Deck 1: An Introduction to Writing

Question 1

In the following items, the specific ideas are given but the general ideas are unstated. Fill in each blank with a general heading that accurately describes the list provided.
EXAMPLE
General idea: ___________ household Chores_______________
Specific ideas: washing dishes
preparing meals
taking out trash
dusting
1. General idea:_________________________________________
Specific ideas: convenient work hours
short travel time to job
good pay
considerate boss
2. General idea:_____________________________________
Specific ideas: greed
Cowardice
Selfishness
dishonesty
3. General idea:______________________________________
Specific ideas: order the invitations
get the bride's gown
rent the tuxedos
hire a photographer
4. General idea:____________________________________
Specific ideas: "Your mother stinks. "
"Your father's a bum."
"You look like an ape."
"Your car is a real piece of junk."
5. General idea:______________________________
Specific ideas: "I like your dress."
"You look great in red."
"Your new haircut looks terrific."
"You did very well on the exam."

Answer 1

1. Features of a Good Job
2. Negative Qualities / Vices
3. How to Prepare for a Wedding
4. Insults
5. Compliments

Question 2

Each topic sentence below is followed by two sets of supporting details (a and b). Write S (for specific) in the space next to the set that provides specific support for the 14 point. Write G (for general) next to the set that offers only vague, general support.
1. Topic sentence: My roommate is messy.
______a. He doesn't seem to mind that he can't find any clean clothes or
dishes. He never puts anything back in its proper place; he just drops it wherever he happens to be. His side of the room looks as if a hurricane has gone through.
______b. His coffee cup is covered inside with a thick layer of green mold. I can't tell you what color his easy chair is; it has disappeared under a pile of dirty laundry. When he turns over in bed, I can hear the crunch of cracker crumbs beneath his body.
2. Topic sentence: Roberta is very aggressive.
________a. Her aggressiveness is apparent in both her personal and her professional life. She is never shy about extending social invitations. And while some people are turned off by her aggressive attitude, others are impressed by it and enjoy doing business with her.
________b. When she meets a man she likes, she is quick to say, "Let's go out sometime. What's your phone number " In her job as a furniture salesperson, she will follow potential customers out onto the side­walk as she tries to persuade them to buy.
3. Topic sentence: Our new kitten causes us lots of trouble.
______a. He has shredded the curtains in my bedroom with his claws. He
nearly drowned when he crawled into the washing machine. And my hands look like raw hamburger from his playful bites and scratches.
_____b. He seems to destroy everything he touches. He's always getting into places where he doesn't belong. Sometimes he plays too roughly, and that can be painful.
4. Topic sentence: My landlord is softhearted.
_____a. Even though he wrote them himself, he sometimes ignores the
official apartment rules in order to make his tenants happy.
______b. Although the lease states "No pets," he brought my daughter a
puppy after she told him how much she missed having one.
5. Topic sentence: The library is a distracting place to try to study.
_______a. It's hard to concentrate when a noisy eight-person poker game is going on on the floor beside you. It's also distracting to overhear remarks like, "Hey, Baby, what's your mother's address I want to send her a thank-you card for having such a beautiful daughter."
______b. Many students meet in the library to do group activities and social­ize with one another. Others go there to flirt. It's easy to get more interested in all that activity than in paying attention to your studies.

Answer 2

on Recognizing Specific Details: I (72-73)
1. a. G
b. S
2. a. G
b. S
3. a. S
b. G
4. a. G
b. S
5. a. S
b. G

Question 3

Identifying Transitions and Other Connecting Words
This activity will give you practice in identifying transitions and other connecting words that are used to help tie ideas together.
Section A-Transitions
Locate the transitional word in each sentence and write it in the space provided.
1. I decided to pick up a drop-add form from the registrar's office. However, I changed my mind when I saw the long line of students waiting there.
____________
2. In England, drivers use the left-hand side of the road. Consequently, in a car the steering wheel is on the right side.
_____________
3. Crawling babies will often investigate new objects by putting them in their mouths. Therefore, parents should be alert for any pins, tacks, or other dangerous items on floors and carpets.
____________
4. One technique that advertisers use is to have a celebrity endorse a product. The consumer then associates that product with the star qualities of the celebrity.
_____________
Section B-Repeated Words
In the space provided, write the repeated words.
5. We absorb radiation from many sources in our environment. Our cell phones and microwave ovens, among other things, give off low-level radiation.
____________
6. Many researchers believe that people have weight set-points their bodies try to maintain. This may explain why many dieters return to their original weight.
_____________
7. At the end of the concert, thousands of fans held up lighters in the darkened stadium. The sea of lighters signaled that the fans wanted an encore.
_____________
8. Establishing credit is important for everyone. A good credit history is often necessary when applying for a loan or credit card.
____________
Section C-Synonyms
In the space provided, write the synonym for the underlined word.
9. I checked my car 's tires, oil, water, and belts before the trip. But the ungrateful machine sputtered and died about fifty miles from home.
____________
10. Women's clothes , in general, use less material than men's clothes. Yet women's garments usually cost more than men's.
11. The temperance movement in this country sought to ban alcohol. Drinking liquor, movement leaders said, led to violence, poverty, prostitution, and insanity.
___________
12. For me, apathy quickly sets in when the weather becomes hot and sticky. This listlessness disappears when the humidity decreases.
_____________
Section D-Pronouns
In the space provided, write the word referred to by the underlined pronoun.
13. At the beginning of the twentieth century, bananas were still an oddity in the United States. Some people even attempted to eat them with the skin on.
_____________
14. Canning vegetables is easy and economical. It can also be very dangerous.
_____________
15. There are a number of signs that appear when students are under stress. For example, they start to have trouble studying, eating, and even sleeping.
_____________

Answer 3

on Identifying Transitions and Other Connecting Words (102-104)
1. However
2. Consequently
3. Therefore
4. then
5. radiation
6. weight
7. lighters
8. credit
9. machine
10. garments
11. liquor
12. listlessness
13. bananas
14. canning vegetables
15. students

Question 4

Using coordination, subordination, or both, combine each of the following groups of simple sentences into one longer sentence. Omit repeated words. Various combinations are possible, so for each group, try to find the combination that flows most smoothly and clearly.
1. • My grandmother is eighty-six.
• She drives to Florida alone every year.
• She believes in being self-reliant.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. • They left twenty minutes early for class.
• They were late anyway.
• The car overheated.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. • John failed the midterm exam.
• He studied harder for the final.
• He passed it.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. • A volcano erupts.
• It sends tons of ash into the air.
• This creates flaming orange sunsets.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. • A telephone rings late at night.
• We answer it fearfully.
• It could bring tragic news.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Question 5

Major and minor ideas are mixed together in the two paragraphs outlined below. Put the ideas in logical order by filling in the outlines.
1. Topic sentence: People can be classified by how they treat their cars.
Seldom wax or vacuum car
Keep every mechanical item in top shape
Protective owners
Deliberately ignore needed maintenance
Indifferent owners
Wash and polish car every week
Never wash, wax, or vacuum car
Abusive owners
Inspect and service car only when required by state law
a. ____________________________________________
(1) ____________________________________
(2) ____________________________________
b. ____________________________________________
(1) _____________________________________
(2) ______________________________________
c. _____________________________________________
(1) ____________________________________
(2) _____________________________________
2. Topic sentence: Living with an elderly parent has many benefits.
Advantages for elderly person
Live-in baby-sitter
Learn about the past
Advantages for adult children
Serve useful role in family
Help with household tasks
Advantages for grandchildren
Stay active and interested in young people
More attention from adults
a._________________________________________
(1) _________________________________________
(2) _________________________________________
b.___________________________________________
(1) ________________________________________
(2) ______________________________________
c.__________________________________________
(1) _____________________________________
(2) ________________________________________

Question 6

7 Recognizing Specific Details: II
At several points in the following paragraphs, you are given a choice of two sets of supporting details. Write S (for specific) in the space next to the set that provides specific support for the point. Write G (for general) next to the set that offers only vague, general support.
Paragraph 1
My daughter's boyfriend is a good-for-nothing young man. After knowing him for just three months, everyone in our family is opposed to the relationship. For one thing, Russell is lazy.
______a. He is always finding an excuse to avoid putting in an honest day's work. He never pitches in and helps with chores around our house, even when he's asked directly to do so. And his attitude about his job isn't any bet­ter. To hear him tell it, he deserves special treatment in the workplace. He thinks he's gone out of his way if he just shows up on time.
______b. After starting a new job last week, he announced this Monday that he wasn't going to work because it was his birthday -as if he were somebody special. And when my husband asked Russell to help put storm windows on the house next Saturday, Russell answered that he uses his weekends to catch up on sleep.
Another quality of Russell's which no one likes is that he is cheap.
_______c. When my daughter's birthday came around, Russell said he would take her out to Baldoni's, a fancy Italian restaurant. Then he changed his mind. Instead of spending a lot of money on a meal, he said, he wanted to buy her a really nice pair of earrings. So my daughter cooked dinner for him at her apartment. But there was no present, not even a little one. He claims he's waiting for a jewelry sale at Macy's. I don't think my daughter will ever see that "really nice" gift.
_______d. He makes big promises about all the nice things he's going to do for my daughter, but he never comes through. His words are cheap, and so is he. He's all talk and no action. My daughter isn't greedy, but it hurts her when Russell says he's going to take her someplace nice or give her something special and then nothing happens.
Worst of all, Russell is mean.
______e. Russell seems to get special pleasure from hurting people when he feels they have a weak point. I have heard him make remarks that to him were funny but were really very insensitive. You've got to wonder about someone who needs to be ugly to other people just for the sake of being powerful. Sometimes I want to let him know how I feel.
______f. When my husband was out of work, Russell said to him, "Well, you've got it made now, living off your wife." After my husband glared at him, he said, "Why're you getting sore I'm just kidding." Sometimes he snaps at my daughter, saying things like "Don't make me wait-there are plenty of other babes who would like to take your place." At such times I want to toss him out to the curb.
Everyone in the family is waiting anxiously for the day when my daughter will see Russell the way the rest of us see him.
Paragraph 2
Many adult children move back in with their parents for some period of time. Although living with Mom and Dad again has some advantages, there are certain problems that are likely to arise. One common problem is that children may expect their parents to do all the household chores.
_____a. They never think that they should take on their share of work around the house. Not only do they not help with their parents' chores; they don't even take responsibility for the extra work that their presence creates. Like babies, they go through the house making a mess that the parents are supposed to clean up. It's as if they think their parents are their servants.
______b. They expect meals to appear on the table as if by magic. After they've eaten, they go off to work or play, never thinking about who's going to do the dishes. They drop their dirty laundry beside the washing machine, assuming that Mom or Dad will attend to it and return clean, folded clothes to their bedroom door. And speaking of their bedrooms: every day they await the arrival of Mom's Maid Service to make the bed, pick up the floor, and dust the furniture.
Another frequent problem is that parents forget their adult children are no longer adolescents.
_____c. Parents like this want to know everything about their adult children's lives. They don't think their kids, even though they are adults, should have any privacy. Whenever they see their children doing anything, they want to know all the details. It's as though their children are still teenagers who are expected to report all their activities. Naturally, adult children get irritated when they are treated as if they were little kids.
_____d. They may insist upon knowing far more about their children's comings and goings than the children want to share. For example, if such parents see their adult son heading out the door, they demand to know: "Where are you going Who will you be with What will you be doing What time will you be back " In addition, they may not let their adult child have any privacy. If their daughter and a date are sitting in the living room, for instance, they may join them there and start peppering the young man with questions about his family and his job, as if they were interviewing him for the position of son-in-law.
Finally, there may be financial problems when an adult child returns to live at home.
_____e. Having an extra adult in the household creates extra expenses. But many adult children don't offer to help deal with those extra costs. Adult children often eat at home, causing the grocery bill to climb. They may stay in a formerly unused room, which now needs to be heated and lit. They produce extra laundry to be washed. They use the telephone, adding to the long-distance bill. For all these reasons, adult children should expect to pay a reasonable fee to their parents for room and board.
______f. It's expensive to have another adult living in the household. Adult children would be paying a lot of bills on their own if they weren't staying with their parents. It's only fair that they share the expenses at their parents' house. They should consider all the ways that their living at home is increasing their parents' expenses. Then they should insist on covering their share of the costs.

Question 7

Cross out and revise the unbalanced part of each of the following sentences.
EXAMPLE
When Gail doesn't have class, she uses her time to clean house,
her laundry done, and to buy groceries.
1. Lola plans to become a model, a lawyer, or to go into nursing.
2. Filling out an income tax form is worse than wrestling a bear or to walk on hot coals.
3. The study-skills course taught me how to take more effective notes, to read a textbook chapter, and preparing for exams.
4. Home Depot has huge sections devoted to plumbing equipment, electrical supplies, and tools needed for carpentry.
5. Martha Grencher likes to water her garden, walking her pug, and arguing with her husband.
6. Filled with talent and ambitious, Eduardo worked hard at his sales job.
7. When I saw my roommate with my girlfriend, I felt worried, angry, and embarrassment.
8. Cindy's cat likes sleeping in the dryer, lying in the bathtub, and to chase squirrels.
9. The bacon was fatty, grease was on the potatoes, and the eggs were cold.
10. People in the lobby munched popcorn, sipped sodas, and were shuffling their feet impatiently.

