Chapter 1 - Basic Paragraph Writing

Basic Paragraph Writing: Punctuation, run-on sentences,  sentence variety

§     Punctuation: the comma (,)

—  4 main ways to use a comma are as lister, a linker, an introducer, and an inserter.

1)  A Lister : comma supports items (can be words, phrases, or clauses) in series.

For example:

My bedroom was decorated in shades of blue, pink and black.

Last week he graduated from college, he found the woman of his dreams, and he won the lottery.

2)  A linker : a comma and a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, or, but, yet, so) link two independent clauses. The comma goes in front of the conjunction.

For example:

I have to get to work on time, or my boss will cut my salary.

My boyfriend gave me a beautiful flowers, and he wrote a note on it.

3) An Introducer: put a comma after introductory words, phrases or clauses in a sentence.

For example:

Yes, I agree with you on that news.

Before the game, I bought him a glass of milk.

If you miss the exam, your parents will be angry.

4)  An inserter: when words or phrases are not necessary are inserted into a sentence, put a comma on both sides of the inserted materials.

For example:

Kimchi ramen, my favorite food, is better tasting when they are hot.

My math score, believe it or not, was the highest in the class

§    Run-on Sentences

Run-on sentences (fused sentences) are independent clauses that have not been joined correctly. For example:

Carol cleans her kitchen every week she shines every pot and pan.

I studied for the test all weekend I am well prepared for it.

§    Correcting run-on sentences

Step 1: Check for two Independent clauses.

Step 2: Check that the clauses are separated by either a coordinating conjunction and a comma or by a semicolon.

For example:

I was late I missed class last week.

I was late, so I missed class last week.

I was late; I missed class last week.

§    Sentence variety

To avoid boredom of the reader when reading your writing, make sure that your writing contains a variety of short and long sentences.

Task 1 !

ü  Write (one or more) paragraph(s)

ü  Choose one of the following topics:

            Traffic accident

            School drop outs

            Parenting for career mothers

            Your own topic

ü  Pay attention to the following aspects:

            The use of comma

            Avoid run-on sentence

            Balance use of short and long sentences

Example :

School Drop Outs

Nowadays, students usually drop outs of school because they want to get a career. In my opinion, there are three reason why students drop outs of school. First, they can not pay the tuition because they do not have enough money. There are a lot of of families that can not pay a college tuition even since high school, these families earn the minimum salary. They are only able to pay school or college for one member of their family. Second, they prefer to work. When students get a good job, they prefer to attend their job. They think that they will have a better future by working than studying.

The last reason is because of academic failure. The students probably have problems with some subjects, so they fail they subject. As a consequence, the whole course will fail too. Actually, they have the opportunity to take the course again, but many of them prefer not to doing it. As a result, they prefer to working in easy job where they do not need to think. So, that is my opinion about the reasons why students could be drop outs of school.