Table of Contents

EXPLORING WRITING: SENTENCES AND PARAGRAPHS, 3/eBy John LanganTABLE OF CONTENTSPREFACE xxPART ONE WRITING: SKILLS AND PROCESS 2 1. An Introduction to Writing 4Understanding Point and Support 5An Important Difference Between Writing and Talking 5Point and Support in Two Cartoons 6Point and Support in a Paragraph 8Writing as a Skill 10Why Does Your Attitude toward Writing Matter? 10Writing as a Process of Discovery 12Keeping a Journal 13

2. The Writing Process 16How Do You Reach the Goals of Effective Writing? 17Prewriting 17Technique 1: Freewriting 17Technique 2: Questioning 20Technique 3: Making a List 21Technique 4: Clustering 22Technique 5: Preparing a Scratch Outline 23Writing a First Draft 25Writing a First Draft: A Student Model 25Revising 27Revising: A Student Model 28Editing and Proofreading 29Editing Tips 30Proofreading Tips 30Editing and Proofreading: A Student Model 31Tips on Using a Computer 32Using a Computer at Each Stage of the Writing Process 33Using Peer Review 35 1. Identification 35 2. Scratch Outline 35 3. Comments 36Review Activities 36Prewriting 37Outlining, Drafting, and Revising 37Taking a Writing Inventory 39Chapter Review 40

PART TWO WRITING EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPHS 44 3.Four Steps for Writing, Four Bases for Revising 46What Are The Steps to Writing Effective Paragraphs? 47Step 1: Make a Point 47Step 2: Support Your Point 50Step 3: Organize the Support 67Step 4: Write Clear, Error-Free Sentences 73Four Bases for Revising Writing 73Base 1: Unity 73Base 2: Support 74Base 3: Coherence 76Base 4: Sentence Skills 77

4. Nine Patterns of Paragraph Development 85Important Considerations in Paragraph Development 86 Knowing Your Subject 86Knowing Your Purpose and Audience 86Patterns of Development 87Exemplification 88A Paragraph to Consider 89Writing an Exemplification Paragraph 90Description 92A Paragraph to Consider 92Writing a Descriptive Paragraph 93Narration 97 A Paragraph to Consider 97Writing a Narrative Paragraph 98Process 100A Paragraph to Consider 100Writing a Process Paragraph 101Cause and Effect 104A Paragraph to Consider 105Writing a Cause-and-Effect Paragraph 106Comparison or Contrast 108Two Paragraphs to Consider 108Writing a Comparison or Contrast Paragraph 110Definition 113A Paragraph to Consider 113Writing a Definition Paragraph 114 Division-Classification 116A Paragraph to Consider 116Writing a Division-Classification Paragraph 118Argument 120A Paragraph to Consider 120Writing an Argument Paragraph 121

5. Moving From Paragraph to Essay 125What Is an Essay? 126Differences between an Essay and a Paragraph 126The Form of an Essay 126A Model Essay 127Important Points about the Essay 128Introductory Paragraph 128Supporting Paragraphs 130Transitional Sentences 130Concluding Paragraphs 131Essays to Consider 131Planning the Essay 134Outlining the Essay 134Form for Planning the Essay 135Practice in Writing the Essay 135Understanding the Two Parts of a Thesis Statement 135Supporting the Thesis with Specific Evidence 136Identifying Introductions 138Revising an Essay for All Four Bases: Unity, Support, Coherence,and Sentence Skills 139Essay Assignments 141

PART THREE SENTENCE SKILLS 150 SECTION 1: SENTENCES 152 6. Subjects and Verbs 153A Simple Way to Find a Subject 154A Simple Way to Find a Verb 154More about Subjects and Verbs 157Distinguishing Subjects from Prepositional Phrases 157Verbs of More Than One Word 158Compound Subjects and Verbs 159 7. Fragments 162What Fragments Are 163Dependent-Word Fragments 163How to Correct Dependent-Word Fragments 164-ing and to Fragments 167How to Correct -ing Fragments 167How to Correct to Fragments 168Added-Detail Fragments 170How to Correct Added-Detail Fragments 170Missing-Subject Fragments 172How to Correct Missing-Subject Fragments 172 8. Run-Ons 179What are Run-Ons? 180A Warning: Words That Can Lead to Run-Ons? 180Correcting Run-Ons 181Method 1: Period and a Capital Letter 181Method 2: Comma and a Joining Word 184Method 3: Semicolon 186Semicolon Alone 186Semicolon with a Transition 186Transitional Words 187Method 4: Subordination 188Dependent Words 188

