thebuilding.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What a birthday present that turned out to be!

2. When I arrived home from school yesterday, I noticed a red convertible parked in front of thebuilding.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What a birthday present that turned out to be!

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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3.2 Using Sensory Details

Descriptive writing creates a clear and vivid impression through sensory details that appeal to sight,hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Carefully chosen sensory details sharpen the focus on your subjectand draw the reader into your writing.

Key Information

chugging

pinging

quiet

sluggish

creaky

pitted

rusty

smooth

dusty

plush

scratchy

squeaky

knocking

purring

shimmering

threadbare

lumpy

quicksilver

sizzling

wheezy


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

Identifying Mood

Read each of the following passages carefully. Below each model identify the mood created inthe passage, and support your assessment with three specific examples of details and languagethat create the mood.


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3.3 Creating a Mood

The mood of a piece of writing gives the reader an overall feeling about a scene or event. Mood iscreated through carefully selected details and vivid language.

Key Information

The passage grew dark too suddenly, the wallscrowded in, and the roofs crouched down.

To me, staring timidly there in the dark passagein a strange town, the swarthy man appearedlike a giant in a cage surrounded by clouds, and

the bald old man withered into a black humpwith a white top; two white hands darted outof the corner. . . .

Dylan Thomas, from “The Peaches”

An enormous brass band seemed to explode right at Miranda’s ear. She jumped, quiv-

ered, thrilled blindly and almost forgot tobreathe as sound and color and smell rushed

together and poured through her skin and hairand beat in her head and hands and feet andpit of her stomach.

Katherine Anne Porter, from “The Circus”

Literature Model 1

Literature Model 2


■ A. Analyzing a Character Sketch

Read the following passage. On the lines below write the sentences and phrases GustaveFlaubert uses to describe the character’s appearance, behavior, movement, speech, and effecton others. Some sentences and phrases describe more than one aspect of the character.

1. Appearance:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Behavior:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. Underlying personality:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

■ B. Expanding a Character Sketch

On the lines below, write two or three sentences to continue the character sketch above. Youmay wish to describe what the character thinks, what she says, and how she dresses.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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3.4 Writing a Character Sketch

A character sketch describes a person’s appearance, behavior, and underlying personality by showingreaders how the person looks, speaks, moves, thinks, acts, and affects others.

Key Information

Her face was thin and her voice sharp. Attwenty-five, people had taken her for forty.

After she had reached fifty, she had ceased toshow any signs of increasing age; and, with hersilent ways, her erect carriage and deliberate

movements, she gave the impression of awoman made of wood, going through her worklike an automaton.

Gustave Flaubert, from “A Simple Heart”

Literature Model


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Identifying Vantage Point

For each of the following passages, write whether the narrator is a distant observer of theaction, a close observer of the action, or a participant in the event.

Vantage point: ______________________________________________________________________

Vantage point: ______________________________________________________________________

■ B. Changing the Vantage Point

Choose one of the passages above, and rewrite it from a different vantage point. Use a perspective that will make the event dramatic and effective for your readers. Use additionalpaper if necessary.


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3.5 Describing an Event

Describing an event requires that movement of the action through time and space be clear, logical,and believable. It is also important to have a clear and consistent vantage point from which todescribe the action.

Key Information

From across the field, I saw the steer chasing the boy around and around the tree. At first the boymanaged to keep 180° of the circle between him and the steer. Gradually, however, the boy

became slower than the steer, and the distance between them began to close. Suddenly a barkingdog ran toward them from somewhere behind the barn, and the steer lumbered in the direction ofthe dog. The boy scrambled up the tree, gasping for air.

Iheard the branches crack and looked up to see that she had lost her balance and was falling toward the trunk. She swayed on the slender tree limb and clutched at the thin branches, trying to regain

her balance. Suddenly, the bees were all around her. They hesitated for an instant and then attacked.She screamed and brushed frantically at her head and body. I screamed too and kept my eyes fixedupward from my frozen position under the tree. Then she fell through the branches to the ground.

Model 1

Model 2


■ A. Identifying Dramatic Mood

The descriptions of the opening moments of two plays appear below. Read them carefully, andthen identify the mood that has been established for each play.

1. lighting: glaring, with a reddish-orange tinge

scenery: a very small office that is sparsely furnished with a desk and two chairs

sound effects: only the dialogue

characterization: two men, both grim-faced and tense, facing each other

dialogue:

FIRST MAN: [shouting and pounding on desk top] You lied to me. I backed you with tenthousand dollars, and now I get nothing!

SECOND MAN: It isn’t over yet, you fool! I told you these things take time. [now shouting] Itold you it would be awhile before it all came together.

