Meeting 13-Writing Essay.docx

7/23/2019 Meeting 13-Writing Essay.docx

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Step 7: Paragraphs

Choose a singular focus

Each paragraph should have a clear, singular focus to it. If there is an overriding error

students make in writing essays, it is shifting topics within the same paragraph, rather

than continuing to develop the same idea they began with. paragraph is a discrete unit

of thought that e!pands one specific idea, not three or four. If you find yourself shifting

gears to start a new topic, begin a new paragraph instead.

Someone once compared the beginning of a new paragraph to the changing angle of a

wall. "hen the angle of the wall changes, a new wall begins. #et your paragraphs belike that wall: running straight along a certain angle, and beginning anew when the

angle changes.

Begin with a topic sentence

$othing will help you keep a tighter focus on your paragraphs than topic sentences.

topic sentence is generally the first sentence of the paragraph, and it describes the

claim or point of the paragraph, thus orienting the reader to the purpose of theparagraph. "hen you use topic sentences, your reader will invariably find it easier to

follow your thoughts and argument. s an e!ample, look at the first sentences of each

paragraph on this page. %he entire paragraph is focused around the stated topic

sentence. dditionally, headings are used to make it even clearer and easier to follow. If

you&re writing a long research essay '() * pages+, you might consider using headings.

Develop the idea

Invariably students shift topics and lose focus within their paragraphs because they do

not know how to adeuately develop their ideas. %hey usually know the paragraph

needs to be longer, but they don&t know how to e!pand their idea to fill that length.

Indeed a paragraph should be at least half a page long, but usually no more than one

page. -ow, then, if you don&t have enough to say, do you fill that paragraph length

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Instead of broadening the focus, which will only be another form of topic shifting, try

implementing these techniues for development:

illustrate your idea with e!amples

give an authoritative uotation

anticipate and respond to counterarguments

back your ideas with more evidence

offer another perspective to the idea

brainstorm more insights about the idea

elaborate on causes/effects, definitions,

comparison/contrasts

Practice with paragraphs

Step 0: %he 1onclusion

Recap your main idea

If your essay was long and comple!, sometimes difficult to follow, in the conclusion

you&ll want to recap your ideas in a clear, summari2ing manner. 3ou want your readers

to understand the message you intended to communicate. -owever, if your essay was

short and simple, don&t insult your readers by restating at length the ideas they already

understand. Strike a balance according to what you feel your readers need. In a short

essay '4)) words or less+, any recapitulation should be brief 'about 5 sentences+, and

rephrased in a fresh way, not 6ust cut and pasted from the thesis.

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Leave a memorable impression

It&s not enough 6ust to restate your main ideas if you only did that and then ended your

essay, your conclusion would be flat and boring. 3ou&ve got to make a gracefule!it from

your essay by leaving a memorable impression on the reader. 3ou need to say

something that will continue to simmer in the reader&s minds long after he or she has put

down your essay. %o leave this memorable impression, try . . .

giving a thoughtprovoking uotation

describing a powerful image

talking about conseuences or implications

stating what action needs to be done

ending on an interesting twist of thought

e!plaining why the topic is important

Keep it short

8eep your conclusion short, probably ten lines or less, and avoid fluff. 3ou&re 6ust trying

to make a clever e!it, and presumably all the really important points have been made

previously in your essay. 3ou should not introduce any totally new ideas in the

conclusion9 however, you should not merely repeat your thesis either. %his situation

not presenting anything new, and neither 6ust sticking with the old at first seems to be

a parado!. -owever, with a little effort, one of the above si! methods will usually yield a

uiet 2inger, as ;ohn %ribble calls it.

Examples of Real Conclusions

1. Ending on an image

%oday, as the phonographs which follow prove, the mystiue of the cat is still very much

alive in the Egyptian environment.


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=uslim world, as apparently >od inspired man to write its namei, t, t in rabic letters

in such a shape that it looks like a cat

#orraine 1hittock, Cairo Cats

2. Restating the thesis in a fresh way

If this book has any future use, it will be as a modest contribution to that challenge, and

as a warning: that systems of thought like ?rientalism, discourses of power, ideological

fictionsmindforg&d manaclesare all too easily made, applied, and guarded. bove all, I

hope to have shown my reader that the answer to ?rientalism is not ?ccidentalism. $o

former ?riental will be comforted by the thought that having been an ?riental himself

he is likelytoo likelyto study new ?rientalsor ?ccidentalsof his own making. If the

knowledge of ?rientalism has any meaning, it is in being a reminder of the seductive

degradation of knowledge, of any knowledge, anywhere, at any time. $ow perhaps

more than before.