Question 8

Using coordination, subordination, or both, combine each of the following groups of simple sentences into two longer sentences. Omit repeated words. Various com­binations are possible, so for each group, try to find the combination that flows most smoothly and clearly.
1. • Wendy pretended not to overhear her coworkers.
• She couldn't stop listening.
• She felt deeply embarrassed.
• They were criticizing her work.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. • Tony got home from the shopping mall.
• He discovered that his rented tuxedo did not fit.
• The jacket sleeves covered his hands.
• The pants cuffs hung over his shoes.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. • The boys waited for the bus.
• The wind shook the flimsy shelter.
• They shivered with cold.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. They were wearing thin jackets.• The engine almost started.
• Then it died.
• I realized no help would come.
• I was on a lonely road.
• It was very late.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. • Gary was leaving the store.
• The shoplifting alarm went off.
• He had not stolen anything.
• The clerk had forgotten to remove the magnetic tag.
• The tag was on a shirt Gary had bought.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Question 9

Again, major and minor ideas are mixed together. In addition, in each outline one of the three major ideas is missing and must be added. Put the ideas in logical order by filling in the outlines that follow (summarizing as needed) and adding a third major idea.
1. Topic sentence: Extending the school day would have several advantages.
Help children academically
Parents know children are safe at the school
More time to spend on basics
Less pressure to cover subjects quickly
More time for extras like art, music, and sports
Help working parents
More convenient to pick up children at 4 or 5 P.M.
Teachers' salaries would be raised
a.__________________________________
(1) _________________________________
(2)._________________________________
b.______________________________________
(1) ______________________________________
(2) ____________________________________
c.__________________________________________
(1) ________________________________________
(2) _________________________________________
2. Topic sentence: By following certain hints about food, exercise, and smoking, you can increase your chances of dying young.
Don't ever walk if you can ride instead.
Choose foods such as bacon and lunch meats that are laced with nitrites and other preservatives.
Be very selective about what you eat.
If you begin to cough or feel short of breath, keep smoking.
If a friend invites you to play an outdoor sport, open a beer instead and head for your La-Z-Boy recliner.
Resist the urge to exercise.
Choose foods from one of four essential groups: fat, starch, sugar, and grease.
Smoke on a regular basis.
a. ___________________________________________
(1) _______________________________________
(2) _________________________________________
b. ________________________________________
(1) _________________________________________
(2) ________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________
(1) ______________________________________
(2) ______________________________________

Question 10

9 Identifying Adequate Supporting Evidence
Two of the following paragraphs provide sufficient details to support their topic sentences convincingly. Write AD, for adequate development, beside those paragraphs. There are also three paragraphs that, for the most part, use vague, general, or wordy sentences as a substitute for concrete details. Write U, for underdeveloped, beside those paragraphs.
_____1. My Husband's Stubbornness
My husband's worst problem is his stubbornness. He simply will not let any kind of weakness show. If he isn't feeling well, he refuses to admit it. He will keep on doing whatever he is doing and will wait until the symptoms get almost unbearable before he will even hint that anything is the matter with him. Then things are so far along that he has to spend more time recovering
than he would if he had a different attitude. He also hates to be wrong. If he is wrong, he will be the last to admit it. This happened once when we went shopping, and he spent an endless amount of time going from one place to the next. He insisted that one of them had a fantastic sale on things he wanted. We never found a sale, but the fact that this situation happened will not change his attitude. Finally, he never listens to anyone else's suggestions on a car trip. He always knows he's on the right road, and the results have led to a lot of time wasted getting back in the right direction. Every time one of these incidents happens, it only means that it is going to happen again in the future.
____2. Dangerous Games
Because they feel compelled to show off in front of their friends, some teenagers play dangerous games. In one incident, police found a group of boys performing a dangerous stunt with their cars. The boys would perch on the hoods of cars going thirty-five or forty miles an hour. Then the driver would brake sharply, and the boy who flew the farthest off the car would win. Teenagers also drive their cars with the lights off and pass each other on hills or curves as ways of challenging each other. In addition to cars, water seems to tempt young people to invent dangerous contests. Some students dared each other to swim through a narrow pipe under a four-lane highway. The pipe carried water from a stream to a pond, and the swimmer would have to hold his or her breath for several minutes before coming out on the other side. Another contest involved diving off the rocky sides of a quarry. Because large stones sat under the water in certain places, any dive could result in a broken neck. But the students would egg each other on to go "rock diving." Playing deadly games like these is a horrifying phase of growing up for some teenagers.
______3. Attitudes toward Food
As children, we form attitudes toward food that are not easily changed. In some families, food is love. Not all families are like this, but some children grow up with this attitude. Some families think of food as something precious and not to be wasted. The attitudes children pick up about food are hard to change in adulthood. Some families celebrate with food. If a child learns an attitude, it is hard to break this later. Someone once said: "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree." Children are very impressionable, and they can't really think for themselves when they are small. Children learn from the parent figures in their lives, and later from their peers. Some families have healthy attitudes about food. It is important for adults to teach their children these healthy attitudes. Otherwise, the children may have weight problems when they are adults.
_____4. Qualities in a Friend
There are several qualities I look for in a friend. A friend should give support and security. A friend should also be fun to be around. Friends can have faults, like anyone else, and sometimes it is hard to overlook them. But a friend can't be dropped because he or she has faults. A friend should stick to you, even in bad times. There is a saying that "a friend in need is a friend indeed." I believe this means that there are good friends and fair-weather friends. The second type is not a true friend. He or she is the kind of person who runs when there's trouble. Friends don't always last a lifetime. Some-one you believed to be your best friend may lose contact with you if you move to a different area or go around with a different group of people. A friend should be generous and understanding. A friend does not have to be exactly like you. Sometimes friends are opposites, but they still like each other and get along. Since I am a very quiet person, I can't say that I have many friends. But these are the qualities I believe a friend should have.
______5. An Unsafe Place
We play touch football on an unsafe field. First of all, the grass on the field is seldom mowed. The result is that we have to run through tangled weeds that wrap around our ankles like trip wires. The tall grass also hides some gaping holes lurking beneath. The best players know the exact positions of all the holes and manage to detour around them like soldiers zigzagging across a minefield. Most of us, though, endure at least one sprained ankle per game. Another danger is the old baseball infield that we use as the last twenty yards of our gridiron. This area is covered with stones and broken glass. No matter how often we clean it up, we can never keep pace with the broken bottles hurled on the field by the teenagers we call the "night shift." These people apparently hold drinking parties every night in the abandoned dugout and enjoy throwing the empties out on the field. During every game, we try to avoid falling on especially big chunks of Budweiser bottles. Finally, encircling the entire field is an old, rusty chain-link fence full of tears and holes. Being slammed into the fence during the play can mean a painful stabbing by the jagged wires. All these dangers have made us less
afraid of opposing teams than of the field where we play.

Question 11

In each passage, one verb must be changed so that it agrees in tense with the other verbs. Cross out the incorrect verb and write the correct form above each crossed out verb.
EXAMPLE. I
Kareem wanted to be someplace else when the dentist
in a long needle.
1. I listened to music and surfed the Internet before I decide to do some homework.
2. The hitchhiker stopped me as I walks from the turnpike rest station and said, "Are you on your way to San Jose "
3. Some students attend all their classes in school and listen carefully during lectures, but they don't take notes. As a result, they often failed tests.
4. His parents stayed together for his sake; only after he graduates from college did they get divorced.
5. In the movie, artillery shells exploded on the hide of the reptile monster. The creature just grinned, tosses off the shells, and kept eating people.
6. Several months a year, monarch butterflies come to live in a spot along the California coast. Thousands and thousands of them hang from the trees and fluttered through the air in large groups.
7. After waking up each morning, Harry stays in bed for a while. First he stretches and yawned loudly, and then he plans his day.
8. The salespeople at Biggs's Department Store are very helpful. When people asked for a product the store doesn't carry or is out of, the salesperson recommends another store.
9. Part-time workers at the company are the first to be laid off. They are also paid less, and they received no union representation.
10. Smashed cars, ambulances, and police cars blocked traffic on one side of the highway. On the other side, traffic slows down as drivers looked to see what had happened.

Question 12

Part A
Combine the simple sentences into one sentence by using the opener shown in the margin and omitting repeated words. Use a comma to set off the opener from the rest of the sentence.
-ed word 1. • We were exhausted from four hours of hiking.
• We decided to stop for the day.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
-ing word 2. • Gus was staring out the window.
• He didn't hear the instructor call on him.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. • Nobody saw the thieves steal our bikes. -ly word
• This was unfortunate.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. • Wayne rented a limousine for the night. to word group
• He wanted to make a good impression.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. • Joanne goes online to e-mail her friends. Prepositional phrase
• She does this during her lunch breaks.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Part B
Combine the simple sentences in each group into one sentence by using adjectives or verbs in a series and by omitting repeated words. In most cases, use a comma between the adjectives or verbs in a series.
6. The photographer waved a teddy bear at the baby.
He made a funny face.
He quacked like a duck.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
7. The bucket held a bunch of daisies.
The bucket was shiny.
The bucket was aluminum.
The daisies were fresh.
The daisies were white.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
8. Amy poured herself a cup of coffee.
She pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
She opened her textbook.
She sat down at her desk.
She fell asleep.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
9. The box in the dresser drawer was stuffed with letters.
The box was cardboard.
The dresser drawer was locked.
The letters were faded.
The letters were about love.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
10. The boy asked the girl to dance.
The boy was short.
The boy was self-confident.
The girl was tall.
The girl was shy.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Question 13

Read the following two paragraphs. Then outline each one in the space provided. Write out the topic sentence in each case and summarize in a few words the primary and secondary supporting material that fits under the topic sentence.
1. Why I'm a Stay-at-Home Baseball Fan
I'd much rather stay at home and watch ball games on television than go to the ballpark. First, it's cheaper to watch a game at home. I don't have to spend fifteen dollars for a ticket and another ten dollars for a parking space. If I want some refreshments, I can have what's already in the refrigerator instead of shelling out another six dollars for a limp, lukewarm hot dog and a watery Coke. Also, it's more comfortable at home. I avoid a bumper-to- bumper drive to the ballpark and pushy crowds who want to go through the same gate I do. I can lie quietly on my living-room sofa instead of sitting on a hard stadium seat with noisy people all around me. Most of all, watching a game on television is more informative. Not only do I see all the plays that I might miss from my fifteen-dollar seat, but I see some of them two and three times in instant replay. In addition, I get each play explained to me in glorious detail. If I were at the ballpark, I wouldn't know that the pitch our third baseman hit was a high and inside slider or that his grand-slam home run was a record-setting seventh in his career. The other fans can spend their money; put up with traffic, crowds, and hard seats; and guess at the plays. I'll take my baseball lying down-at home.
Topic sentence: __________________________________________
______________________________________________________
a. __________________________________________________
(1) __________________________________________________
(2) ___________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________
(1) ____________________________________________________
(2) ___________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________
(1) _____________________________________________
(2) _____________________________________________
2. Why Teenagers Take Drugs
There are several reasons why teenagers take drugs. First of all, it is easy for young people to get drugs. Drugs are available almost anywhere, from a school cafeteria to a movie line to a football game. Teens don't have to risk traveling to the slums or dealing with shady types on street corners. It is also easy to get drugs because today's teens have spending money, which comes from allowances or earnings from part-time jobs. Teens can use their money to buy the luxuries they want-music, makeup, clothes, or drugs. Second, teens take drugs because the adolescent years are filled with psychological problems. For a teenager, one of these problems is the pressure of making important life decisions, such as choosing a career path. Another problem is establishing a sense of self. The teen years are the time when young people must become more independent from their parents and form their own values. The enormous mental pressures of these years can make some people turn to drugs. A final, and perhaps most important, reason why teenagers take drugs is peer pressure to conform. Teens often become very close to special friends, for one thing, and they will share a friend's interests, even if one interest is drugs. Teenagers also attend parties and other social events where it's all-important to be one of the crowd, to be "cool." Even the most mature teenager might be tempted to use drugs rather than risk being an outcast. For all these reasons, drugs are a major problem facing teenagers.
Topic sentence: _____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
a. ________________________________________________________
(1) _______________________________________________________
(2) _______________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________
(1) _______________________________________________________
(2) _______________________________________________________
c. _______________________________________________________
(1) ______________________________________________________
(2) ______________________________________________________

Question 14

Fill in the missing words: "How I relax" uses the following words to help show time order:____________-,__________,______________,___________, and ______________.
Emphatic order is sometimes described as "save-the-best-'til-last" order. It
means that the most interesting or important detail is placed in the last part of
a paper. (In cases where all details seem equal in importance, the writer should
impose a personal order that seems logical or appropriate to the details.) The last
position in a paper is the most emphatic position because the reader is most likely
to remember the last thing read. Finally, last of all, and most important are typical
words and phrases showing emphasis. The following paragraph organizes its
details through emphatic order.
The National Enquirer
There are several reasons why the National Enquirer is so popular. First of all, the paper is advertised on television. In the ads, attractive-looking people say, with a smile, "I want to know!" as they scan the pages of the Enquirer. The ads reassure people that it's all right to want to read stories such as "Heartbreak for Jennifer Lopez" or "Prince's Fiancée in New Royal Topless Scandal." In addition, the paper is easily available. In supermarkets, convenience stores, and drugstores, the Enquirer is always displayed in racks close to the cash register. As customers wait in line, they can't help being attracted to the paper's glaring headlines. Then, on impulse, customers will add the paper to their other purchases. Most of all, people read the Enquirer because they love gossip. We find other people's lives fascinating, especially if those people are rich and famous. We want to see and read about their homes, their clothes, and their friends, lovers, and families. We also take a kind of mean delight in their unfl attering photos and problems and mistakes, perhaps because we envy them. Even though we may be ashamed of our interest, it's hard to resist buying a paper that promises "The Forbidden Love of Paris Hilton" or "Film Star Who Now Looks Like a Cadaver" or even "Hollywood Star Wars: Who Hates Whom and Why." The Enquirer knows how to get us interested and make us buy.