Mood: ________________________________________________________________________

2. lighting: soft and pink

scenery: a living room decorated with floral patterns and a few touches of lace; also an old-fashioned radio on a table

sound effects: a love song of the 1940s plays softly

characterization: a boy and girl, about seventeen years old, dressed “properly” for the 1940s,dancing slowly without speaking

Mood: ________________________________________________________________________

■ B. Writing About Dramatic Mood

Choose one of the plays above. Write a brief paragraph explaining how the elements that areprovided, as well as other elements you may supply from your imagination, contribute tocreating the mood in the opening moments of the play. Use additional paper if necessary.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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Writing About Mood in a Play

A playwright’s use of lighting, scenery, sound effects, characterization, and dialogue create adramatic mood or emotional climate for a play. When you write about mood, consider all of these ele-

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

Identifying Strategies That Reveal Character

Read the following selection about Max Perkins, one of the most influential editors of early twentieth-century American literature. Identify the strategy A. Scott Berg uses in the numbered sentences to reveal the character of Max Perkins. On the corresponding numbered lines belowthe model, write physical description, character’s thoughts or words, character’s actions, or writer’sopinion. What does this commentary reveal about Perkins? Write your overall impression ofPerkins in a sentence or two.

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________________________________

5. ______________________________________________________________________________

Overall Impression: ________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________


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4.1 Characters in Biographical Narratives

A writer uses four strategies to reveal character: physical description, the character’s thoughts orwords, the character’s actions, and the writer’s opinion. Instead of telling the reader what to thinkabout a character, a skillful writer shows the reader what the character is like.

Key Information

(1) Perkins took off his sopping raincoat andrevealed an unpressed, pepper-and-salt, three-piece suit. Then his eyes shot upward and heremoved his hat, under which a full head ofmetallic-grey hair was combed straight backfrom a V in the center of his forehead. (2) MaxPerkins did not care much about the impressionhe gave, which was just as well, for the first onehe made on this particular evening was of someVermont feed-and-grain merchant who hadcome to the city in his Sunday clothes and gotcaught in the rain. (3) As he walked to the frontof the room, he seemed slightly bewildered, and

more so as Kenneth McCormick introduced himas "the dean of American editors."

Perkins had never spoken to a group like thisbefore. (4) Every year he received dozens ofinvitations, but he turned them all down. . . .(5) “The first thing you must remember,” hesaid, without quite facing his audience, “aneditor does not add to a book. At best he servesas a handmaiden to an author.”

A. Scott Berg,from Max Perkins: Editor of Genius

Literature Model


Narrowing the Focus

You are writing a biographical sketch about the personality of Dwight Eisenhower, thirty-fourth president of the United States and commander of the Allied forces in World War II.Read each of the following details and indicate on the line below whether it should be includedin the sketch. If the detail does belong, explain what it reveals about Eisenhower’s personality.If it does not belong, suggest a focus within which the detail would work.

1. Eisenhower trained tank battalions in the army during World War I.

2. Eisenhower refused to sit down before his wedding ceremony because he did not want to creasethe pants of his uniform.

3. Eisenhower was raised in Abilene, Kansas, and was the third of seven sons in a poor family.

4. Eisenhower’s high school classmates expected that he would become a history professor at Yale.

5. While in high school, Eisenhower held a part-time job at the creamery where his father worked asa mechanic.

6. Eisenhower reluctantly agreed to run for president on the Republican ticket.

7. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was created during Eisenhower’s presidency.

8. To enforce the 1954 Supreme Court order to end segregation, Eisenhower sent federal troops toLittle Rock, Arkansas, in 1957.

9. Eisenhower’s warm smile and congenial manner made him popular all over the world.

10. Eisenhower’s mother taught her son to value frugality. She grew vegetables and fruit in a gardenplot surrounding their house, keeping what the family needed and selling the rest.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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4.2 Writing a Biographical Sketch

To narrow the focus of your biographical sketch, decide which aspect of a historical figure’s life or personality you want to present. Then select only those details that fall within the focus you have chosen; discard the rest.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Developing a Time Line

Use the information from the sentences below to develop a time line of the life of HarrietTubman, an antislavery activist. Events that are linked to specific dates should be written abovethe time line; events or conditions that span several years should be written in boxes below it.

1. In 1820 Harriet Tubman was born into slavery on a plantation in Maryland, where she remaineduntil her escape in 1849.

2. In 1825 at the age of five, Harriet’s owner hired her out to a local family to work as a weaver.

3. At the age of seven, in 1827, Harriet was hired out to another family and was so badly mistreatedthat she tried to run away.

4. Finally, in 1849, at the age of twenty-nine, Harriet escaped in the dead of night and fled north toPhiladelphia, a haven for many runaway slaves.

5. She began working on the Underground Railroad in 1850, and from then until 1862, she helpedmore slaves escape than any other person in the movement’s history and earned the name“Moses.”

6. In 1854 she rescued two of her brothers from a plantation in Maryland.

7. In 1857 she rescued her parents from Maryland and brought them to Auburn, New York, to live.

8. In 1908 she built a home for sick and elderly African Americans in Auburn, New York, where sheherself died in 1913.

■ B. Understanding Highlights and Trends

Refer to the time line you developed to answer the following questions.

1. What are Harriet Tubman’s major achievements? ______________________________________

2. What do these achievements have in common? ________________________________________

3. What events in Tubman’s early life influenced her later career? ____________________________

4. What events led to her earning the name “Moses”? _____________________________________


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4.3 Structuring the Long Narrative

Developing a time line of a person’s life can help reveal highlights, trends, and overall direction.