Orientalism,Edward Said

3. Ending on an image

"hen one reads any strongly individual piece of writing, one has the impression of

seeing a face somewhere behind the page. It is not necessarily the actual face of the

writer. I feel this very strongly with Swift, with @efoe, with


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nineteenthcentury liberal, a free intelligence, a type hated with eual hatred by all the

smelly little orthodo!ies which are now contending for our souls.

1harles @ickens, >eorge ?rwell

4. Ending on a quotation

popular tale, which I picked up in >eneva during the last years of "orld "ar I, tells of

=iguel Servet&s reply to the inuisitors who had condemned him to the stake: I will

burn, but this is a mere event. "e shall continue our discussion in eternity.

;orge #uis Aorges, Nonfictions

. !o"ing towards the general

%he practice of rhetoric involves a careful attention to the characteristics and

preferences of the audience for whom the writer intends the message. lthough Syfers&

and #impus& essays might be somewhat out of place for a contemporary audience, in

the (B7)s they were not. -owever, as argued throughout this essay, it is Syfers&

memorable sarcasm and wit that ultimately win over her audience. Aeing humorous

while also driving home a worthwhile point is a difficult feat to accomplish in writing.

Aecause Syfers accomplishes it so well, she seems to have stepped over the

boundaries of time and reached a much larger audience than she may have originally

intended.

imitation of a student essay

#. $al%ing a&out im'lications or consequences

I am uite convinced that what hinders progress in the rab world is the absence of a

free press. %he dirt in our society has been swept under the carpet for too long. Aut I am

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certain that this won&t be the case for much longer. rabs are beginning to engage in

lively debate over their political and social predicament. nd l;a2eera offers a ray of

hope. lready, other rab stations are imitating %he ?pposite @irection, though with

limitations. Press freedom leads to political freedom. Someday, in spite of the attempts

by today&s totalitarian rulers, a free rab press may help to create real democracy in the

rab world.


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If you uote ;ones, Smith, and ;ohnson in your essay, these three authors should

appear with full documentation on the "orks 1ited pagel. @on&t forget them. #ikewise,

all the authors or sources listed in the "orks 1ited page should appear in the body of

your essay. %here should be no sources listed on the "orks 1ited page that were not

cited in your actual essay.

$ %nly &uote catchy or memorable phrases or sentences

If the source you&re uoting is unremarkable and dry in its e!pression or opinion, don&tbring that unremarkable, dry te!t into your own writing as well. Paraphrase this material

instead, and follow up your paraphrase with the author&s name in parentheses 'or the

article title, if there is no author+. ?nly uote catchy, memorable, uotable phrases, and

keep the uotations short one or two lines usually. In general you want to uote

sparingly and preserve your own voice.

' Don(t rely too much on the same source

If you have four or five uotes from the same

author, your reader will eventually 6ust desire to

read that author instead. %oo much uoting also

compromises your own voice and sense of authority about the issue. Dather than

limiting your research to one or two authors, draw upon a wide variety of sources, and

uote only snippets from each. -aving variety will ensure that you are well read in the

sub6ect and that you&ve e!amined the issue from multiple perspectives.

) *ollow up your &uotations with commentary+ interpretation+ or analysis

void 6ust dropping in the uotation and then immediately moving on, assuming the

reader fully understands the meaning, purpose, and application of the uotation 6ust

presented. 3ou almost always should comment on the uotation in some way, even if

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your commentary is a simple ree!planation of what the uotation means 'In other

words . . .+. Demember that you&re taking the uotation from an article you&ve read, but

the reader only gets a glimpse of that whole article and lacks the conte!t that you have,

so it might be more difficult for the reader to understand it. Aecause the essay is

supposed to representyourideas, not 6ust those of another, you must find some way to

comment or analy2e what you summari2e or uote.

, -se signal phrases to introduce your &uotations

signal phrase is a clause before the uotation that identifies the author 'e.g., ;ones

says, or ccording to ;ones . . .+. Signal phrases are essential to create a bridge

between your own voice and that of another you are incorporating into your essay. If

you identify the author in the signal phrase, don&t also identify author in parentheses

following the uotation. ?nce is enough.

lso, don&t put the article title in the signal phrase unless you want to draw particular

attention it. Including the article title in your signal phrase usually results in a long,

clunky preuote phrase that takes the focus off the uotation.