Question 15

Cross out inconsistent pronouns in the following sentences and write the correct form of the pronoun above each crossed-out word. You may have to change the 3 form of the verb as well.
EXAMPLE
My dreams are always the kind that haunt
the next day.
1. Whenever we take our children on a trip, you have to remember to bring snacks, tissues, and toys.
2. In our society, we often need a diploma before you can be hired for a job.
3. I work at a company where the owners don't provide you with health insurance.
4. If a student organizes time carefully, you can accomplish a great deal of work.
5. Although I know you should watch your cholesterol intake, I can never resist an ear of corn dripping with melted butter.
6. Good conversationalists have the ability to make the person they are talking to feel as if they are the only other person in the room.
7. We never go to the Salad Bowl anymore, because you wait so long to be seated and the waiters usually make mistakes with the order.
8. I'm careful about talking to people on the subway because one can get into some really weird situations.
9. We can't afford to move right now, because you need not only the first month's rent but also an extra month's security deposit.
10. In my job as store manager, I'm supposed to be nice to the customer even if they are being totally unreasonable.

Question 16

See if you can identify the ten sentence-skills mistakes in paragraph B. Do this, first of all, by going back and underlining the ten spots in paragraph B that differ 5 in wording or punctuation from paragraph A. Then try to identify the ten sentence- skills mistakes by circling what you feel is the correct answer in each of the ten statements below.
HINT Comparing paragraph B with the correct version may help you guess correct answers even if you are not familiar with the names of certain skills.
1. The title should not be set off with
a. capital letters.
b. quotation marks.
2. In word group 2, there is a
a. missing comma.
b. missing apostrophe.
c. sentence fragment.
d. dangling modifi er.
3. In word group 3, there is a
a. run-on.
b. sentence fragment.
c. mistake in subject-verb
agreement.
d. mistake involving an irregular
verb.
4. In word group 5, there is a
a. sentence fragment.
b. spelling error.
c. run-on.
d. mistake in subject-verb verb. agreement.
5. In word group 7, there is
a. misplaced modifier.
b. dangling modifier.
c. mistake in parallelism. verb.
d. run-on.
6. In word group 8, there is a
a. nonstandard English verb.
b. run-on.
c. comma mistake.
d. missing capital letter.
7. In word group 11, there is a
a. mistake involving an irregular
b. sentence fragment.
c. slang phrase.
d. mistake in subject-verb agreement.
8. In word group 12, there is a
a. missing apostrophe.
b. missing comma.
c. mistake involving an irregular
verb.
d. sentence fragment.
9. In word group 13, there is a
a. missing quotation mark.
b. mistake involving an irregular
verb.
c. missing apostrophe.
d. missing capital letter.
10. In word group 15, there is a
a. mistake in parallelism.
b. mistake involving an irregular
verb.
c. sentence fragment.
d. mistake in pronoun point of
view.
You should have chosen the following answers:
1. b 2. c 3. a 4. d 5. c
6. a 7. c 8. b 9. c 10. c
Part Five of this book explains these and other sentence skills. You should review all the skills carefully. Doing so will ensure that you know the most important rules of grammar, punctuation, and usage-rules needed to write clear, error- free sentences.

Question 17

4 Revising
Listed in the box below are five stages in the process of composing a paragraph titled "Dangerous Places."
1. Prewriting (list)
2. Prewriting (freewriting, questioning, list, and scratch outline)
3. First draft
4. Revising (second draft)
5. Revising (final draft)
The five stages appear in scrambled order below and on the next page. Write the number 1 in the blank space in front of the first stage of development and number the remaining stages in sequence.
_____ There are some places where I never feel safe. For example, public
rest rooms. The dirt and graffiti dirt on the floors and the graffiti scrawled on the walls make the room seem dangerous create a sense of danger. I'm also afraid in parking lots. Late at night, I don't like walking in the lot After class, I don't like the parking lot. When I leave my night class or the shopping mall late the walk to the car is scary. Most parking lots have large lights which make me feel at least a little better. I feel least safe in our laundry room.... It is a depressing place... Bars on the windows,... pipes making noises,... cement steps the only way out....
_______

Cars-especially parking lots
Feel frightened in our laundry room
Big crowds-concerts, movies
Closed-in places
Bus and train stations
Airplane
Elevators and escalators
________ Dangerous Places
There are some places where I never feel completely safe. For example, I seldom feel safe in public rest rooms. I worry that I'll suddenly be alone there and that someone will come in to mug me. The ugly graffiti often scrawled on the walls, along with the grime and dirt in the room and crumpled tissues and paper towels on the floor, add to my sense of unease and danger. I also feel unsafe in large, dark, parking lots. When I leave my night class a little late, or I am one of the few leaving the mall at 10 P.M., I dread the walk to my car. I am afraid that someone may be lurking behind another car, ready to mug me. And I fear that my car will not start, leaving me stuck in the dark parking lot. The place where I feel least safe is the basement laundry room in our apartment building. No matter what time I do my laundry, I seem to be the only person there. The windows are barred, and the only exit is a steep flight of cement steps. While I'm folding the clothes, I feel trapped. If anyone unfriendly came down those steps, I would have nowhere to go. The pipes in the room make sudden gurgles, clanks, and hisses, adding to my unsettledness. Places like public rest rooms, dark parking lots, and the basement laundry room give me the shivers.
_______ There are some places where I never feel completely safe. For example, I never feel safe in public rest rooms. If I'm alone there, I worry that someone will come in to rob and mug me. The dirt on the floors and the graffiti scrawled on the walls create a sense of danger. I feel unsafe in large, dark parking lots. When I leave my night class a little late or I leave the mall at 10 P.M., the walk to the car is scary. I'm afraid that someone may be behind a car. Also that my car won't start. Another place I don't feel safe is the basement laundry room in our apartment building. No matter when I do the laundry, I'm the only person there. The windows are barred and there are steep steps. I feel trapped when I fold the clothes. The pipes in the room make frightening noises such as hisses and clanks. Our laundry room and other places give me the shivers.
_______ Some places seem dangerous and unsafe to me. For example, last
night I stayed till 10:15 after night class and walked out to parking lot alone. Very scary. Also, other places I go to every day, such as places in my apartment building. Also frightened by big crowds and public rest rooms.
2 Parking lots
3 Laundry room
1 Public rest rooms

Question 18

Fill in each blank with the appropriate addition transition from the list that follows. Use each transition once.
Another finally one
There are some widely popular but inappropriate methods that people _______ have to combat stress. common strategy is to consume massive quantities of junk food, which is easily done thanks to all the ever present convenience stores and fast-food restaurants. __________Way to deal with stress is to doze or sleep for hours and hours, even during the day._______, watching hours of nonstop TV can put people in a stupor that helps them forget the problems of everyday life.
2. Fill in each blank with the appropriate time transition from the list that follows. Use each transition once.
then next before
first after
I do not like to write. In fact, I dislike writing so much that I have developed a series of steps for postponing the agony of doing writing assignments._______ I tell myself that to proceed without the proper equipment would be unwise. So I go out to buy a new pen, and this kills at least an hour.________, I begin to stare at the blank page. _________ long, however, I realize that writing may also require thought, so I begin to think deeply about my subject. Soon I feel drowsy. This naturally leads to the conclusion that I need a nap because I can't throw myself into my writing until I am at my very best.__________ a refreshing nap, I again face the blank page. It is usually at this stage that I actually write a sentence or two-disappointing ones. I _________ wisely decide that I need inspiration, perhaps from an interesting magazine or my new XBox game. If I feel a bit guilty, I comfort myself with the knowledge that, as any artist knows, you can't rush these things.
3. Underline the three addition signals in the following paragraph:
I am opposed to state-supported lotteries for a number of reasons. First of all, by supporting lotteries, states are supporting gambling. I don't see anything morally wrong with gambling, but it is a known cause of suffering for many people who do it to excess. The state should be concerned with relieving suffering, not causing it. Another objection I have to state lotteries is the kind of advertising they do on television. The commercials promote the lotteries as an easy way to get rich. In fact, the odds against getting rich are astronomical. Last, the lotteries take advantage of the people who can least afford them. Studies have shown that people with lower incomes are more likely to play the lottery than people with higher incomes. This is the harshest reality of the lotteries: the state is encouraging people of limited means not to save their money but to throw it away on a state-supported pipe dream.
4. Underline the four time signals in the following paragraph:
It is often easy to spot bad drivers on the road because they usually make more than one mistake: they make their mistakes in series. First, for example, you may notice that a man is tailgating you. Then, almost as soon as you notice, he has passed you in a no-passing zone. That's two mistakes already in a matter of seconds. Next, almost invariably, you see him speed down the road and pass someone else. Finally, as you watch in disbelief, glad that he's out of your way, he speeds through a red light or cuts across oncoming traffic in a wild left turn.

Question 19

Rewrite the following sentences, omitting needless words.
1. After a lot of careful thinking, I have arrived at the conclusion that drunken
drivers should receive jail terms.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
2. The movie that I went to last night, which was fairly interesting, I must say, was enjoyed by me and my girlfriend.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
3. Ben finally made up his mind after a lot of indecisions and decided to look for a new job.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
4. Owing to inclement weather conditions of wind and rain, we have decided not to proceed with the athletic competition about to take place on the baseball diamond.
_____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. Beyond a doubt, the only two things you can rely or depend on would be the fact that death comes to everyone and also that the government will tax your yearly income.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Question 20

In each outline, cross out the items that do not support the opening point. These items must be omitted in order to achieve paragraph unity.
1. The cost of raising a child keeps increasing.
a. School taxes get higher every year.
b. A pair of children's sneakers can now cost over $100.
c. Overpopulation is a worldwide problem.
d. Providing nutritious food is more costly because of inflated prices.
e. Children should work at age sixteen.
2. My father's compulsive gambling hurt our family life.
a. We were always short of money for bills.
b. Luckily, my father didn't drink.
c. My father ignored his children to spend time at the racetrack.
d. Gamblers'Anonymous can help compulsive gamblers.
e. My mother and father argued constantly.
3. There are several ways to get better mileage in your car.
a. Check air pressure in tires regularly.
b. Drive at no more than fifty-five miles per hour.
c. Orange and yellow cars are the most visible.
d. Avoid jackrabbit starts at stop signs and traffic lights.
e. Always have duplicate ignition and trunk keys.
4. My swimming instructor helped me overcome my terror of the water.
a. He talked with me about my fears.
b. I was never good at sports.
c. He showed me how to hold my head under water and not panic.
d. I held on to a floating board until I was confident enough to give it up.
e. My instructor was on the swimming team at his college.
5. Fred Wilkes is the best candidate for state governor.
a. He has fifteen years' experience in the state senate.
b. His son is a professional football player.
c. He has helped stop air and water pollution in the state.
d. His opponent has been divorced.
e. He has brought new industries and jobs to the state.

Question 21

The author of "Dangerous Places" in Activity 16 made a number of editing changes between the second draft and the final draft. Compare the two drafts and, in the spaces provided below, identify five of the changes.
1. ____________________________________
2. ____________________________________
3. ____________________________________
4. ____________________________________
5. ____________________________________

Question 22

Underline the three space signals in the following paragraph:
Standing in the burned-out shell of my living room was a shocking experience. Above my head were charred beams, all that remained of our ceiling. In front of me, where our television and stereo had once stood, were twisted pieces of metal and chunks of blackened glass. Strangely, some items seemed little damaged by the fire. For example, I could see the remote control and a dusty DVD under the rubble. I walked through the gritty ashes until I came to what was left of our sofa. Behind the sofa had been a wall of family photographs. Now, the wall and the pictures were gone. I found only a waterlogged scrap of our framed wedding picture.
2. Underline the four change-of-direction signals in the following paragraph:
In some ways, train travel is superior to air travel. People always marvel at the speed with which airplanes can zip from one end of the country to another. Trains, on the other hand, definitely take longer. But sometimes longer can be better. Traveling across the country by train allows you to experience the trip more completely. You get to see the cities and towns, mountains and prairies that too often pass by unnoticed when you fly. Another advantage of train travel is comfort. Traveling by plane means wedging yourself into a narrow seat with your knees bumping the back of the seat in front of you and, if you're lucky, being handed a "snack" consisting of a bag of pretzels. In contrast, the seats on most trains are spacious and comfortable, permitting even the longest-legged traveler to stretch out and I watch the scenery just outside the window. And when train travelers grow hungry, they can get up and stroll to the dining car, where they can order anything from a simple snack to a full meal. There's no question that train travel is definitely slow and old-fashioned compared with air travel. However, in many ways it is much more civilized.
3. Underline the three illustration signals in the following selection:
Status symbols are all around us. The cars we drive, for instance, say something about who we are and how successful we have been. The S auto makers depend on this perception of automobiles, designing their commercials to show older, well-established people driving luxury sedans and young, fun-loving people driving to the beach in sports cars. Clothing, too, has always been a status symbol. Specifically, schoolchildren are often rated by their classmates according to the brand names of their clothing. Another example of a status symbol is the cell phone. This device, not so long ago considered a novelty, is now used by almost everyone. Being without a cell phone in the twenty-first century is like being without a regular phone in the 1990s.
4. Underline the conclusion signal in the following paragraph:
A hundred years ago, miners used to bring caged canaries down into the mines with them to act as warning signals. If the bird died, the miners knew that the oxygen was running out. The smaller animal would be affected much more quickly than the miners. In the same way, animals are acting as warning signals to us today. Baby birds die before they can hatch because pesticides in the environment cause the adults to lay eggs with paper-thin shells. Fish die when lakes are contaminated with acid rain or poisonous mercury. The dangers in our environment will eventually affect all life on earth, including humans. Therefore, we must pay attention to these early warning signals. If we don't, we will be as foolish as a miner who ignored a dead canary-and we will die.