Key Information


Examining Narrative Elements to Determine Theme

Examine the notes below on the setting, characters, plot, and point of view of “The Necklace,”a story by Guy de Maupassant. Then answer the questions below to help you determine thetheme of the story. Use a separate sheet of paper if necessary.

Setting The setting is Paris in the late 1800s.

Characters The main characters are a young couple without much money. The wife is beauti-ful but discontented because she can’t buy the clothes, house, and furnishings of a wealthywoman. The husband, a minor clerk in a government ministry, does not care about money.

Plot The husband brings home a ticket to a fancy ball, but the wife needs an expensive dressand jewelry before she will go. She buys the dress and borrows a beautiful diamond necklacefrom a wealthy friend. At the ball, her stunning beauty and fashionable dress make her the cen-ter of attention, and she is wild with joy. When the couple return home, they discover she haslost the necklace. Too proud to admit the loss, they use their life’s savings and borrow a largeamount of money to replace the necklace, and the wife returns the necklace to the unsuspect-ing friend. Over the next ten years the couple work to pay off the debt of 36,000 francs, and thewife loses her youth and beauty. One day she encounters the friend from whom she borrowedthe necklace and tells her the whole story. The friend, in shock, replies that the borrowed neck-lace was an imitation worth only 500 francs.

Point of View The story is told from the point of view of a narrator who knows the charac-ters’ thoughts, actions, and words but is not a character in the story.

1. At the beginning of the story, what are the wife’s values?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Which events in the plot are caused by decisions made by the characters? Which are beyond thecharacters’ control?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. At the end of the story, how do you think the wife regards the values she had at the beginning ofthe story?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the theme of the story? State it on the line below. Check yourself by asking “Does thistheme apply to all people, not just the characters in the story?”

______________________________________________________________________________

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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Identifying Theme in a Narrative

The theme, or controlling idea, of a narrative usually is not stated directly. You can determine thetheme by examining the setting, characters, plot, and the point of view from which the narrativeis told. Each of these elements may reflect the theme.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

Examining Mood in a Narrative Poem

The following stanza sets the mood for the opening of a narrative poem about the final stagesof a war between the Greek god, Saturn, ruler of Earth and Sky, and his children. The poembegins after Saturn’s children have gained the upper hand and deposed their once mightyfather. Read the stanza and answer the questions below.

1. Name the character in this scene and identify what he is doing. ___________________________

2. Describe the vale (valley) in which the character is located._______________________________

3. What do the behavior of the character and the mood of the valley have in common? __________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. Use one or two words to describe your own impression of each of the following elements thatestablish the scene. Then write an example from the stanza to support each impression.

Sound: ________________________________________________________________________

Movement:_____________________________________________________________________

Lighting: ______________________________________________________________________

Mood: ________________________________________________________________________

5. Examine the last three lines of the stanza. How has the character’s situation influenced the setting?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


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Responding to Narrative Poetry

Deep in the shady sadness of a valeFar sunken from the healthy breath of morn,

Far from the fiery noon, and eve’s one star,Sat gray-hair’d Saturn, quiet as a stone,Still as the silence round about his lair;Forest on forest hung about his headLike cloud on cloud. No stir of air was there,Not so much life as on a summer’s day

Robs not one light seed from the feather’d grass,

But where the dead leaf fell, there did it rest.A stream went voiceless by, still deadened moreBy reason of his fallen divinity Spreading a shade. . . .

John Keats, from “Hyperion”

To interpret a narrative poem, begin by jotting down your impressions of the characters, setting,plot, point of view, and theme.

Key Information

Literature Model


■ A. Planning Expository Writing

Imagine that you are going to write expository paragraphs about the topics below. For eachtopic, ask a question that interests you, and then indicate the type of expository writing youwould use to answer that question. Choose from process explanation, cause and effect,compare and contrast, problems and solutions, and building a hypothesis.

1. volcanoes

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. the Battle of Saratoga

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. recycling programs in your community

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. movies

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

■ B. Identifying Transitions

Read the model below. On the lines below the model, list four transitional words or phrasesthe writer has used.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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5.1 Writing Expository Paragraphs

To write an expository paragraph, select your topic, determine the appropriate type of expository writing, and define your audience. Then you will be able to select the appropriate details and organization for your paragraph. Use transitions to link ideas in your paragraph.

Key Information

Some plants, lovely as they are, can be dan-gerous. For example, the innocent-looking

buttercup can cause stomach upset if eaten. Therhododendron, a common household shrub,poses an even greater threat. It can causedeath. Therefore, it is important for people to

know and recognize these poisonous plants and to keep them away from children and pets.Do not, for instance, keep lilies of the valley in a vase within reach of a baby. In addition,warn youngsters not to put acorns into their mouths.

Model


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Analyzing the Steps in a Process

Read the paragraph below and then answer the questions that follow it.