E(am'le of a clun%y 're)quote signal 'hrase* ccording to the article

1ensorship in merican -igh School Deading 1lasses, %wain&s -uckleberry


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'ecial note))qtd. in* Suppose you&re using a uotation that appears inside an article

written by someone other than the one saying the uotation. In other words, if you&re

using, say, ;udge "illiam&s uotation that appears within =ary ;ones& article, you cite it

by writing td. in following the uote. If so, write td. in ;ones, or whomever.

E!ample: ccording to ;udge "illiams, 6ust law is the foundation of a 6ust

society 'td. in ;ones+.

If ;ones is 6ust paraphrasing "illiams, then you would omit the td. in and 6ust write

';ones+.

.ractice/Dead @iana -acker&s sample research essayand identify as many instances

as you can where the above five principles are used.

Step Ba: 1itation

uick ;ump =enu

@irect uotation

Paraphrase

=i!ed uotation

Plagiarism

#inks F Practice

%here are three main ways to integrate uotations into your essay: '(+ direct uotation,

'5+ paraphrase, and 'G+ mi!ed uotation. 3ou should usually paraphrase the material,

and only directly uote it or give a mi!ed uotation when the phrasing of the uotation is

interesting or catchy in some pleasing way uote when the te!t is uotable, in other

words 'like the uotation on the homepage of this site+.

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1 Direct 0uotation

@irect uotation involves uoting word for word one or more sentences from an author

or source."hen you uote, be sure to introduce your uotation with a signal phrase.

signal phrase is a clause that lets the reader know who the author or source is. In the

following e!amples of direct uotation, note how the signal phrases precede the

uotations:

ccording to 8arl =enninger, a


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s far as signal phrases and paraphrasing go, when you paraphrase you can choose

whether or not to use a signal phrase. If you do not use a signal phrase, you must

identify the author in parentheses following the paraphrase. -ere are a few e!amples:


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A.


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I have compiled a number of websites, "ord documents, and Powerpoints on =#

style, created by different instructors and organi2ations who present the comple!ities of

inte!t citation and works cited.

3ou can also do some practices with inte!t citation.

Step (): #anguage

ccording to %ruman 1apote, %he greatest pleasure of writing is not what it&s about, but

the music the words make. s you edit the language of your essay, you are trying to

make music out of the words.

In this step the content of your essay should besolid. If the idea itself needs discarding, you

shouldn&t be tweaking the language9 it would be

a waste of time working on transitions if the

organi2ation and structure of your essay were

in need of repair. -ence editing the language of

your essay comes last. -ere you are putting

polish on a shoe that has already been sewn.

Editing the language can be tedious, but it is essential. 3ou&ve got to proofread your

essays do2ens of times to catch all the rough spots and language errors. s you

proofread you will be checking for misspellings, poor mechanics, bad grammar,

awkward word flow and numerous other linguistic details that you can improve.

Proofreading the language may take hours as you attempt to polish your language to

the point that it is pleasing to read and has literary style.

3ive 4our Eyes Rest

%he more you read your essay, the more blind you become to it. Soon you stop reading

the words on the page and only begin reading what&s in your mind, which you falsely

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transpose onto the page. %he actual letters could be

-ebrew, or >reek, for all it matters at that point.

@on&t keep reading hour after hour until your mind

registers the entire te!t at a glance, without seeing the

details. "hat you must do is rest your eyes9 take a

break. >ive yourself a day or two between revisions.

'%his is why you should not procrastinate your

assignments.+ "hen you come back to your essay with

fresh eyes and a renewed perspective, you will see with added clarity all the rough

phrasings and strange ideas that your eyes once glided over.

Know #hat to Loo" *or

3ou can read your essay a thousand times over, but if you don&t know what you&re

looking for, you will probably miss all the errors you&re attempting to find. If you&re going

to work hard, make sure you&re putting all your energy to a productive use. 8now what

to look for when you proofread. See the criteria in the >rades sectionof this site. %here

are twelve areas to look for: logic, evidence, development, focus, structure, unity,

integration, inte!t citation, works cited, grammar, clarity, style. 1heck off each categoryas you e!amine your essay. nother help for proofreading is to ask yourself the same

uestions in the Peer Deview, conducting instead a selfreview.


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from others on ideas and language, your friend or family member cannot take upon the

role of an editor, changing your sentences and thoughts to reflect a linguistic and

analytical level that is not yours and which is beyond your ability. Passing off another&s

language as your own even if the ideas remain original to your own mind is

considered plagiarism. 3our work must be your own, and that includes the language and

style, not 6ust content.