Question 23

Combine the following pairs of simple sentences into compound sentences. Use a comma and a logical joining word (and, but, for, so) to connect each pair.
HINT If you are not sure what and, but, for, and so mean, see pages 435-436.
EXAMPLE
• The cars crept along slowly.
• Visibility was poor in the heavy fog.
The cars crept along slowly, for visibility was poor in the heavy fog.
______________________________________________________
1. • Lee thought she would never master the spreadsheet program.
• In two weeks she was using it comfortably.
_______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
2. • Vandals smashed the car's headlights.
• They slashed the tires as well.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
3. • I married at age seventeen.
• I never got a chance to live on my own.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
4. • Mold grew on my leather boots.
• The closet was warm and humid.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
5. • My father has a high cholesterol count.
•He continues to eat red meat almost every day.
_____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Question 24

2 Evaluating Paragraphs for Unity
Each of the following five paragraphs contains sentences that are off target sentences that do not support the opening point-and so the paragraphs are not unified. In the interest of paragraph unity, such sentences must be omitted.
Cross out the irrelevant sentences and write the numbers of those sentences in the spaces provided. The number of spaces will tell you the number of irrelevant sentences in each paragraph.
1. A Kindergarten Failure
1 In kindergarten I experienced the fear of failure that haunts many schoolchildren. 2 My moment of panic occurred on my last day in kindergarten at Charles Foos Public School in Riverside, California. 3 My family lived in California for three years before we moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where my father was a personnel manager for Mutual of Omaha. 4 Our teacher began reading a list of names of all those students who were to line up at the door in order to visit the first-grade classroom. 5 Our teacher was a pleasant-faced woman who had resumed her career after raising her own children. 6 She called off every name but mine, and I was left sitting alone in the class while everyone else left, the teacher included. 7 I sat there in absolute horror. 8 I imagined that I was the first kid in human history who had flunked things like crayons, sandbox, and sliding board. 9 Without getting the teacher's permission, I got up and walked to the bathroom and threw up into a sink. 10 Only when I ran home in tears to my mother did I get an explanation of what had happened. 11 Since I was to go to a parochial school in the fall, I had not been taken with the other children to meet the first-grade teacher at the public school. 12 My moment of terror and shame had been only a misunderstanding.
The numbers of the irrelevant sentences: __________ _______
2. How to Prevent Cheating
1 Instructors should take steps to prevent students from cheating on exams. 2 To begin with, instructors should stop reusing old tests. 3 A test that has been used even once is soon known on the student grapevine. 4 Students will check with their friends to find out, for example, what was on Dr. Thompson's biology final last term. 5 They may even manage to find a copy of the test itself, "accidentally" not turned in by a former student of Dr. Thompson's. 6 Instructors should also take some commonsense precautions at test time. 7 They should make students separate themselves-by at least one seat-during an exam, and they should watch the class closely. 8 The best place for the instructor to sit is in the rear of the room, so that a student is never sure if the instructor is looking at him or her. 9 Last of all, instructors must make it clear to students that there will be stiff penalties for cheating. 10 One of the problems with our school systems is a lack of discipline. 11 Instructors never used to give in to students' demands or put up with bad behavior, as they do today. 12 Anyone caught cheating should immediately receive a zero for the exam. 13 A person even suspected of cheating should be forced to take an alternative exam in the instructor's office. 14 Because cheating is unfair to honest students, it should not be tolerated.
The numbers of the irrelevant sentences: __________ ______________
3. Other Uses for Cars
1 Many people who own a car manage to turn the vehicle into a trash can, a clothes closet, or a storage room. 2 People who use their cars as trash cans are easily recognized. 3 Empty snack bags, hamburger wrappers, pizza cartons, soda cans, and doughnut boxes litter the floor. 4 On the seats are old scratched CDs, blackened fruit skins, crumpled receipts, crushed cigarette packs, and used tissues. 5 At least the trash stays in the car, instead of adding to the litter on our highways. 6 Other people use a car as a clothes closet. 7 The car contains several pairs of shoes, pants, or shorts, along with a suit or dress that's been hanging on the car's clothes hanger for over a year. 8 Sweaty, smelly gym clothes will also find a place in the car, a fact passengers quickly discover. 9 The world would be better off if people showed more consideration of others. 10 Finally, some people use a car as a spare garage or basement. 11 In the backseats or trunks of these cars are bags of fertilizer, beach chairs, old textbooks, chainsaws, or window screens that have been there for months. 12 The trunk may also contain an extra spare tire, a dented hubcap, a gallon container of window washer fluid, and old stereo equipment. 13 If apartments offered more storage space, probably fewer people would resort to using their cars for such storage purposes. 14 All in all, people get a lot more use out of their cars than simply the miles they travel on the road.
The numbers of the irrelevant sentences:________ __________ __________
4. Why Adults Visit Amusement Parks
1 Adults visit amusement parks for several reasons. 2 For one thing, an amusement park is a place where it is acceptable to "pig out" on junk food. 3 At the park, everyone is drinking soda and eating popcorn, ice cream, or hot dogs. 4 No one seems to be on a diet, and so buying all the junk food you can eat is a guilt-free experience. 5 Parks should provide stands where healthier food, such as salads or cold chicken, would be sold. 6 Another reason people visit amusement parks is to prove themselves. 7 They want to visit the park that has the newest, scariest ride in order to say that they went on the Parachute Drop, the seven-story Elevator, the Water Chute, or the Death Slide. 8 Going on a scary ride is a way to feel courageous and adventurous without taking much of a risk. 9 Some rides, however, can be dangerous. 10 Rides that are not properly inspected or maintained have killed people all over the country. 11 A final reason people visit amusement parks is to escape from everyday pressures. 12 When people are poised at the top of a gigantic roller coaster, they are not thinking of bills, work, or personal problems. 13 A scary ride empties the mind of all worries-except making it to the bottom alive. 14 Adults at an amusement park may claim they have come for their children, but they are there for themselves as well.
The numbers of the irrelevant sentences: __________ ___________ ________
5. A Dangerous Cook
1 When my friend Tom sets to work in the kitchen, disaster often results. 2 Once he tried to make toasted cheese sandwiches for us by putting slices of cheese in the toaster along with the bread; he ruined the toaster. 3 Unfortunately, the toaster was a fairly new one that I had just bought for him three weeks before, on his birthday. 4 On another occasion, he had cut up some fresh beans and put them in a pot to steam. 5 I was really looking forward to the beans, for I eat nothing but canned vegetables in my dormitory. 6 I, frankly, am not much of a cook either. 7 The water in the Teflon pan steamed away while Tom was on the telephone, and both the beans and the Teflon coating in the pan were ruined. 8 Finally, another time Tom made spaghetti for us, and the noodles stuck so tightly together that we had to cut off slices with a knife and fork. 9 In addition, the meatballs were burned on the outside but almost raw inside. 10 The tomato sauce, on the other hand, turned out well. 11 For some reason, Tom is very good at making meat and vegetable sauces. 12 Because of Tom's kitchen mishaps, I never eat at his place without an Alka-Seltzer in my pocket, or without money in case we have to go out to eat.
The numbers of the irrelevant sentences: _____ _____ ______ ______ _____

Question 25

In the following groups, one statement is the general point and the other statements are specific support for the point. Identify each point with a P and each statement of support with an S.
EXAMPLE
S My mother has cancer.
S My fourteen-year-old sister is pregnant.
S I lost my job.
P My family has real problems.
EXPLANATION The point-that the family has real problems-is strongly supported by the three specific problems stated.
1.______The kitchen is so small that only one person can be there.
______A nearby bus station fills the apartment with exhaust fumes every morning.
______The apartment has some real drawbacks.
______There are no closets.
2. _______Some people skip breakfast.
_______Some people have poor eating habits.
_______Some people always order supersize portions.
_______Some people eat almost no fruits or vegetables.
3. _______Children are at risk at the school.
_______There are two active gangs in the school.
_______Knives and guns have been found in lockers.
_______Drug busts have been made at the school.
4. _______Cats are clean and do not require much attention.
_______Cats like living indoors and are safe to have around children.
_______Cats are inexpensive to feed and easy to keep healthy.
_______There are definite advantages to having a cat as a pet.
5. _______Ron feels short of breath.
_______ Ron is getting dizzy and sweaty.
_______Ron might be having a heart attack.
_______Ron has pain in his chest.
6._______ The couple had different goals.
_______The couple disliked each other's friends.
_______The couple shared few interests in common.
_______The couple had good reasons to break up.
7. _______The bread the waiter brought us is stale.
_______We've been waiting for our main course for over an hour.
_______It is time to speak to the restaurant manager.
_______The people next to us are awfully loud.
8. _______Carla asks you questions about yourself.
_______Carla is a pleasure to be around.
_______Carla has a great smile.
_______Carla really listens when you talk.
9. _______My boss is hard to work for.
_______She lacks a sense of humor.
_______She never gives praise.
_______She times all our breaks to the second.
10. _______The man doesn't use his turn signals.
_______The man drives too fast down narrow residential streets.
_______The man doesn't come to a complete stop at stop signs.
_______The man is an unsafe driver.
11. _______Though a mosquito is small, it has power. A mosquito can find you in the dark.
_______A mosquito can keep you awake all night.
_______A mosquito can make you scratch yourself until you bleed.
12. _______Because sending e-mail is so simple, family and friends may use it to stay in close touch.
_______When people are upset, they may send off an angry e-mail before they consider the consequences.
_______he jokes, petitions, and other e-mails that friends so easily forward can become a real nuisance.
_______The ease of using e-mail can be both a blessing and a curse.
13. _______When some people answer the phone, their first words are "Who's this "
_______Some people never bother to identify themselves when calling someone.
_______Some people have terrible telephone manners.
_______Some people hang up without even saying good-bye.
14. _______One mother created what she called the homework zone-the kitchen table after dinner-where she and her young children did their assignments.
_______Some adult students have taken classes at a nearby community college during their lunch hour.
_______Adult students often find creative ways to balance school, employment, and family responsibilities.
_______By listening to recorded lectures in the car, working students turn travel time into learning time.
15. _______Moviegoers can take several simple steps to save money at the movie theater.
_______Bringing homemade popcorn to the movies is cheaper than buying expensive theater popcorn.
_______Buying candy at a grocery store, not a theater, cuts candy costs in half.
_______Going to movies early in the day reduces ticket prices by as much as $3 each.