1. What process is described in the paragraph?

______________________________________________________________________________

2. List the three major steps in the process.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

■ B. Understanding Audience

Reread the paragraph above, and then decide how you might change it for each of the follow-ing audiences. Write the letter of the appropriate audience next to each numbered item.

a. a fourth-grade class

b. a newspaper audience

c. a college geology class

_____ 1. Make no changes.

_____ 2. define silt, deposit, and flood plain

_____ 3. delete definitions of sediment, river mouth, and delta


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5.2 Explaining a Process

Explaining a process means telling how something works or how to accomplish a specific task. Towrite a clear and logical explanation, you need to arrange the steps in chronological order and toinclude all the information your audience needs to know.

Key Information

Rivers and streams create new land formsthrough the process called deposition. As a

river travels, it picks up sediment, which is madeup of small particles of soil, sand, silt, andgravel. Whenever the water speed slows, theriver begins to deposit sediment. Some of the sediment settles along the river’s banks and

stream bed; it may also form a low-lying floodplain on either side of the river. At the river’smouth—the place where a river enters a lake, a larger river, or the ocean—the rest of theriver’s sediment is deposited and forms a delta, a fan-shaped area of fertile soil.

Model


■ A. Identifying Causes and Effects

As you read the model below, look for cause-and-effect connections. Then answer the questions that follow.

1. What kind of cause-and-effect relationship explains why people first came to the island?

______________________________________________________________________________

2. List the causes and effects of the island’s initial popularity. _______________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. What kind of cause-and-effect relationship explains why the island changed? ________________

______________________________________________________________________________

■ B. Analyzing a Cause-and-Effect Relationship

Imagine that you are one of the original visitors to the island described above. You are writingto the owner of the hotel where you have vacationed for years to explain why you have decidednot to return. List the causes and effects you would include in your letter and the type ofcause-and-effect relationship you would use.

Causes:____________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Effects:____________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Type of cause-and-effect relationship: ___________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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5.3 Analyzing Cause-and-Effect Connections

There are three types of cause-and-effect relationships: several causes producing one effect; onecause producing several effects; and a causal chain in which each event in the chain is causedby an earlier one. Just because one event follows another in time doesn’t mean it was caused by theearlier event.

Key Information

This island is the victim of its own success.People first started coming here because it

was unspoiled and undiscovered. They liked thequiet and natural beauty, and they didn’t mindthe inconvenience of having hardly any shops,no movie theaters, and only one television sta-tion. They also liked the idea that the island wasa well-kept secret. In fact, they liked it so muchthat some vacationers decided to build summerhomes, and others even wanted to move here

permanently. This latter group opened storesand inns—even a movie theater. To survive eco-nomically, they started to advertise. Their adcampaigns were surprisingly successful: hordesof tourists flocked to the now not-so-unspoiledbeauty of this not-so-quiet island. The morepeople liked it, the more they changed it. Nowour island is just like the places the original visi-tors were trying to get away from!

Model


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Identifying Similarities and Differences

Select one of the following topics or a topic of your own choice. Then, identify similarities anddifferences by completing the chart below.

live music/recorded music poetry/songs two sports

suburban/urban neighborhoods dogs/cats two movies

■ B. Writing to Compare and Contrast

Use the information in your chart to write an essay that compares and contrasts. Decidewhether you want to organize your essay by subject or by feature. Use additional paper ifnecessary.


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5.4 Writing an Essay to Compare and Contrast I

When you write an essay to compare and contrast subjects, begin by identifying similarities and differ-ences. Then, decide whether you will organize the information in your essay by feature or by subject.

Key Information

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Second SubjectFirst SubjectFeature


Sorting the Elements of a Compare-and-Contrast Essay

Read the following model and then complete the activities that follow.

1. How is the model above organized, by feature or by subject?______________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Create a Venn diagram that compares and contrasts tortoises and turtles.

3. On the lines below, list at least three transitions or repeated key words in the model above.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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5.4 Writing an Essay to Compare and Contrast II

When you write an essay to compare and contrast, you can use a Venn diagram to sort the similari-ties and differences. Develop a thesis statement that expresses the essential similarities and differencesbetween the two subjects. Use transitions and the repetition of key words and phrases to link ideas inyour essay.

Key Information

Although many people confuse them, turtlesand tortoises are not the same. Their most

basic similarity—and the reason for the confu-sion between them—is their hard, bony shellsthat offer very good protection but restrictmovement. The shells of most tortoises and tur-tles are covered by plates that look like scales.Tortoises and turtles lack teeth but instead havehard beaks. Tortoises usually eat only plants, but

turtles may be carnivorous, eating just meat, oromnivorous, eating both plants and meat.Tortoises live on land and have short, stumpylegs with claws, while turtles live mostly near orin water and have webbed feet or legs that actas paddles. Both tortoises and turtles may havelong life expectancies. The giant Galápagos tor-toise, for example, lives one hundred to twohundred years.

Model


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Identifying Problems

Imagine that you own a small store that sells Whatzits produced by a nationwide company.Recently, you have had an unusually large number of customers returning Whatzits anddemanding refunds. Below are some facts your manager gathered for a report on the com-plaints. Use the facts to write a letter to the president of Whatzit Products. Your letter shouldanalyze the problem, explaining how the situation affects both your store and WhatzitProducts. Use a separate sheet of paper.