8nowing that the work is your own, and that it represents your highest level of

performance, you will feel a sense of achievement and personal growth that perhaps

you have not e!perienced before. Each essay should seem to you that it is your best

work to date. ?nly when you feel this way is the paper done.

1ontinue on to editing your language for clarity, style, and grammar.

Stage ()a: 1larity

uick ;ump =enu

%opic sentences

%ransitions

$eedless words

Emphasis

Dhythm

Straightforwardness

-se topic sentences


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what the topic of the paragraph will be. Msing topic sentences to signpost your

meaning will orient the reader and help him or her follow comfortably along your path of

thought.

3ou will discover that when a writer uses topic sentences, you can skim the entire essay

and still understand the main points. %he ne!t time you read a long essay, try reading

only the first one or two sentences of each paragraph. 3ou will rarely be lost or confused

if the topic sentences make clear what the purpose of each paragraph is.


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?mit needless wordsN ?mit needless wordsN %his was the constant advice, says E.A.

"hite, of his former professor, "illiam Strunk. "hite says Strunk would occasionally

grab a student by the lapels and shout this phrase several times, but then be almost

restricted from elaborating more for fear of violating the very principle he was teaching.

Omit needless words, write with concision, ma%e your sentences succinct, cut out the

fat, remo"e the deadwood, ma%e e"ery word 'ull its own weight these common

phrases are all intended to convince students to streamline their prose with more

efficiency and power by removing unnecessary words.

In Strunk&s own words, Cigorous writing is concise. sentence should contain no

unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a

drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. Inother words, if you bought a new car and looked under the hood, you would be appalled

to see unnecessary, functionless parts. Similarly in an essay, all sentences and

paragraphs must have an essential function and purpose.

1oncision can also be understood through the metaphor of dilution. word by itself has

a sense of power, but when combined with other words, the power of that word is

diluted by the presence of the other words, each of which is fighting for the reader&s

attention. If you want to focus the reader&s attention, don&t dilute your best words with

unnecessary phrases and elaborations. In this way, more can be less.

Needless 0ords* good basketball player is not necessarily one who is tall and

dominating on the floor, or who has more height than the other players 'e.g., 4&7

and above+, but rather one who is keen enough to perceive strengths and

weaknesses on the court, can see mismatches, liabilities, weak spots, and knows as

well how to capitali2e on his or her own strengths, be they speed, uickness, or

e!plosive driving power.

Concise* good basketball player is not necessarily one who is tall and dominating, but

rather one who can perceive strengths and weaknesses on the court, can see

mismatches, liabilities, weak spots, and knows as well how to capitali2e on his or her

own strengths, be they speed, uickness, or e!plosive driving power.

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u'er Concise* good basketball player needs prudence more than height.

Needless 0ords* Dugby players must be fully prepared and always ready to

immolate their almost already wartorn bodies in sacrifice, in diving ruthlessly for the

leather ball, blocking with their arms e!tended and their legs firmly planted on the

ground, always moving with tenacity and vigor and enthusiasmacross the e!pansive

green lawn, for the good of the team and the honor of the sport itself. #ong live the

ueenN

Concise*Dugby players must be fully prepared to immolate their bodies in sacrifice, in

diving ruthlessly for the ball, blocking with their arms e!tended and their legs firmly

planted, always moving with tenacity and vigor across the e!pansive green lawn, for the

good of the team and the honor of the sport itself.

u'er Concise* Dugby players sacrifice their bodies for the game.

Establish emphasis

Subordination and coordination allow you to em'hasi


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Coordinating Clauses* %he train improved the mobility and efficiency of travel, and it

put many cowboys out of work. /-oth clauses ha"e equal em'hasis.

u&ordinating Clauses* Even though many cowboys were out of work, they began

a new culture of city dwelling that drew them together with social strength. /$he red

clause has less em'hasis.

Coordinating Clauses* =any cowboys were out of work, but they began a new culture

of city dwelling that drew them together with social strength.

u&ordinating Clauses* "hile many thought the cowboy era was over, the new

city cowboys proved to be a vital, powerful force in merican unpopular culture. /$he red

clause has less em'hasis.

Coordinating Clauses* =any thought the cowboy era was over, yet the new city

cowboys proved to be a vital, powerful force in merican unpopular culture.