9. Sentence Variety I 195Four Traditional Sentence Patterns 195The Simple Sentence 195The Compound Sentence 196The Complex Sentence 197The Compound-Complex Sentence 201Review of Subordination and Coordination 202

SECTION 2: VERBS, PRONOUNS, AND AGREEMENT 209 10. Standard English Verbs 210Regular Verbs: Dialect and Standard Forms 210Present Tense Endings 211Past Tense Endings 213Three Common Irregular Verbs: Dialect and Standard Forms 214

11. Irregular Verbs 220A Brief Review of Regular Verbs 220List of Irregular Verbs 221Troublesome Irregular Verbs 226

12. Subject-Verb Agreement 231Words between the Subject and the Verb 232Verb before the Subject 233Indefinite Pronouns 234Compound Subjects 235Who, Which, and That 236

13. Consistent Verb Tense 241Keeping Tenses Consistent 241

14. Additional Information about Verbs 245Verb Tense 245Present Perfect (have or has + past participle) 246Past Perfect (had + past participle) 246Present Progressive (was or were + the -ing form) 246Past Progressive (was or were + the -ing form) 246Verbals 247Infinitive 247Participle 248Gerund 248Active and Passive Verbs 249

15. Pronoun Reference, Agreement, and Point of View 252Pronoun Reference 253Pronoun Agreement 255Indefinite Pronouns 256Pronoun Point of View 258

16. Pronoun Types 263Subject and Object Pronouns 263Subject Pronouns 264Object Pronouns 265Relative Pronouns 267Points to Remember about Relative Pronouns 268Possessive Pronouns 269Demonstrative Pronouns 270Reflexive Pronouns 272Points to Remember about Reflexive Pronouns 272

SECTION 3: MODIFIERS AND PARALLELISM 276 17. Adjectives and Adverbs 277Adjectives 277What are Adjectives? 277Using Adjectives to Compare 278Points to Remember about Adjectives 278Adverbs 280What are Adverbs? 279A Common Mistake with Adjectives and Adverbs 280Well and Good 281

18. Misplaced Modifiers 284What Misplaced Modifiers Are and How to Correct Them 284

19. Dangling Modifiers 290What Dangling Modifiers Are and How to Correct Them 290 20. Faulty Parallelism 296Parellelism Explained 296

21. Sentence Variety II 305-ing Word Groups 305-ed Word Groups 306-ly Openers 307To Openers 309Prepositional Phrase Openers 310Series of Items 312Adjectives in Series 312Verbs in Series 314

SECTION 4: PUNCTUATION AND MECHANICS 319 22. Paper Format 320Guidelines for Preparing a Paper 321

23. Capital Letters 325Main Uses of Capital Letters 326First Word in a Sentence or Direct Quotation 326Names and Titles 326Other Uses of Capital Letters 328Names and Titles 329Names that Show Family Relationships 328Miscellaneous Categories 329Unnecessary Use of Capitals 331

24. Numbers and Abbreviations 335Numbers 335Abbreviations 337

25. End Marks 340Period (.) 340Question Mark (?) 340Exclaimation Point (!) 341

26. Apostrophes 343Apostrophes in Contractions 344Four Contractions to Note Carefully 345Apostrophes to Show Ownership or Possession 346Points to Remember 347Apostrophes versus Possessive Pronouns 349Apostrophes versus Simple Plurals 349Apostrophes with Plural Words Ending in -s 351

27. Quotation Marks 355Quotation Marks to Set Off the Words of a Speaker or Writer 356Indirect Quotations 359Quotation Marks to Set Off the Titles of Short Works 360Other Uses of Quotation Marks 362