■ B. Presenting Solutions

Now imagine that you are a troubleshooter for Whatzit Products. The company president hasgiven you the analysis of the problem written by the store owner and asked you to explore avariety of solutions. Write a memo to the president in response to her request. Use a separatesheet of paper if necessary.


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5.5 Analyzing Problems, Presenting Solutions

When writing an essay about a problem, begin by gathering information about the nature, extent,causes, and effects of the problem. Then brainstorm possible solutions to the problem. What are theadvantages and disadvantages of each solution?

Key Information

15 Whatzits lost theirwidgets.

ResponseCauseComplaint

125 Whatzits stoppedoperating.

3 Whatzits are said tohave caused sleeplessnessand hair loss.

Each Whatzit had beendropped on a hard surface,usually by a small child.

Inspection revealed faultydimox glitches as the probable cause.

Hair loss confirmed; nocause identified.

Not covered by warranty;offered to sell customers asecond Whatzit.

Customer given refund ornew Whatzit in exchangefor faulty Whatzit.

Customer given refund.


■ A. Developing a Process Diagram

Choose a simple series of actions that you can explain using a process diagram. You mightselect a dance routine, an exercise, or a simple cooking procedure.

1. List the important steps in the process.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Decide which of the steps might benefit from visual illustration, and use diagrams, stick figures, orsketches to illustrate each of the steps. Don’t worry about the quality of your drawing; imaginethat you can hire a professional artist to do the final art work once you have decided on the basicdesign.

■ B. Using a Process Diagram

Write a paragraph of instructions to accompany the process diagrams you created above.Begin by labeling the illustrations; then you can refer to them in your paragraph by saying “as in step 1.” Use additional paper if necessary.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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5.6 Using Time Lines and Process Diagrams

A process diagram can help you identify, explain, and illustrate the sequence of events that makesup a process.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

Identifying a Hypothesis

The model below reports on a hypothesis that answers the question: What is causing theincreased number of deaths of saguaro cactuses? As you read, look for evidence that seems tosupport the hypothesis, and then answer the questions that follow.

1. What is the hypothesis?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What steps in the hypothesis-building process have already been taken?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. How is the hypothesis being tested? What results would disprove the hypothesis?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


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5.7 Building a Reasonable Hypothesis

The first step in building a hypothesis is to decide on the question you want to answer. Next, collectdata and look for patterns. Then, considering the data, determine the most reasonable explanation.Finally, test your hypothesis, and accept, reject, or modify it as required.

Key Information

Scientists believe they have found the firstplant species to be affected by damage to

the ozone layer. An unusually large number ofsaguaro cactuses in Arizona have died afterdeveloping a condition called barking—that is, abrowned and thickened outer layer of theplant’s trunk and branches. Scientists havehypothesized that the thinned ozone layer nolonger protects the saguaros from ultravioletrays and that these rays are causing the barkingand killing the cactuses.

While collecting data, scientists ruled out severalother causes for the increased incidence of bark-

ing and saguaro cactus death. These includedthe possibility that the barking was a water-con-serving response or the result of frost damage.They discovered, however, that the saguarosfirst developed barking on the side that receivesthe most sunlight.

Scientists will soon test their hypothesis by plac-ing shields that block ultraviolet rays aroundhealthy saguaros. Over the next few years, theshielded group will be compared with anunshielded group. If the hypothesis is correct,the shielded group will show little or no damagein comparison with the unshielded group.

Model


Comparing and Contrasting the “Simple Life”

Read each of the following models. The first is an excerpt from Henry David Thoreau’s 1854book, Walden. The second model is from a 1991 Time magazine article by Janice Castro.Compare and contrast the two examples by completing the chart that follows.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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Comparing and Contrasting Two Authors

To compare and contrast two authors, examine such elements of their writing as topic, position,tone, word choice, and imagery. Also, consider the period when each author lived and wrote.

Key Information

Our life is frittered away by detail. . . .Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let

your affairs be as two or three, and not a hun-dred or a thousand; instead of a million counthalf a dozen, and keep your accounts on yourthumbnail. . . . Simplify, simplify. Instead of

three meals a day, if it be necessary, eat butone; instead of a hundred dishes, five; andreduce other things in proportion. . . . Whyshould we live with such hurry and waste oflife?

Henry David Thoreau, from Walden

In place of materialism, many Americans are embracing simpler pleasures and homier val-

ues. They’ve been thinking hard about whatreally matters in their lives, and they’ve decidedto make some changes. What matters is havingtime for family and friends, rest and recreation,good deeds and spirituality. For some people

that means a radical step: changing one’s career,living on less, or packing up and moving to aquieter place. For others it can mean somethingas subtle as choosing a cheaper brand of run-ning shoes or leaving work a little earlier towatch the kids in a soccer game.