-se Rhythm

If you really want to get fancy with emphasis, you can e!periment with periodic and

cumulative sentences. Periodic and cumulative sentences are two advanced options for

creating a strong sense of rhythm and emphasis in your sentence. %he periodic

sentence is one in which the main clause is considerably delayed, whereas the

cumulative sentence opens uickly with the main clause, and then adds on multiple

nonrestrictive clauses after it.

6eriodic sentence*Sigmund erman psychologist born in the late nineteenth

century, and famous for his controversial theories about earlychildhood psychological

formation and other adult disorders, including suicide, patricide, and matricide, omitted

essential data formulating his theories.

Cumulati"e sentence* Sigmund ermany, where he was born.

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6eriodic sentence* pparently 1oca1ola, which is currently used by its own

manufacturers to clean out the engines of their trucks, as well as remove toilet stains,

purify the stomach of uestionable bacteria, and marinate steak in several hours

'frightening facts about a substance harmlessly and thoughtlessly consumed by millions

of people around the world+, originally it was laced with cocaine.

Cumulati"e sentence*pparently 1oca1ola once contained cocaine, which in the

early twentieth century was not thought to be harmful taken in small doses, especially

when the dose was only (/()) of a grain per bottle, hardly something to give one a

heavy addiction, yet still strong enough to mildly lure one to consuming the soda, which

was not so different from various medicines at the time, also containing slight trace

amounts of cocaine, practically unavoidable byproducts from cocoa leaves.

Cumulati"e*I wish I could give you fresh material, but I can&t, said =a! 8ing, another

classmate, who went on to edit %he Philadelphia Inuirer and now, by coincidence, is

president of the -ein2 Endowments, the wealthy Pittsburgh charity of which =r. 8erry&s

wife, %eresa, is the chairwoman. '$he New >or% $imes,(4 =ay 5)), Prep School

Peers


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probably clear and easy to follow. ?n the other hand, if you can&t see yourself saying

what you&ve written to anyone, consider revising it to make it more readable. >o back

and revise your sentences to make them friendlier, clearer, more straightforward.

Step ()b: Style

3our style is the fingerprint of your writing and consists of a number of comprising

elements. s you edit your essay for style, pay attention to these si! areas:

Personal references

@iction

Sentence length

Se!ist pronouns


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In addition to providing a weak argument, using I also takes the focus off the sub6ect

and places it on you, the writer, which is sometimes desired in creative writing, but

undesirable in an academic essay where the focus is supposed to be on a specific

topic. 3ou can usually recast your sentence in a way that omits personal references, but

if the sentence 6ust doesn&t sound right without I, then leave it in. It&s better to be self

centered than unreadable.

6ersonal References* In my opinion,gay marriage threatens the institution of

marriage and the essential structure of the family, which is the fabric of society.

Re"ised* >ay marriagethreatens the institution of marriage and the essential

structure of the family, which is the fabric of society.

6ersonal References*I think thatsociety is held together by allowing individuals

to live as they which, not by constricting laws.

Re"ised*Society is held together by allowing individuals to live as they which, not

by constricting laws.

Diction/ Choose the right words

Students learning to use a thesaurus often use it e!cessively and incorrectly in their

selection of words. 8nowing that all synonyms do not mean the same thing that each

synonym has a subtle nuance of meaning making it distinct from the other words will

help you avoid random substitutions of words that merely seem to look better. Msing

good diction in your essay involves choosing e!actly the right word for the meaning you

want. If you&re unsure of a word&s meaning, look it up in an online dictionaryor download

a dictionary to your computer.

6oor ?iction* @evlin&s essay predicates that a society consists of a group of

people brought together by a common set of morals and assurances.

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-etter ?iction*@evlin&s essay assertsthat a society consists of a group of people

brought together by a common set of morals and beliefs.

6oor ?iction* -art responds that @evlin&s essay is nothing more than a babble

and malentendu of what a society is.

-etter ?iction* -art responds that @evlin&s essay is nothing more than a

confusionand misunderstandingof what a society is.

7ary your sentence length

1hoppiness is the effect of multiple short sentences in a row giving a sense of

breathlessness and childlike simplicity. 1ontrastingly, the opposite multiple,

successive elongated sentences one after another gives a sense of neverending

lung power and pompous sophistication. short sentence can be a good option for the

content you&re writing, 6ust as a long one can as well. %he key is to mi( them u' so that

you have some short sentences and some long alternating with each other. %his variety

will give rhythm to your prose.