Question 26

Read the selection below and then answer the questions about it that follow.
My Worst Experience of the Week
1 The registration process at State College was a nightmare. 2 The night before registration officially began, I went to bed anxious about the whole matter, and nothing that happened the next day served to ease my tension. 3 First, even though I had paid my registration fee early last spring, the people at the bursar's office had no record of my payment. 4 And for some bizarre reason, they wouldn't accept the receipt I had. 5 Consequently, I had to stand in line for two hours, waiting for someone to give me a slip of paper which stated that I had, in fact, paid my registration fee. 6 The need for this new receipt seemed ludicrous to me, since all along I had proof that I had paid. 7 I was next told that I had to see my adviser in the Law and Justice Department and that the department was in Corridor C of the Triad Building. 8 I had no idea what or where the Triad was. 9 But, finally, I found my way to the ugly gray-white building. 10 Then I began looking for Corridor C. 11 When I found it, everyone there was a member of the Communications Department. 12 No one seemed to know where Law and Justice had gone. 13 Finally, one instructor said she thought Law and Justice was in Corridor A. 14 "And where is Corridor A " I asked. 15 "I don't know," the teacher answered. 16 "I'm new here." 17 She saw the bewildered look on my face and said sympathetically, "You're not the only one who's confused." 18 I nodded and walked numbly away. 19 I felt as if I were fated to spend the rest of the semester trying to complete the registration process, and I wondered if I would ever become an official college student.
Questions
1. How many times is the key word registration used _________
2. Write here the pronoun that is used for people at the bursar's office (sentence 4):_______; Corridor C (sentence 11):_______; instructor (sentence 17):________.
3. Write here the words that are used as a synonym for receipt (sentence 5):
__________________________________________________
the words that are used as a synonym for Triad (sentence 9):
_________________________________________________
the word that is used as a synonym for instructor (sentence 15):
_________________________________________________

Question 27

Use logical subordinating words to combine the following pairs of simple sentences into sentences that contain a dependent thought. Place a comma after a dependent g statement when it starts the sentence.
EXAMPLE
• Our team lost.
• We were not invited to the tournament.
Because our team lost, We were not invited to the tournament.
________________________________________________
1. •I receive my degree in June.
• I will begin applying for jobs.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
2. • Lola doesn't enjoy cooking.
• She often eats at restaurants.
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
3. •I sent several letters of complaint.
• The electric company never corrected my bill.
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
4. • Neil felt his car begin to skid.
• He took his foot off the gas pedal.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
5. • The final exam covered sixteen chapters.
• The students complained.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Question 28

3 Evaluating Paragraphs for Support
The five paragraphs that follow lack sufficient supporting details. In each para- ^HHIIIIIII graph, identify the spot or spots where more specific details are needed.
1. Chicken: Our Best Friend 8
1 Chicken is the best-selling meat today for a number of good reasons. 2 First of all, its reasonable cost puts it within everyone's reach. 3 Chicken is popular, too, because it can be prepared in so many different ways. 4 It can, for example, be cooked by itself, in spaghetti sauce, or with noodles andgravy. 5 It can be baked, boiled, broiled, or fried. 6 Chicken is also convenient. 7 Last and most important, chicken has a high nutritional value. 8 Four ounces of chicken contain twenty-eight grams of protein, which is almost half the recommended daily dietary allowance.
Fill in the blanks: The first spot where supporting details are needed occurs after sentence number.______ The second spot occurs after sentence number _______.
2. A Car Accident
1 I was on my way home from work when my terrible car accident took place. 2 As I drove my car around the curve of the expressway exit, I saw a number of cars ahead of me. 3 They were backed up because of a red light at the main road. 4 I slowly came to a stop behind a dozen or more cars. 5 In my rearview mirror, I then noticed a car coming up behind me that did not slow down or stop. 6 I had a horrible, helpless feeling as I realized the car would hit me. 7 I knew there was nothing I could do to signal the driver in time, nor was there any way I could get away from the car. 8 Minutes after the collision, I picked up my glasses, which were on the seat beside me. 9 My lip was bleeding, and I got out a tissue to wipe it. 10 The police arrived quickly, along with an ambulance for the driver of the car that hit me. 11 My car was so damaged that it had to be towed away. 12 Today, eight years after the accident, I still relive the details of the experience whenever a car gets too close behind me.
Fill in the blank: The point where details are needed occurs after sentence number ____.
3. Tips on Bringing Up Children
1 In some ways, children should be treated as mature people. 2 For one thing, adults should not use baby talk with children. 3 Using real words with children helps them develop language skills more quickly. 4 Baby talk makes children feel patronized, frustrated, and confused, for they want to understand and communicate with adults by learning their speech. 5 So animals should be called cows and dogs, not "moo-moos" and "bow-wows." 6 Second, parents should be consistent when disciplining children. 7 For example, if a parent tells a child, "You cannot have dessert unless you put away your toys," it is important that the parent follow through on the warning. 8 By being consistent, parents will teach children responsibility and give them a stable center around which to grow. 9 Finally, and most important, children should be allowed and encouraged to make simple decisions. 10 Parents will thus be helping their children prepare for the complex decisions that they will have to deal with in later life.
Fill in the blank: The spot where supporting details are needed occurs after sentence number _____.
4. Being on TV
1 People act a little strangely when a television camera comes their way. 2 Some people behave as if a crazy puppeteer were pulling their strings. 3 Their arms jerk wildly about, and they begin jumping up and down for no apparent reason. 4 Often they accompany their body movements with loud screams, squeals, and yelps. 5 Another group of people engage in an activity known as the cover-up. 6 They will be calmly watching a sports game or other televised event when they realize the camera is focused on them. 7 The camera operator can't resist zooming in for a close-up of these people. 8 Then there are those who practice their funny faces on the unsuspecting public. 9 They take advantage of the television time to show off their talents, hoping to get that big break that will carry them to stardom. 10 Finally, there are those who pretend they are above reacting for the camera. 11 They wipe an expression from their faces and appear to be interested in something else. 12 Yet if the camera stays on them long enough, they will slyly check to see if they are still being watched. 13 Everybody's behavior seems to be slightly strange in front of a TV camera.
Fill in the blanks: The first spot where supporting details are needed occurs after sentence number _____. The second spot occurs after sentence number ____________.
5. Culture Conflict
1 I am in a constant tug-of-war with my parents over conflicts between their Vietnamese culture and American culture. 2 To begin with, my parents do not like me to have American friends. 3 They think that I should spend all my time with other Vietnamese people and speak English only when necessary. 4 1 get into an argument whenever I want to go to a fast-food restaurant or a movie at night with my American friends. 5 The conflict with my parents is even worse when it comes to plans for a career. 6 My parents want me to get a degree in science and then go on to medical school. 7 On the other hand, I think I want to become a teacher. 8 So far I have been taking both science and education courses, but soon I will have to concentrate on one or the other. 9 The other night my father made his attitude about what I should do very clear. 10 The most difficult aspect of our cultural differences is the way our family is structured. 11 My father is the center of our family, and he expects that I will always listen to him. 12 Although I am twenty-one years old, I still have a nightly curfew at an hour which I consider insulting. 13 Also, I am expected to help my mother perform certain household chores thatI've really come to hate. 14 My father expects me to live at home until I am married to a Vietnamese man. 15 When that happens, he assumes I will obey my husband just as I obey him. 16 I do not want to be a bad daughter, but I want to live like my American female friends.
Fill in the blanks: The first spot where supporting details are needed occurs after sentence number ________. The second spot occurs after sentence number _________.
The third spot occurs after sentence number _________.

Question 29

Each of the five points below is followed by two attempts at support (a and b). Write S (for specific ) in the space next to the one that succeeds in providing specific support for the point. Write X in the space next to the one that lacks supporting details.
1. My two-year-old son was in a stubborn mood today.
____a. When I asked him to do something, he gave me nothing but trouble.
He seemed determined to make things difficult for me, for he had his mind made up.
_____b. When I asked him to stop playing in the yard and come indoors, he looked me square in the eye and shouted "No!" and then spelled it out, "N... O!"
2. The prices in the amusement park were outrageously high.
____a. The food seemed to cost twice as much as it would in a supermarket and was sometimes of poor quality. The rides also cost a lot, and so I had to tell the children that they were limited to a certain number of them.
____b. The cost of the log flume, a ride that lasts roughly three minutes, was ten dollars a person. Then I had to pay four dollars for an eight- ounce cup of Coke and six dollars for a hot dog.
3. My brother-in-law is accident-prone.
____a. Once he tried to open a tube of Krazy Glue with his teeth. When the cap came loose, glue squirted out and sealed his lips shut. They had to be pried open in a hospital emergency room.
____b. Even when he does seemingly simple jobs, he seems to get into trouble. This can lead to hilarious, but sometimes dangerous, results. Things never seem to go right for him, and he often needs the help of others to get out of one predicament or another.
4. The so-called "bargains" at the yard sale were junk.
_____a. The tables were filled with useless stuff no one could possibly want.
They were the kinds of things that should be thrown away, not sold.
_____b. The "bargains" included two headless dolls, blankets filled with
holes, scorched potholders, and a plastic Christmas tree with several branches missing.
5. The key to success in college is organization.
_____a. Knowing what you're doing, when you have to do it, and so on is a big help for a student. A system is crucial in achieving an ordered approach to study. Otherwise, things become very disorganized, and it is not long before grades will begin to drop.
_____b. Organized students never forget paper or exam dates, which are marked on a calendar above their desks. And instead of having to cram for exams, they study their clear, neat classroom and textbook notes on a daily basis.
EXPLANATION The specific support for point 1 is answer b. The writer does not just tell us that the little boy was stubborn but provides an example that shows us. In particular, the detail of the son's spelling out "N ….. O!" makes his stubbornness vividly real for the reader. For point 2, answer b gives specific prices (ten dollars for a ride, four dollars for a Coke, and six dollars for a hot dog) to support the idea that the amusement park was expensive. For point 3, answer a vividly backs up the idea that the brother-in-law is accident- prone by detailing an accident with Krazy Glue. Point 4 is supported by answer b, which lists specific examples of useless items that were offered for sale-from headless dolls to a broken plastic Christmas tree. We cannot help agreeing with the writer's point that the items were not bargains but junk. Point 5 is backed up by answer b, which identifies two specific strategies of organized students: they mark important dates on calendars above their desks, and they take careful notes and study them on a daily basis.
In each of the five cases, the specific evidence enables us to see for ourselves that the writer's point is valid.

Question 30

Complete the following statements.
1. Time order means _______________________________
_________________________________________________
2. Emphatic order means ____________________________
_________________________________________________
3. _______________are signal words that help readers follow the
direction of a writer's thought.
4. In addition to transitions, three other kinds of connecting words that help link sentences and ideas are repeated words, _______________,and __________________.

Question 31

Combine each pair of simple sentences into one sentence by using the opener
shown at the left and omitting repeated words. Use a comma to set off the opener from the rest of the sentence.
EXAMPLE
-ing word • The toaster refused to pop up.
• It buzzed like an angry hornet.
Buzzing like an angry hornet, the toaster refused to pop up.
_______________________________________________
-ed word 1. • Nate dreaded the coming holidays.
• He was depressed by his recent divorce.
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
- ing word 2. • The star player glided down the court.
• He dribbled the basketball like a pro.
_________________________________________
__________________________________________
- ly word 3. • I waited in the packed emergency room.
• I was impatient.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
to word group. 4. • The little boy likes to annoy his parents.
• He pretends not to hear them.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
prepositional phrase 5. • People must wear rubber-soled shoes.
• They must do this in the gym.
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Question 32

4 Evaluating Paragraphs for Coherence
Answer the questions about coherence that follow each of the two paragraphs below.
1. Why I Bought a Handgun
1 I bought a handgun to keep in my house for several reasons. 2 Most important, I have had a frightening experience with an obscene phone caller. 3 For several weeks, a man has called me once or twice a day, sometimes as late as three in the morning. 4 As soon as I pick up the phone, he whispers something obscene or threatens me by saying, "I'll get you." 5 I decided to buy a gun because crime is increasing in my neighborhood. 6 One neighbor's house was burglarized while she was at work; the thieves not only stole her appliances but also threw paint around her living room and slashed her furniture. 7 Not long after this incident, an elderly woman from the apartment house on the corner was mugged on her way to the supermarket. 8 The man grabbed her purse and threw her to the ground, breaking her hip. 9 Buying a gun was my response to listening to the nightly news. 10 It seemed that every news story involved violence of some kind-rapes, murders, muggings, and robberies. 11 I wondered if some of the victims in the stories would still be alive if they had been able to frighten the criminal off with a gun. 12 As time passed, I became more convinced that I should keep a gun in the house.
a. The paragraph should use emphatic order. Write 1 before the reason that seems slightly less important than the other two, 2 before the second- most-important reason, and 3 before the most important reason.
_____Obscene phone caller
_____Crime increase in neighborhood
_____News stories about crime
b. Before which of the three reasons should the transitional words First of all be added _____
c. Before which of the three reasons could the transition In addition be added _____
d. Which words show emphasis in sentence 2 _____
e. In sentence 8, to whom does the pronoun her refer _____
f. How often does the key word gun appear in the paragraph _____
g. What is a synonym for burglarized in sentence 6 _____
2. Apartment Hunting
1 Apartment hunting is a several-step process. 2 Visit and carefully inspect the most promising apartments. 3 Check each place for signs of unwanted guests such as roaches or mice. 4 Make sure that light switches and appliances 1 work and that there are enough electrical outlets. 5 Turn faucets on and off and flush the toilet to be sure that the plumbing works smoothly. 6 Talk to the landlord for a bit to get a sense of him or her as a person. 7 If a problem develops after you move in, you want to know that a decent and capable person will be there to handle the matter. 8 Find out what's available that to matches your interests. 9 Your town newspaper and local real estate offices can provide you with a list of apartments for rent. 10 Family and friends may be able to give you leads. 11 And your school may have a housing office that keeps a list of approved apartments for rent. 12 Decide just what you need. 13 If you can afford no more than $400 a month, you need to find a place that will cost no more than that. l4 If you want a location that's close to work or school, you must take that factor into account. 15 If you plan to cook, you
want a place with a workable kitchen. 16 By taking these steps, you should be ready to select the apartment that is best for you.
a. The paragraph should use time order. Write 1 before the step that should come first, 2 before the intermediate step, and 3 before the final step.
_____Visit and carefully inspect the most promising apartments.
_____Decide just what you need.
_____Find out what's available that matches your interests.
b. Before which of three steps could the transitional words The first step is to be added _____
c. Before which step could the transitional words After you have decided what you are looking for, the next step is to be added _____
d. Before which step could the transitional words The final step be added _____
e. To whom does the pronoun him or her in sentence 6 refer to
_______
f. What is a synonym for landlord in sentence 7 _______
g. What is a synonym for apartment in sentence 13 _______

Question 33

Follow the directions for Activity 4.
1. The house has been neglected by its owners.
______ a. As soon as you look at the house from the outside, you can tell that
repairs need to be made. The roof is badly in need of attention. But it is very obvious that other outside parts of the house also are badly in need of care.
_____b. The roof is missing a number of shingles. The house's paint is peeling and spotted with mold. Two windows have been covered with plywood.
2. Students have practical uses for computers.
____a. Students stay in touch with friends by e-mail. They often shop over the Internet. They do all their research online.
____b. Students have an easier way now to communicate with their friends. They can also save time now: they have no need to go out and buy things but can do it at home. Also, getting information they need for papers no longer requires spending time in the library.
3. Rico knew very little about cooking when he got his first apartment.
___a. He had to live on whatever he had in the freezer for a while. He was not any good in the kitchen and had to learn very slowly. More often than not, he would learn how to cook something only by making mistakes first.
____b. He lived on macaroni and cheese TV dinners for three weeks. His idea of cooking an egg was to put a whole egg in the microwave, where it exploded. Then he tried to make a grilled cheese sandwich by putting slices of cheese and bread in a toaster.
4. Speaking before a group is a problem for many people.
____a. They become uncomfortable even at the thought of speaking in public. They will go to almost any length to avoid speaking to a group. If they are forced to do it, they can feel so anxious that they actually develop physical symptoms.
____b. Stage fright, stammering, and blushing are frequent reactions. Some people will pretend to be ill to avoid speaking publicly. When asked to rank their worst fears, people often list public speaking as even worse than death.
5. Small children can have as much fun with ordinary household items as with costly toys.
____a. A large sheet thrown over a card table makes a great hideout or playhouse. Banging pot covers together makes a tremendous crash that kids love. Also, kids like to make long, winding fences out of wooden clothespins.
____b. Kids can make musical instruments out of practically anything. The result is a lot of noise and fun. They can easily create their own play areas as well by using a little imagination. There is simply no need to have to spend a lot of money on playthings.