Janice Castro, Time

Topic

Position

Tone and style

Word choiceand imagery

When written

CastroThoreauFeature

Literature Model 1

Literature Model 2


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Comparing and Contrasting

Read each poem, and then fill in the chart that follows.

■ B. Writing About Poetry

On the line below, write a sentence summarizing your feelings about and analysis of the twopoems. Use it as the thesis statement of an essay comparing and contrasting the two poems.Continue the essay on a separate sheet of paper. Include quotations from the poems to illus-trate your points.


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Comparing and Contrasting Two Poems

Comparing and contrasting poems can help you explore your responses and increase the pleasure youfind in poetry. Consider meter, rhyme, sound effects, line length, imagery, tone, theme, andoverall effect.

Key Information

I’m Nobody! Who are you?

Are you Nobody too?

Then there’s a pair of us?

Don’t tell! They’d advertise, you know!

How dreary to be Somebody!

How public—like a frog—

To tell one’s name the livelong June

To an admiring bog!

Emily Dickinson, “I’m Nobody”

Somebody being a nobody,

Thinking to look like a somebody,

Said that he thought me a nobody:

Good little somebody-nobody,

Had you not known me a somebody,

Would you have called me a nobody?

Alfred, Lord Tennyson,

“Somebody being a nobody”

Literature Model 1 Literature Model 2

Subject of poem

Tone

Figurative language(including puns)

Theme

Sound effects:rhyme and meter

Overall effect andpersonal reaction

“Somebody being a nobody”“I’m Nobody”Feature

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.


■ A. Strengthening Thesis Statements

Each of the following thesis statements is weak because it is too general, does not offer a solution, or is a statement of fact rather than an opinion. Identify the defect in each thesisstatement and then rewrite the statement to improve it.

1. Each person in this country eats an average of 61.6 pounds of refined sugar a year.

2. Americans should not work so hard.

3. Primary education in the United States needs to be improved.

■ B. Understanding the Audience

You want to persuade each of the following audiences to accept the given thesis. Write R if theaudience would be receptive to the subject of the thesis statement, U if the audience would beunreceptive to it.

1. Thesis: Because of a lack of funds, special English classes for students who speak English as a second language will be sharply reduced.

______ Audience: Parents of students for whom English is a second language.

2. Thesis: The historic building should not be torn down and replaced with an office development.

______ Audience: Real Estate Developers

3. Thesis: The parking lot on the corner of Main and Elm should be turned into a Little LeagueBaseball Field.

______ Audience: Local Little League Council

4. Thesis: The funding for music and art should be cut in order to balance the school budget.

______ Audience: High school band

5. Thesis: Potential drivers should not have to take both a written and a road test in order to receivetheir licenses.

______ Audience: State safety board

6. Thesis: Trash fees should be increased in order to offset the cost of recycling so that the town cancontinue the recycling program.

______ Audience: Local environmental group

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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6.1 Stating Your Case

When you write to persuade, express your opinion clearly in a strong thesis statement. Always consider the attitudes and mood of your audience.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

Identifying Reliable Evidence

Each of the following statements is either a fact or an opinion. If it is an opinion, it may beeither an informed opinion based on the observations of an expert or an uninformed opinionbased on hearsay or a hunch. For each statement, write F if the statement is a fact, I if it is aninformed opinion, and U if it is an uninformed opinion.

______ 1. The human species has a huge capacity for cooperative behavior.

______ 2. Humans are two-legged primates who move from place to place carrying tools,food, and other possessions.

______ 3. A blue whale must be more intelligent than a human because the weight of theblue whale’s brain in proportion to its total body is greater than the weight of thehuman brain in proportion to the human’s total body weight.

______ 4. Because scientific studies of other primates have consistently observed that they eattheir food where they find it, we can conclude that humans are the only primateswho gather food and bring it back to their home bases to consume it.

______ 5. According to many studies, humans seem to be the only primates who subject theirfood to a process of preparation.

______ 6. Neanderthal Man must have believed in an afterlife because he is known to haveburied his dead.

______ 7. Although humans live longer today, the observations of psychologists suggest thatthey may not be happier.

______ 8. Humans are an inherently selfish species.

______ 9. Archaeologists have unearthed stone tools of Neanderthal Man in the Near Eastand Europe that were made 35,000 to 100,000 years ago.

______10. The dawn of art began with Cro-Magnon Man, whose cave paintings are the onlyart archaeologists have discovered from any of the premodern human groups.


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6.2 Sifting Fact from Opinion

To recognize the difference between fact and opinion, remember that facts can be proven or measured, whereas opinions are less concrete and are open to interpretation. However, informed opinions can be reliable because they are based on facts and the experience of experts.Uninformed opinions are unreliable because they are based on hearsay or instinct.

Key Information


Identifying and Assessing Types of Evidence

The following argument was written by a medical scientist at Washington University. Read theexcerpt, and then answer the questions below.