Cho''y sentences* ;ohn turned on the computer. -e opened


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costly for color photos, while the web would be too dull for merely black and

white, but this color vs. noncolor dilemma was only the tip of the iceberg for

;ohn in


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she, but if you need to write he or she more than twice in the sentence, you might

give your reader a headache. %ry to avoid s/he or he/she simply because it is

unsightly. Deally the best solution is plurali2ation. '"hen implementing the plural

solution, remember the principle of agreement.Everyone needs their umbrella is not

grammatical, because everyone is a singular sub6ect.+

o e(ist* If a medical student wants to succeed, he has to learn to budget his time

wisely.

o @i&erated* If medical students want to succeed, they haveto learn to budget his

time wisely.

o e(ist*If one wants to become a @;, he has to be familiar with the current music

styles and have a strong sense of internal rhythm and musical flow.

o @i&erated* If one wants to become a @;, he or she has to be familiar with the

current music styles and have a strong sense of internal rhythm and musical flow.

o e(ist* good computer programmer has to root his knowledge in practical

e!perience.

o @i&erated* >ood computer programmers have to root their knowledge in practical

e!perience.

!aintain a level of formality

;ust as in in daily life, in writing you naturally ad6ust the level of formality of your writing

style to the situation and audience. 3ou may use one level of formality with your teacher,

and another level with your best friend. In an academic essay, be sure to maintain a

formal voice. ?ne way to ad6ust your level of formality is by avoiding contractions 'i.e.,

using do not instead of don&t+. -owever, it is acceptable to use contractions if you

desire to.

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;y'er)formal* %he degree to which private controversial moralities are

decriminali2ed by the federal government depends on the e!tent of their in6urious

repercussions on an otherwise benign society.

$oo informal*%he feds will start putting pervs and whores in the slammer if they

feel their smutty actions are mi!in& up good men and women.

Aust right*"hether private immoralities are outlawed by the government or not

depends on the harm they inflict on public society.

6void emotionalism

In addition to a formal voice, you should also maintain a coolheaded, ob6ective tone.

%one usually becomes an issue when you are writing about hot topics you feel strongly

about religion, for e!ample, or cultural values. Even when you strongly disagree with

an idea, avoid getting emotional in your e!pression. void seeming angry, or

condescending, or rude. 8eep your calm and remain scholarly, and try to portray

yourself as one who is ob6ectively assessing the situation.

Emotional* "e mustdo everything we can to legali2e gay marriage.


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Step ()c: >rammar

s you edit the grammar of your essay, you should particularly focus on the grammar

concepts that your teacher has previously marked on your papers.


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Correction*%hey looked up at the constellations and could see a multitude of

different patterns/?rion, the Aig @ipper, 1assiopia, and the Aear.

"hen


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1. Bse a comma after an introductory clause.

"hen Sally opened her eyes and looked around her she thought she was in a

dream.

Correction* "hen Sally opened her eyes and looked around her, shethought she

was in a dream.

Seeing Sally return to full composure


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"hen


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Sallyshair needed washing.

Correction*Sally&s hair needed washing.

?nesneed for companionship is second only to onesneed for food.

Correction*?ne&s need for companionship is second only to one&sneed for food.

%he lifeguardstower chairs were empty due to the lack of people on the beach.

Correction*%he lifeguard&stower chairs were empty due to the lack of people on

the beach.

Practice with possessives

.ronoun 6greement/Pronoun agreement errors occur when the pronoun and the

corresponding sub6ect do not match up. Plural sub6ects have plural pronouns, and

singular sub6ects have singular pronouns.

If a boy wants to impress a girl, theybetter do more than build sandcastles.

Correction* If a boy wants to impress a girl, he better do more than build

sandcastles.

"hen someone is lonely, theyusually go on a picnic.

Correction* "hen someone is lonely, he or she usually goes on a picnic.

$ote: %he following pronouns are singular pronouns: anyone, everyone, whoever,

someone, no one, nobody.

Practice with pronoun agreement

32
http://www1.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/language_grammar_practice_possessives.htmhttp://www1.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/language_grammar_practice_pronoun_agreement.htmhttp://www1.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/language_grammar_practice_possessives.htmhttp://www1.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/language_grammar_practice_pronoun_agreement.htm


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8ub


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Correction*Sally went to the beach, and she had a picnic there.

%he weather at the beach was rather windy, you had to keep a hold of your hat or

it would blow off.

Correction*%he weather at the beach was rather windy, so you had to keep a

hold of your hat or it would blow off.

Practice with runons

*ragments/


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Correction*%here are a few thingsI hate.

Documents

Meeting 13-Writing Essay.docx