Question 34

Organizing through Time Order
Use time order to organize the scrambled list of sentences below. Write the number 1 beside the point that all the other sentences support. Then number each supporting sentence as it occurs in time.
______The table is right near the garbage can.
______So you reluctantly select a glue-like tuna-fish sandwich, a crushed apple pie, and watery, lukewarm coffee.
______You sit at the edge of the table, away from the garbage can, and gulp down your meal.
______Trying to eat in the cafeteria is an unpleasant experience.
_______Suddenly you spot a free table in the center.
________With a last swallow of the lukewarm coffee, you get up and leave the cafeteria as rapidly as possible.
_______Flies are flitting into and out of the thrash.
_______By the time it is your turn, the few things that are almost good are gone.
______There does not seem to be a free table anywhere.
_______Unfortunately, there is a line in the cafeteria.
_______The hoagies, coconut-custard pie, and iced tea have all disappeared.
______You hold your tray and look for a place to sit down.
________You have a class in a few minutes, and so you run in to grab something to eat quickly.

Question 35

In each group, combine the simple sentences into one sentence by using adjectives or verbs in a series and by omitting repeated words. In most cases, use a comma between the adjectives or verbs in a series.
EXAMPLE
• Before Christmas, I made fruitcakes.
• I decorated the house.
• I wrapped dozens of toys.
Before Christmas, I made fruitcakes, decorated the house, and Wrapped dozens of toys.
1. • My lumpy mattress was giving me a cramp in my neck.
• It was causing pains in my back.
• It was making me lose sleep.
2. • Lights appeared in the fog.
• The lights were flashing.
• The lights were red.
• The fog was soupy.
• The fog was gray
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
3. • Before going to bed, I locked all the doors.
• I activated the burglar alarm.
• I slipped a kitchen knife under my mattress.
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4. • Lola picked sweater hairs off her coat.
• The hairs were fuzzy.
• The hairs were white.
• The coat was brown.
• The coat was suede.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5. • The contact lens fell onto the floor.
• The contact lens was thin.
• The contact lens was slippery.
• The floor was dirty.
• The floor was tiled.
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.

Question 36

Here is a list of the various events described by the writer of paragraph 1. Number the events in the correct time sequence by writing 1 in front of the first event that occurred, 2 in front of the second event, and so on.
Since I arrived in the Bay Area in midsummer, I have had the most difficult period of my life.
_______I had to search for an apartment I could afford.
_______I had to find a job so that I could afford my own place.
_______My stepmother objected to my living with her and my father.
_______I had to paint the apartment before I could move in.
_______I had to find an alternative to unreliable bus transportation.
_______I had to register again for my college courses because of a counselor's mistake.
Your instructor may now have you rewrite the paragraph on separate paper. If so, be sure to use time signals such as first, next, then, during, when, after, and now to help guide your reader from one event to the next.

Question 37

The paragraph on the apple plant, like almost any piece of effective writing, has two essential parts: (1) a point is advanced, and (2) that point is then supported.
Taking a minute to outline the paragraph will help you understand these basic parts clearly. Add the words needed to complete the outline.
Point: Working in an apple plant is the worst job I ever had.
Reason 1:______________________________________
a. Loaded cartons onto skids for ten hours a night
b._______________________________________
Reason 2:_____________________________________
a.________________________________________
b. Had to work sixty hours for decent take-home pay
Reason 3:_______________________________________
a. Two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid lunch
b._______________________________________
c. Loneliness on job
(1) No interests in common with other workers
(2) By myself for two hours cleaning the apple vats

Question 38

For each pair of sentences below, write A beside the sentence that only announces a topic. Write OK beside the sentence that advances an idea about the topic.
1. _____a. This paper will deal with flunking math.
______b. I flunked math last semester for several reasons.
2. _____a. I am going to write about my job as a gas station attendant.
_____b. Working as a gas station attendant was the worst job I ever had.
3. ______a. Obscene phone calls are the subject of this paragraph.
_______b. People should know what to do when they receive an obscene phone call.
4. ______a. In several ways, my college library is inconvenient to use.
______b. This paragraph will deal with the college library.
5. _____a. My paper will discuss the topic of procrastinating.
_____b. The following steps will help you stop procrastinating.

Question 39

Organizing through Emphatic Order
Use emphatic order (order of importance) to arrange the following scrambled list of sentences. Write the number 1 beside the point that all the other sentences support. Then number each supporting sentence, starting with what seems to be the least important detail and ending with the most important detail.
________ The people here are all around my age and seem to be genuinely friendly and interested in me.
________ The place where I live has several important advantages.
________ The schools in this neighborhood have a good reputation, so I feel that my daughter is getting a good education.
________ The best thing of all about this area, though, is the school system.
________ Therefore, I don't have to put up with public transportation or worry about how much it's going to cost to park each day.
________ The school also has an extended day-care program, so I know my daughter is in good hands until I come home from work.
________ First of all, I like the people who live in the other apartments near mine.
________ Another positive aspect of this area is that it's close to where I work.
________ That's more than I can say for the last place I lived, where people stayed behind locked doors.
________ The office where I'm a receptionist is only a six-block walk from my house.
________ In addition, I save a lot of wear and tear on my car.

Question 40

In the spaces below this paragraph, write the numbers of the ten word groups that contain fragments or run-ons. Then, in the spaces between the lines, edit by making the necessary corrections. One is done for you as an example.
1 Two groups of researchers have concluded that "getting cold" has little to do with "catching a cold." 2 When the experiment was done for the first r r
exposed more than four hundred people to the cold virus. 4 Then divided those people into three groups. 5 One group, wearing winter coats, sat around in ten-degree temperatures the second group was placed in sixty-degree temperatures. 6 With the third group staying in a room. 7 Where it was eighty degrees. 8 The number of people who actually caught colds was the same. 9 In each group. 10 Other researchers repeated this experiment ten years later. 11 This time they kept some subjects cozy and warm they submerged others in a tank filled with water. 12 Whose temperature had been lowered to seventy-five degrees. 13 They made others sit around in their underwear in forty-degree temperatures. 14 The results were the same, the subjects got sick at the same rate. 15 Proving that people who get cold do not always get colds.
1. _______ 2. ___________ 3. __________ 4. __________ 5. _____________
6. ________ 7. __________ 8. __________ 9. ___________ 10. __________
HINT A series of editing tests appears on pages 603-615. You will probably find it most helpful to take these tests after reviewing the sentence-skills handbook in Part Five.

Question 41

Create a clear outline for paragraph 2 by filling in the scheme below. The outline is partially completed.
When I was in grade school, my classmates and I found a number of excuses for being cruel to a boy named Andy Poppovian.
Reason Details 1. Funny name __________________________
a.__________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________
Reason Details 2. Physically show ________________________
a. __________________________________________________
b. Five guys could dance around him
Reason Details 3. __________________________________________________
a.
b. In regular conversation __________________________________
4. ______________________________________________
a. _______________________________________________
b. Sand in eyes _____________________________________
c. __________________________________________________
d. __________________________________________________
Your instructor may have you rewrite the paragraph on separate paper. If so, be sure to introduce each of the four reasons with transitions such as First, Second, Another reason, and Finally. You may also want to use repeated words, pronouns, and synonyms to help tie your sentences together.

Question 42

See if you can complete the statements below.
1. An important difference between writing and talking is that in writing we absolutely must _____________ any statement we make.
2. A _____________ is made up of a point and a collection of specifics that support the point.

Question 43

For each pair of sentences below, write TN beside the statement that is too narrow to be developed into a paragraph. Write OK beside the statement in each pair that could be developed into a paragraph.
1. ____a. I do push-ups and sit-ups each morning.
_____b. Exercising every morning has had positive effects on my health.
2. ___a. José works nine hours a day and then goes to school three hours a night.
_____b. José is an ambitious man.
3. _____a. I started college after being away from school for seven years.
______b. Several of my fears about returning to school have proved to be groundless.
4. ____a. Parts of Walt Disney's Bambi make the movie frightening for children.
____b. Last summer I visited Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
5. _____a. My brother was depressed yesterday for several reasons.
______b. Yesterday my brother had to pay fifty-two dollars for a motor tune-up.

Question 44

Organizing through a Combination of Time Order and Emphatic Order
Use a combination of time and emphatic order to arrange the scrambled list of sentences below. Write the number 1 beside the point that all the other sentences support. Then number each supporting sentence. Paying close attention to transitional words and phrases will help you organize and connect the supporting sentences.
________ I did not see the spider but visited my friend in the hospital, where he suffered through a week of nausea and dizziness because of the poison.
________ We were listening to the radio when we discovered that nature was calling.
________ As I got back into the car, I sensed, rather than felt or saw, a presence on my left hand.
________ After these two experiences, I suspect that my fear of spiders will be with me until I die.
________ The first experience was the time when my best friend received a bite from a black widow spider.
________ I looked down at my hand, but I could not see anything because it was so dark.
________ I had two experiences when I was sixteen that are the cause of my arachnophobia, a terrible and uncontrollable fear of spiders.
________ We stopped the car at the side of the road, walked into the woods a few feet, and watered the leaves.
________ My friend then entered the car, putting on the dashboard light, and I almost passed out with horror.
________ I saw the bandage on his hand and the puffy swelling when the bandage was removed.
________ Then it flew off my hand and into the dark bushes nearby.
________ I sat in the car for an hour afterward, shaking and sweating and constantly rubbing the fingers of my hand to reassure myself that the spider was no longer there.
________ But my more dramatic experience with spiders happened one evening when another friend and I were driving around in his car.
________ Almost completely covering my fingers was a monstrous brown spider, with white stripes running down each of a seemingly endless number of long, furry legs.
________ Most of all, I saw the ugly red scab on his hand and the yellow pus that continued oozing from under the scab for several weeks.
________ I imagined my entire hand soon disappearing as the behemoth relentlessly devoured it.
________ At the same time, I cried out "Arghh!" and flicked my hand violently back and forth to shake off the spider.
________ For a long, horrible second it clung stickily, as if intertwined for good among the fingers of my hand.