1. What facts does Boguski give to support his position?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What examples or analogies does he use to show the dangers of cigarette smoking?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. What opinions does he offer? Are they reliable? Why or why not?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. Name the experts upon whose research or opinions this argument is based.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5. Summarize Boguski’s argument in a one-sentence thesis statement.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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6.3 Evaluating Evidence

Using a variety of evidence will strengthen your persuasive argument. Facts, statistics, andobservations are the most convincing types of evidence; opinions of experts are also effective.Examples, anecdotes, and analogies make your argument more vivid for the reader, and reasons help your audience follow the logic of your argument.

Key Information

Two radioactive isotopes, polonium-210 andlead-210, are highly concentrated in particles

in cigarette smoke. The major source of polo-nium is the phosphate fertilizer used in growingtobacco. In a person smoking one and one-halfpacks of cigarettes per day, the annual radiationdose is equivalent to that of 300 X-ray films ofthe chest.

In contrast a person standing for 25 hoursdirectly downwind of the Three Mile Islandnuclear power plant following the accidentreceived the equivalent of one chest X-ray.

. . . Caution and experience dictate that weremain vigilantly mindful of the potential haz-ards of nuclear power generation. But perhapsa little more emphasis should be placed on thereal and present danger of cigarette smoking,which, according to the U.S. Surgeon General,will kill 129,000 Americans in 1982 and causesignificant disability in many times this number.

Mark S. Boguski,“What a Cigarette Packs in Radiation”

Literature Model


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

Drawing Conclusions

Fill in the conclusion for each of the following. Then indicate if it is an example of inductive ordeductive reasoning.

1. All sodium salts are water soluble substances. All soaps are sodium salts.

Therefore, _________________________________________________________________________

2. One result of combat anxiety is stuttering or muteness. People suffering from acute stage fright areunable to speak. Animals tend to become silent when frightened.

Therefore, _________________________________________________________________________

3. These shoes lasted three years. My mother and two of my friends have the same brand, and theirshoes lasted three years.

Therefore, _________________________________________________________________________

4. Convertibles offer no protection from lightning. This car is a convertible.

Therefore, _________________________________________________________________________

5. House plants grow best in temperatures that range from 16° to 21° C. The temperature in ourhouse falls to 11° C when we go on vacation and turn off the heat.

Therefore, _________________________________________________________________________

6. When the economy is strong, consumers tend to buy more. When the economy is weak, con-sumers tend to save money. This month the economy is weak.

Therefore, _________________________________________________________________________

7. After he rides a bicycle, he feels invigorated. After he goes swimming, he feels invigorated. After heruns, he feels invigorated.

Therefore, _________________________________________________________________________

8. The first piece of blue litmus paper turned pink when dropped in vinegar. The second and thirdpieces of blue litmus paper turned pink when dropped in vinegar. Vinegar is acidic.

Therefore, _________________________________________________________________________

9. Every time it rains for more than twelve hours, our basement floods. The weather forecast predictsthat the rainstorm that arrived this morning will continue until tomorrow afternoon.

Therefore, _________________________________________________________________________

10. All people born in the United States are U.S. citizens. I was born in the United States.

Therefore, _________________________________________________________________________


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6.4 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning I

In induction one assembles a series of facts and then finds a relationship among them that can bestated as a conclusion or generalization. In deduction one begins with a general principle and arrivesat a conclusion about a specific example.

Key Information


■ A. Identifying Hasty Generalizations

On the line next to each induction, write S if the inductive reasoning is sound, U if it isunsound.

______ 1. Three members of this year’s football team are on academic probation. Footballplayers are not strong in academics.

______ 2. According to a survey taken in all homeroom classes, 80 percent of the studentsadvocate changes in the exam schedule. Therefore, students are dissatisfied with thecurrent exam schedule.

______ 3. I do not care for any of the five brands of ketchup I have tried. Therefore, theketchup manufacturers do not spend enough effort on quality control.

______ 4. Since computers are so widely used in businesses today, students who plan to entera career in business should have a strong working knowledge of computers.

______ 5. Ed did an excellent job as sophomore class treasurer and an excellent job as classsecretary our freshman year. I support him for vice president of the junior class.

■ B. Identifying Fallacies in Deductive Arguments

If the deductive argument below is free of fallacy, write OK on the line provided. If it containsa fallacy, explain what the fallacy is and suggest a correct argument.

1. All plants need moisture to survive. The cactus is a plant. Therefore, the cactus needs moisture tosurvive.

______________________________________________________________________________

2. All juniors in high school enjoy American literature. Martha is a junior in high school. Therefore,Martha enjoys American literature.

______________________________________________________________________________

3. Grocery shopping always gives her a dull headache. She has a dull headache now. Therefore, shemust just have gone grocery shopping.

______________________________________________________________________________

4. The winner of the toss always has the choice of kicking or receiving. We won the toss. Therefore,we have our choice of kicking or receiving.

______________________________________________________________________________

5. Janet and Frederico are both interested in going to law school. I am interested in going to lawschool. Therefore, I am either Janet or Frederico.

______________________________________________________________________________

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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6.4 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning II

In inductive reasoning, try to avoid hasty generalizations, or conclusions that go further than the evidence permits. In deductive reasoning, avoid fallacies by making sure that both statements in the argument are true and that the specific example is linked with the correct group in the generalstatement.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Identifying Fallacies

Write R for a red herring, C for circular reasoning, B for a bandwagon fallacy, C-E for a cause-and-effect fallacy, or E/O for an either/or fallacy.