28. Commas 366Six Main Uses of the Comma 367Commas between Items in a Series 367Commas after Introductory Material 368Commas around Words Interupting the Flow of Thought 369Commas between Complete Thoughts Connected by Joining Words 371Commas with Direct Quotations 373Commas with Everyday Material 374Unnecessary Use of Commas 375

29. Other Punctuation Marks 380Colons (:) 380Semicolons (;) 381Dashes (-) 382Hyphens (-) 383Parentheses () 383

SECTION 5: WORD USE 386 30. Dictionary Use 387Spelling 388Syllabication 388Pronunciation 389Vowel Sounds 389The Schwa 390Accent Marks 390Full Pronunciation 390Other Information about Words 391Parts of Speech 391Principal Parts of Irregular Verbs 391Plural Forms of Irregular Nouns 392Meanings 392Etymology 393Usage Labels 394Synonyms 394

31. Spelling Improvement 396Step 1: Using the Dictionary 396Step 2: Keeping a Personal Spelling List 397Step 3: Mastering Commonly Confused Words 397Step 4: Using a Computer's Spell-Checker 397Step 5: Understanding Basic Spelling Rules 397Step 6: Understanding Plurals 398Step 7: Mastering a Basic Word List 400

32. Omitted Words and Le tters 403Finding Omitted Words and Letters 403Omitted Words 404Omitted -s Endings 404

33. Commonly Confused Words 408Homonyms 408Other Words Frequently Confused 415Incorrect Word Forms 420

34. Effective Word Choice 424Slang 425Cliches 426Inflated Words 427Wordiness 429

PART FOUR:READINGS FOR WRITERS 438Introduction to the Readings 440The Format of Each Selection 440How to Read Well: Four General Steps 4411. Concentrate as You Read 4412. Skim Material before You Read It 4413. Read the Selection Straight through with a Pen Nearby 4424. Work with the Material 442How to Answer the Vocabulary in Context Questions 442How to Answer the Reading Comprehension Questions 443

GOALS AND VALUES 444Sister Helen Mrosla, “All the Good Things” 444Paul Logan, "Rowing the Bus" 450Rick Bragg, "All She Has - $150,000 - Is Going to a University 457Mee Her, "Bowling to Find a Lost Father" 464 Rose Del Castillo Guilbault, The Conveyor Belt Ladies 470Firoozah Duma, The F Word 477

EDUCATION AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT 485Ben Carson, “Do It Better!” 485Janny Scott, “How They Get You to Do That” 494Grant Berry, “A Change of Attitude” 503Beth Johnson, “Let’s Get Specific!” 513B.J. Penn, "Stance" 523Tony Hawk, "Do What You Love" 527Edward P. Jones, "The First Day" 531

HUMAN GROUPS AND SOCIETY 539Katherine Barrett, “Old Before Her Time” 539 Amy Tan, “The Most Hateful Words” 548Bill Wine, “Rudeness at the Movies” 553Luis J. Rodriquez, "Turning Youth Gangs Around" 560Barbara Kingsolver, "Somebody's Baby" 569Al Gore, "Consume Less, Conserve More" 577James Weldon Johnson, "Outcasts in Salt Lake City" 584

Appendixes 589A. Parts of Speech 590B. ESL Pointers 601C. Sentence-Skills Diagnostic Test 613D. Sentence-Skills Achievement Test 618Credits 623Index 624

About the Author

John Langan has taught reading and writing at Atlantic Cape Community College for more than 25 years. The author of a popular series of college textbooks on both writing and reading, John enjoys the challenge of developing instructive materials that are clear and lively. Before teaching, he earned advanced degrees in writing at Rutgers University and in reading at Rowan University. He also spent a year writing fiction that is now at the back of a drawer waiting to be discovered and acclaimed posthumously. While in school, he supported himself by working as a truck driver, a machinist, a battery assembler, a hospital attendant, and an apple packer. In addition to his wife and Philly sports teams, his passions include reading and conveying to nonreaders the pleasure and power of books. Through Townsend Press, his educational publishing company, he has developed the nonprofit Townsend Librarya collection of more than 100 new and classic stories that appeal to readers of any age.