Question 45

Cross out the unbalanced part of each sentence. In the space provided, revise the unbalanced part so that it matches the other item or items in the sentence. The first one is done for you as an example.
1. Our professor warned us that he would give surprise tests, the assignment of term papers , and allow no makeup exams.
assign term papers_______________________________________
2. Making a big dinner is a lot more fun than to clean up after it.
____________________________________________________
3. The street-corner preacher stopped people walking by, was asking them questions, and handed them pamphlets.
_____________________________________________________
4. My teenage daughter enjoys shopping for new clothes, to try different cosmetics, and reading fashion magazines.
______________________________________________________
5. Many of today's action movies have attractive actors, fantastic special effects, and dialogue that is silly.
______________________________________________________
6. While you're downtown, please pick up the dry cleaning, return the library books, and the car needs washing, too.
_______________________________________________________
8. As the elderly woman climbed the long staircase, she breathed hard and was grabbing the railing tightly.
_______________________________________________________
9. I fell into bed at the end of the hard day, grateful for the sheets that were clean, soft pillow, and cozy blanket.
_________________________________________________________
10. Ray's wide smile, clear blue eyes, and expressing himself earnestly all make him seem honest, even though he is not.
_________________________________________________________

Question 46

6 Evaluating Paragraphs for All Four Bases: Unity,
Support, Coherence, and Sentence Skills
In this activity, you will evaluate paragraphs in terms of all four bases: unity, sup­port, coherence, and sentence skills. Evaluative comments follow each paragraph mmfj^^ below. Circle the letter of the statement that best applies in each case. 12
1. Drunk Drivers
People caught driving while drunk-even first offenders-should be jailed. Drunk driving, first of all, is more dangerous than carrying around a loaded gun. In addition, a jail term would show drivers that society will no longer tolerate such careless and dangerous behavior. Finally, severe penalties might encourage solutions to the problem of drinking and driving. People who go out for a good time and intend to have several drinks would always designate one person, who would stay completely sober, as the driver.
a. The paragraph is not unified.
b. The paragraph is not adequately supported.
c. The paragraph is not well organized.
d. The paragraph does not show a command of sentence skills.
e. The paragraph is well written in terms of the four bases.
2. A Frustrating Moment
A frustrating moment happened to me several days ago. When I was shopping. I had picked up a tube of crest toothpaste and a jar of noxema skin cream. After the cashier rang up the purchases, which came to $12.15. I handed her $20. Then got back my change, which was only $0.85. I told the cashier that she had made a mistake. Giving me change for $13 instead of $20. But sheinsist that I had only gave her $13, I became very upset and demand that she return the rest of my change. She refused to do so instead she asked me to step aside so she could wait on the next customer. I stood very rigid, trying not to lose my temper. I simply said to her, I'm not going to leave here, Miss, without my change for $20. Giving in at this point a bell was rung and the manager was summoned. After the situation was explain to him, he ask the cashier to ring off her register to check for the change. After doing so, the cashier was $7 over her sale receipts. Only then did the manager return my change and apologize for the cashier mistake.
a. The paragraph is not unified.
b. The paragraph is not adequately supported.
c. The paragraph is not well organized.
d. The paragraph does not show a command of sentence skills.
e. The paragraph is well written in terms of the four bases.
3. Asking Girls Out
There are several reasons I have trouble asking girls to go out with me. I have asked some girls out and have been turned down. This is one reason that I can't talk to them. At one time I was very shy and quiet, and people sometimes didn't even know I was present. I can talk to girls now as friends, but as soon as I want to ask them out, I usually start to become quiet, and a little bit of shyness comes out. When I finally get the nerve up, the girl will turn me down, and I swear that I will never ask another one out again. I feel sure I will get a refusal, and I have no confidence in myself. Also, my friends mock me, though they aren't any better than I am. It can become discouraging when your friends get on you. Sometimes I just stand there and wait to hear what line the girl will use. The one they use a lot is "We like you as a friend, Ted, and it's better that way." All my past experiences with girls have been just as bad. One girl used me to make her old boyfriend jealous. Then when she succeeded, she started going out with him again. I had a bad experience when I took a girl to the prom. I spent a lot of money on her. Two days later, she told me that she was getting serious with another guy. I feel that when I meet a girl I have to be sure I can trust her. I don't want her to turn on me.
a. The paragraph is not unified.
b. The paragraph is not adequately supported.
c. The paragraph is not well organized.
d. The paragraph does not show a command of sentence skills.
e. The paragraph is well written in terms of the four bases.
4. A Change in My Writing
A technique of my present English instructor has corrected a writing problem that I've always had. In past English courses, I had major problems with commas in the wrong places, bad spelling, capitalizing the wrong words, sentence fragments, and run-on sentences. I never had any big problems with unity, support, or coherence, but the sentence skills were another matter. They were like little bugs that always appeared to infest my writing. My present instructor asked me to rewrite papers, just concentrating on sentence skills. I thought that the instructor was crazy because I didn't feel that rewriting would do any good. I soon became certain that my instructor was out of his mind, for he made me rewrite my first paper four times. It was very frustrating, for I became tired of doing the same paper over and over. I wanted to belt my instructor against the wall when I'd show him each new draft and he'd find skills mistakes and say, "Rewrite." Finally, my papers began to improve and the sentence skills began to fall into place. I was able to see them and correct them before turning in a paper, whereas I couldn't before. Why or how this happened I don't know, but I think that rewriting helped a lot. It took me most of the semester, but I stuck it out and the work paid off.
a. The paragraph is not unified.
b. The paragraph is not adequately supported.
c. The paragraph is not well organized.
d. The paragraph does not show a command of sentence skills.
e. The paragraph is well written in terms of the four bases.
5. Luck and Me
I am a very lucky man, though the rest of my family has not always been lucky. Sometimes when I get depressed, which is too frequently, it's hard to see just how lucky I am. I'm lucky that I'm living in a country that is free. I'm allowed to worship the way I want to, and that is very important to me. Without a belief in God a person cannot live with any real certainty in life. My relationship with my wife is a source of good fortune for me. She gives me security, and that's something I need a lot. Even with these positive realities in my life, I still seem to find time for insecurity, worry, and, worst of all, depression. At times in my life I have had bouts of terrible luck. But overall, I'm a very lucky guy. I plan to further develop the positive aspects of my life and try to eliminate the negative ones.
a. The paragraph is not unified.
b. The paragraph is not adequately supported.
c. The paragraph is not well organized.
d. The paragraph does not show a command of sentence skills.
e. The paragraph is well written in terms of the four bases.

Question 47

See if you can fill in the missing words in the following explanation of Gene's first draft.
1. Gene presents his ______________ in the first sentence and then crosses it out and revises it right away to make it read smoothly and clearly.
2. Notice that he continues to accumulate specific supporting details as he writes the draft. For example, he crosses out and replaces "a long time" with the more specific __________; he crosses out and replaces "short breaks" with the more specific ____________.
3. There are various misspellings-for example, ______________.
Gene doesn't worry about spelling at this point. He just wants to get down as much of the substance of his paragraph as possible.
4. There are various punctuation errors, especially the run-on and the fragment near the ( beginning, middle, end ) ___________ of the paragraph.
5. Near the close of his paragraph, Gene can't think of added details to insert, so he simply prints "___________" as a reminder to himself for the next draft.

Question 48

For each pair of sentences below, write TB beside the statement that is too broad to be supported adequately in a short paper. Write OK beside the statement that makes a limited point.
1.______a. Professional football is a dangerous sport.
_______b. Professional sports are violent.
2._____a. Married life is the best way of living.
______b. Teenage marriages often end in divorce for several reasons.
3.______a. Aspirin can have several harmful side effects. b. Drugs are dangerous.
4._______a. I've always done poorly in school.
______b. I flunked math last semester for several reasons.
5._______a. Computers are changing our society.
______b. Using computers to teach schoolchildren is a mistake.

Question 49

Identifying Transitions
Fill in each blank with the appropriate addition transition from the following list. Use each transition once.
also second for one thing last of all
Why School May Frighten a Young Child
School may be frightening to young children for a number of reasons. _________, the regimented environment may be a new and disturbing experience. At home, children may have been able to do what they wanted when they wanted to do it. In school, however, they are given set times for talking, working, playing, eating, and even using the rest room. A _________ source of anxiety may be the public method of discipline that some teachers use. Whereas at home children are scolded in private, in school they may be held up to embarrassment and ridicule in front of their peers. "Bonnie," the teacher may say, "why are you the only one in class who didn't do your homework " Or, "David, why are you the only one who can't work quietly at your seat " Children may _________ be frightened by the loss of personal attention. Their little discomforts or mishaps, such as tripping on the stairs, may bring instant sympathy from a parent; in school, there is often no one to notice, or the teacher is frequently too busy to care and just says, "Go do your work. You'll be all right." _________, a child may be scared by the competitive environment of the school. At home, one hopes, such competition for attention is minimal. But in school, children may vie for the teacher's approving glance or tone, or for stars on a paper, or for favored seats in the front row. For these and other reasons, it is not surprising that children may have difficulty adjusting to school.

Question 50

Cross out the unbalanced part of each sentence. In the space provided, revise the unbalanced part so that it matches the other item or items in the sentence.
1. The neighborhood group asked the town council to repair the potholes and that a traffic light be installed.
_______________________________________________________
2. Pesky mosquitoes, humidity that is high, and sweltering heat make summer an unpleasant time for me.
_______________________________________________________
3. The afternoon mail brought advertisements that were unwanted, bills I couldn't pay, and magazines I didn't like.
_______________________________________________________
4. Our house has a broken garage door, shutters that are peeling, and a crumbling chimney.
_______________________________________________________
5. My car needed the brakes replaced, the front wheels aligned, and recharging of the battery.
_______________________________________________________
6. I had to correct my paper for fragments, misplaced modifiers, and there were apostrophe mistakes.
_______________________________________________________
7. We do not want to stay home during our vacation, but a trip is not something we can afford.
_______________________________________________________
8. Stumbling out of bed, a cup of coffee that he drinks, and watching the weather report make up Roy's early-morning routine.
_______________________________________________________
9. Having a headache, my stomach being upset, and a bad case of sunburn did not put me in a good mood for the evening.
_______________________________________________________
10. The Gray Panthers is an organization that not only aids older citizens but also providing information for their families.
_______________________________________________________

Question 51

Fill in the missing words.
1. To clarify the organization, Gene adds at the beginning of the first supporting point the transitional phrase "_____________," and he sets off the third supporting point with the word "______________"
2. In the interest of ( unity, support, organization ) ______________,
he crosses out the sentence "___________" He realizes that this sentence is not a relevant detail to support the idea that the work was physically hard.
3. To add more ( unity, support, organization ) ___________________,
he changes "a lot of hours" to "______________"; he changes
"on the dock" to "__________"; he changes "cold
temperatures" to "____________."
4. In the interest of eliminating wordiness, he removes the words "____________" from the sixth sentence.
5. To achieve parallelism, Gene changes "the half hour for lunch was not paid" to "_______________."
6. For greater sentence variety, Gene combines two short sentences, beginning the second part of the sentence with the subordinating word
"__________."
7. To create a consistent point of view, Gene changes "You felt this isolation" to "_____________."
8. Finally, Gene replaces the somewhat vague "bad" in "The vats were a bad place to be on a cold morning, and the job was a bad one to have" with two more precise words: "_______" and "____________."

Question 52

For each point below, draw a single line under the topic and a double line under the idea about the topic.
1. Billboards should be abolished.
2. My boss is an ambitious man.
3. Politicians are often self-serving.
4. The apartment needed repairs.
5. Television commercials are often insulting.
6. My parents have rigid racial attitudes.
7. The middle child is often a neglected member of the family.
8. The language in many movies today is offensive.
9. Doctors are often insensitive.
10. Homeowners today are more energy-conscious than ever before.
11. My car is a temperamental machine.
12. My friend Debbie, who is only nineteen, is extremely old-fashioned.
13. Looking for a job can be a degrading experience.
14. The daily life of students is filled with conflicts.
15. Regulations in the school cafeteria should be strictly enforced.
16. The national speed limit should be raised.
17. Our vacation turned out to be a disaster.
18. The city's traffic-light system has both values and drawbacks.
19. Insects serve many useful purposes.
20. Serious depression often has several warning signs.

Question 53

Fill in each blank with the appropriate time transition from the list that follows. Use each transition once.
then first after as later
A Victory for Big Brother
In one of the most terrifying scenes in all of literature, George Orwell in his classic novel 1984 describes how a government known as Big Brother destroys a couple's love. The couple, Winston and Julia, fall in love and meet secretly, knowing the government would not approve. _________ informers turn them in, a government agent named O'Brien takes steps to end their love. _________ he straps Winston down and explains that he has discovered Winston's worst fear. _________ he sets a cage with two giant, starving sewer rats on the table next to Winston. He says that when he presses a lever, the door of the cage will slide up, and the rats will shoot out like bullets and bore straight into Winston's face. _________ Winston's eyes dart back and forth, revealing his terror, O'Brien places his hand on the lever. Winston knows that the only way out is for Julia to take his place. Suddenly, he hears his own voice screaming, "Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia!" Orwell does not describe Julia's interrogation, but when Julia and Winston see each other _________, they realize that each has betrayed the other.
Their love is gone. Big Brother has won.

Question 54

In the following passage, change verbs as needed so that they are consistently in the past tense. Cross out each incorrect verb and write the correct form above it, as shown in the example. You will need to make nine corrections.
Late one rainy night, Mei Ling woke to the sound of steady dripping. Late one rainy night, Mei Ling woke to the sound of steady dripping. When she got out of bed to investigate, a drop of cold water
onto her arm. She looks up just in time to see another drop form on the ceiling, hang suspended for a moment, and fall to the carpet. Stumbling to the kitchen, Mei Ling reaches deep into one of the cabinets and lifts out a large roasting pan. As she did so, pot lids and baking tins clattered out and crash onto the counter. Mei Ling ignored them, stumbled back to the bedroom, and places the pan on the floor under the drip. But a minute after sliding her icy feet under the covers, Mei Ling realized she is in trouble. The sound of each drop hitting the metal pan echoed like a gunshot in the quiet room. Mei Ling feels like crying, but she fi nally thought of a solution. She got out of bed and returns a minute later with a thick bath towel. She lined the pan with the towel and crawls back into bed.

Question 55

Fill in the missing words.
1. As part of his editing, Gene checked and corrected the ___________ of three words, physically, tractor, and minimum.
2. He added __________ to set off an introductory phrase ("First of all") and an introductory word ("Finally") and also to connect the two complete thoughts in the final sentence.
3. He corrected a fragment ("____________") by using a comma to attach it to the preceding sentence.
4. He realized that a number like "25" should be ____________ as "twenty-five."
5. And since revision can occur at any stage of the writing process, including editing, Gene makes one of his details more vivid by adding the descriptive words "_____________."