______ 1. I’m going because everybody goes to Colorado to ski in the winter.

______ 2. It is raining, and therefore I am depressed.

______ 3. I buy these shoes because the best basketball players wear them.

______ 4. I’m sure Sam will do a wonderful job because he is so capable.

______ 5. It’s true that I wasn’t watching the road at that particular moment, but I wasthinking about what I would give to my mother for Mother’s Day.

______ 6. If I don’t do well on this test, I won’t get into college.

■ B. Writing Logical Fallacies

Complete the sentences below to create the designated fallacy.

1. Circular reasoning: We should control the funds because we

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Bandwagon fallacy: I should spend a certain percentage of my income on clothes because

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. Cause-and-effect fallacy: The last time I slept with my head pointing north on the night before anexam I got an A on the exam. Therefore,

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. Either/or fallacy: Either you participate in the election process or

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5. Red herring: It’s true that he didn’t fulfill his part of the bargain, but he

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


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6.5 Recognizing Logical Fallacies

Learning to recognize logical fallacies can help you avoid fallacies in your writing and help you evaluate the validity of what you hear and read. Some common fallacies are the red herring, circularreasoning, the bandwagon fallacy, the cause-and-effect fallacy, and the either/or fallacy.

Key Information

Writing a Speech

Complete the activities below to write a short speech.

1. Select your position and audience. (Check one in each category.)

Position:

_____ Roller-skating is among the most expensive, dangerous, and difficult-to-master solo sports to become popular in recent years.

_____ Compulsory education to age twenty-one safeguards the right of all citizens to learn the basics necessary for responsible participation in the democratic process.

Audience:

_____ your classmates

_____ a group of older people whose opinions you value

2. Collect evidence. List at least three points that support the topic you selected.

a. ______________________________________________________________________________

b. ______________________________________________________________________________

c. ______________________________________________________________________________

3. Choose appropriate tone and language. On the lines below, describe the tone and kind of language that will best suit the topic and audience you have chosen.

4. Write a persuasive paragraph based on the notes above. Use a separate sheet of paper if necessary.


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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6.6 Writing and Presenting a Speech

You go through the same stages in writing a speech that you do in writing an essay. In drafting use atone and language appropriate to the audience and the occasion.

Key Information


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Identifying Weaknesses in a Letter to an Editor

Underline the problematic sections in the letter below, and identify each error by writing one of the following in the space above it: unclear, unsupported opinion, disrespectful, or overly casual.

■ B. Correcting Problems in a Letter to an Editor

On the lines below, suggest how the first three problems that you identified in the letter abovemight be corrected.

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


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6.7 Writing a Letter to an Editor

An effective letter to the editor states a problem clearly, provides strong supporting evidence, andavoids disrespectful or overly casual language.

Key Information

Dear Editor:

I’m writing about this mess with the city roads. I couldn’t believe my

eyes when I read that you clowns endorsed the cutbacks the governor is

suggesting. Have any of you tried driving down Main Street after the

spring thaw? The potholes must cause hundreds of thousands of dollars of

damage every year. And I’ll bet there’s plenty of money in the budget

for other things, like fancy lunches for the mayor and his cronies. Just

last night I saw someone who looked awfully like our own attorney gen-

eral having dinner at the most expensive restaurant in town. It’s dis-

gusting what politicians can get away with in this town.

A Fed-Up Citizen

Model


Analyzing the Text of a Speech

Read the following excerpts from Virginia Woolf ’s address to a women’s group in 1930. Thenanswer the questions below.

1. What is the main point of the excerpt? _______________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What facts does Woolf offer? What opinions? How does she support her opinions?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. Woolf gave this address at a time when the women’s movement was just getting under way.Describe the language and tone of the speech. How does it suit the audience and the occasion?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. What methods does Woolf use to provide coherence in the excerpt?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5. What analogy does Woolf use for women’s achievement in the professional world? How does shedevelop the analogy?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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Evaluating a Speech

When you analyze the text of a speech, examine its purpose, credibility, appropriateness, coher-ence, interest, and tone.

Key Information

. . . Even when the path is nominally open—when there is nothing to prevent a woman frombeing a doctor, a lawyer, a civil servant—thereare many phantoms and obstacles, as I believe,looming in her way. . . . You have won rooms ofyour own in the house hitherto exclusivelyowned by men. You are able, though not with-out great labor and effort, to pay the rent. Youare earning your five hundred pounds a year.But this freedom is only the beginning; theroom is your own, but it is still bare. It has to be

furnished; it has to be decorated; it has to beshared. How are you going to furnish it, howare you going to decorate it? With whom areyou going to share it, and upon what terms?These, I think are questions of utmost impor-tance and interest. For the first time in historyyou are able to ask them; for the first time youare able to decide for yourselves what theanswers should be.

Virginia Woolf, from “Professions for Women”

Literature Model

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