Question 56

Each group of sentences below could be written as a short paragraph. Circle the letter of the topic sentence in each case. To find the topic sentence, ask yourself, "Which is a general statement supported by the specific details in the other three statements "
Begin by trying the example item below. First circle the letter of the sentence you think expresses the main idea. Then read the explanation.
EXAMPLE
a. If you stop carrying matches or a lighter, you can cut down on impulse smoking.
b. If you sit in no-smoking areas, you will smoke less.
You can behave in ways that will help you smoke less.
d. By keeping a record of when and where you smoke, you can identify the most tempting situations and then avoid them.
EXPLANATION Sentence a explains one way to smoke less. Sentences b and d also provide specific ways to smoke less. In sentence c, however, no one specific way is explained. The words ways that will help you smoke less refer only generally to such methods. Therefore, sentence c is the topic sentence; it expresses the author's main idea. The other sentences support that idea by providing examples.
1. a. "I couldn't study because I forgot to bring my textbook home."
b. "I couldn't take the final because my grandmother died."
c. Students give instructors some common excuses.
d. "I couldn't come to class because I had a migraine headache."
2. a. Its brakes are badly worn.
b. My old car is ready for the junk pile.
c. Its floor has rusted through, and water splashes on my feet when the highway is wet.
d. My mechanic says its engine is too old to be repaired, and the car isn't worth the cost of a new engine.
3. a. The last time I ate at the diner, I got food poisoning and was sick for two days.
b. The city inspector found roaches and mice in the diner's kitchen.
c. Our town diner is a health hazard and ought to be closed down.
d. The toilets in the diner often back up, and the sinks have only a trickle of water.
4. a. Part-time workers can be easily laid off.
b. Most part-time workers get no fringe benefits.
c. The average part-timer earns three dollars less an hour than a full-timer.
d. Part-time workers have second-class status.
5. a. In early colleges, students were mostly white males.
b. Colleges of two centuries ago were quite different from today's schools.
c. All students in early colleges had to take the same courses.
d. The entire student body at early schools would be only a few dozen people.

Question 57

Fill in each blank with the appropriate addition or change-of-direction transition from the list that follows. Use each transition once.
However also next finally but first
Watching TV Football
Watching a football game on television may seem like the easiest thing in the world. _________, like the game of football itself, watching a game correctly is far more complicated than it appears. _________ is the matter of what company you invite. The ideal number of people depends on the size of your living room. You should _________ invite at least one person who will be rooting for the opposite team. There's nothing like a little rivalry to increase the enjoyment of a football game. _________, you must attend to the refreshments. Make sure to have on hand plenty of everyone's favorite drinks, along with the essential chips, dips, and pretzels. You may even want something more substantial on hand, like sandwiches or pizza. If you do, make everyone wait until the moment of kickoff before eating. Waiting will make everything taste much better. _________, there is one bit of sports equipment you should have on hand: a football. In the spirit of the occasion, it is good to have a football to toss around outside during halftime. _________ if your team happens to be getting trounced, you may decide not to wait until halftime.

Question 58

Cross out the inconsistent pronouns in the following sentences and revise by writing the correct form of the pronoun above each crossed-out word.
EXAMPLE
I dislike waitressing, for
can never count on a fair tip.
1. My kitchen is so narrow that one can't open the refrigerator without turning sidewise first.
2. Wanting relief from her headaches, Carla asked her doctor if acupuncture could really do you any good.
3. I drink coffee at work because you need a regular jolt of energy.
4. As we entered the house, you could hear someone giggling in the hallway.
5. I hate going to the supermarket because you always have trouble finding a parking space there.
6. In this company, a worker can take a break only after a relief person comes to take your place.
7. Sometimes the Bradleys take the turnpike route, but it costs you five dollars in tolls.
8. As we sat in class waiting for the test results, you could feel the tension.
9. My brother doesn't get enough regular exercise, even though he knows exercise is good for you.
10. My favorite subject is abnormal psychology because the case studies make one seem so normal by comparison.

Question 59

Below are examples of how the five prewriting techniques could be used to develop the topic "Inconsiderate Drivers." Identify each technique by writing F (for free- writing), Q (for questioning), L (for listing), C (for clustering), or SO (for the scratch outline) in the answer space.
______Some people are inconsiderate drivers.
1. In city:
a. Stop in middle of street
b. Turn without signaling
2. On highway:
a. Leave high beams on
b. Stay in passing lane
c. Cheat during a merge
3. Both in city and on highway:
a. Throw trash out of window
b. Pay more attention to cell phone than to road

_____ I was driving home last night after class and had three people try to blind me by coming at me with their high beams on. I had to zap them all with my high beams. Rude drivers make me crazy. The worst are the ones that use the road as a trash can. People who throw butts and cups and hamburger wrappings and other stuff out the car windows should be tossed into a trash dumpster. If word got around that this was the punishment maybe they would wise up. Other drivers do dumb things as well. I hate the person who will just stop in the middle of the street and try to figure out directions or look for a house address. Why don't they pull over to the side of the street That hardly seems like too much to ask. Instead, they stop all traffic while doing their own thing. Then there are the people who keep what they want to do a secret. They're not going to tell you they plan to make a right- or left-hand turn. You've got to figure it out yourself when they suddenly slow down in front of you. Then there are all the people on their cell phones yakking away and not paying attention to their driving.

Question 60

4 Writing a Topic Sentence: I
The following activity will give you practice in writing an accurate point, or topic sentence-one that is neither too broad nor too narrow for the supporting material in a paragraph. Sometimes you will construct your topic sentence after you have 12 decided which details you want to discuss. An added value of this activity is that it shows you how to write a topic sentence that will exactly match the details you have developed.
1. Topic sentence:____________________________________
________________________________________________
a. When we brought a "welcome to the neighborhood" present, the family next door didn't even say thank you.
b. The family never attends the annual block party.
c. The family's children aren't allowed to play with other neighborhood kids.
d. Our neighbors keep their curtains closed and never sit out in their yard.
2. Topic sentence:__________________________________
_________________________________________________
a. Only about thirty people came to the dance, instead of the expected two hundred.
b. The band arrived late and spent an hour setting up.
c. There were at least three males at the dance to every female.
d. An hour after the dance started, it ended because of a power failure.
3. Topic sentence:____________________________________
__________________________________________________
a. We had to wait half an hour even though we had reserved a table.
b. Our appetizer and main course arrived at the same time.
c. The busboy ignored our requests for more water.
d. The wrong desserts were served to us.
4. Topic sentence:___________________________________
_________________________________________________
a. In early grades we had spelling bees, and I would be among the first to sit down.
b. In sixth-grade English, my teacher kept me busy diagramming sentences on the board.
c. In tenth grade we had to recite poems, and I always forgot my lines.
d. In my senior year, my compositions had more red correction marks than anyone else's.
5. Topic sentence:______________________________________
____________________________________________________
a. The crowd scenes were crudely spliced from another film.
b. Mountains and other background scenery were just painted cardboard cutouts.
c. The "sync" was off, so that you heard voices even when the actors' lips were not moving.
d. The so-called "monster" was just a spider that had been filmed through a magnifying lens.

Question 61

Fill in each blank with the appropriate addition or change-of-direction transitions from the list that follows. Use each transition once.
Fourth but yet another
for one thing second however last
Avoidance Tactics
Getting down to studying for an exam or writing a paper is hard, and so it is tempting for students to use one of the following five avoidance tactics in order to put the work aside. _________, students may say to themselves, "I can't do it." They adopt a defeatist attitude at the start and give up without a struggle. They could get help with their work by using such college services as tutoring programs and skill labs, _________ they refuse even to try. A _________ avoidance technique is to say, "I'm too busy." Students may take on an extra job, become heavily involved in social activities, or allow family problems to become so time-consuming that they cannot concentrate on their studies. _________ if college really matters to a student, he or she will make sure that there is enough time to do the required work. _________ avoidance technique is expressed by the phrase "I'm too tired." Typically, sleepiness occurs when it is time to study or go to class and then vanishes when the pressure of school is off. This sleepiness is a sign of work avoidance. A _________ excuse is to say, "I'll do it later." Putting things off until the last minute is practically a guarantee of poor grades on tests and papers. When everything else-watching TV, calling a friend, or even cleaning the oven- seems more urgent than studying, a student may simply be escaping academic work. _________, some students avoid work by saying to themselves, "I'm here and that's what counts." Some students live under the dangerous delusion that, since they possess a college ID, a parking sticker, and textbooks, the course work will somehow take care of itself. _________ once a student has a college ID, he or she has only just begun. Doing the necessary studying, writing, and reading will bring real results: good grades, genuine learning, and a sense of accomplishment.

Question 62

Rewrite the following sentences, omitting needless words.
1. There was this one girl in my class who rarely, if ever, did her homework.
_____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. Judging by the looks of things, it seems to me that it will probably rain very soon.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. Seeing as how the refrigerator is empty of food, I will go to the supermarket in the very near future.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. In this day and age it is almost a certainty that someone you know will be an innocent victim of criminal activity.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. In my personal opinion it is correct to say that the spring season is the most beautiful period of time in the year.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Question 63

One key to effective outlining is the ability to distinguish between general ideas and specific details that fit under those ideas. Read each group of specific ideas below. Then circle the letter of the general idea that tells what the specific ideas have in common. Note that the general idea should not be too broad or too narrow. Begin by trying the example item, and then read the explanation that follows.
EXAMPLE
Specific ideas: runny nose, coughing, sneezing, sore throat
The general idea is:
cold symptoms.
b. symptoms.
c. throat problems.
EXPLANATION It is true that the specific ideas are all symptoms, but they have in common something even more specific-they are all symptoms of the common cold. Therefore, answer b is too broad; the correct answer is a. Answer c is too narrow because it doesn't cover all the specific ideas; it covers only the final item in the list ("sore throat").
1. Specific ideas: leaking toilet, no hot water, broken window, roaches The general idea is:
a. problems.
b. kitchen problems.
c. apartment problems.
2. Specific ideas: count to ten, take a deep breath, go for a walk 1 The general idea is:
a. actions.
b. ways to calm down.
c. ways to calm down just before a test.
3. Specific ideas: putting sticky tape on someone's chair, putting a "kick me" sign on someone's back, putting hot pepper in someone's cereal
The general idea is:
a. jokes.
b. practical jokes.
c. practical jokes played on teachers.
4. Specific ideas: going to bed earlier, eating healthier foods, reading for half an 8 hour each day, trying to be kinder
The general idea is:
a. resolutions.
b. problems.
c. solutions.
5. Specific ideas: money problems, family problems, relationship problems, health problems
The general idea is:
a. poor grades.
b. causes of poor grades.
c. effects of poor grades.

Question 64

Following are five general topics and a series of limited topics that fit under them. Make a point out of one of the limited topics in each group.
HINT To create a topic sentence, ask yourself, "What point do I want to make about _________ (my limited topic ) "
EXAMPLE
Recreation
• Movies
• Dancing
• TV shows
• Reading
• Sports parks
Your point: Sports parks today have some truly exciting games.
1. Your school
• Instructor
• Cafeteria
• Specific course
• Particular room or building
• Particular policy (attendance, grading, etc.)
• Classmate
Your point:________________________________________
___________________________________________
2. Job
• Pay
• Boss
• Working conditions
• DutiesCoworkers
• Customers or clients
Your point: ______________________________
_________________________________________
3. Money
• Budgets
• Credit cards
• Dealing with a bank
• School expenses
• Ways to get it
• Ways to save it Your point:
4. Cars
• First car
• Driver's test
• Road conditions
• Accident
• Mandatory speed limit
• Safety problems Your point:
5. Sports
• A team's chances
• At your school
• Women's team
• Recreational versus spectator
• Favorite team
• Outstanding athlete
Your point:___________________________________
_____________________________________________

Question 65

Fill in each blank with the appropriate transition from the following list. Use each transition once.
Addition transitions: first of all, second, finally
Time transition: when
Illustration transition: once
Change-of-direction transition: however
Conclusion transition: as a result
Joining a Multicultural Club
One of the best things I've done in college is joining a multicultural club. _________ , the club has helped me become friendly with a diverse group of people. At any time in my apartment, I can have someone from Pakistan or Sweden chatting about music, or someone from Russia or Uganda talking about politics. _________, I watched a Spanish student serve chocolate con churros to three students from China. They had never tasted such a thing before, but they liked it. A _________ benefit of the club is that it's helped me realize how similar people are. _________ the whole club first assembled, we wound up having a conversation about dating and sex that included the perspectives of people from fifteen countries and six continents! It was clear we all shared the feeling that sex was fascinating. The talk lasted for hours, with many different people describing the wildest or funniest dating experience they had had. Only a few students, particularly those from the United States and Japan, seemed bashful. _________, the club has reminded me about the dangers of stereotyping. Before I joined the club, my only direct experience with people from China was ordering meals in the local Chinese restaurant. _________, I believed that most Chinese people ate lots of rice and worked in restaurants. In the club, _________ I met Chinese people who were soccer players, English majors, and math tutors. I've also seen Jewish and Muslim students-people who I thought would never get along-drop their preconceived notions and become friends. Even more than my classes, the club has been an educational experience for me.

Question 66

Rewrite the following sentences, omitting needless words.
1. Workers who are employed on a part-time basis are attractive to a business because they do not have to be paid as much as full-time workers for a business.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. During the time that I was sick and out of school, I missed a total of three math tests.
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3. The game, which was scheduled for later today, has been canceled by the officials because of the rainy weather.
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4. At this point in time, I am quite undecided and unsure about just which classes I will take during this coming semester.
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5. An inconsiderate person located in the apartment next to mine keeps her radio on too loud a good deal of the time, with the result being that it is disturbing to everyone in the neighboring apartments.
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