GREAT PARAGRAPHS, 2 Edition’少年And成人考卷/寫作/Great... · but they are expected to recognize these four key features in several ... Learn to identify the verb in a sentence

Great Paragraphs 2nd edition Chapter Notes 1

Teacher’s Notes for

GREAT PARAGRAPHS, 2nd Edition

Keith Folse

April Muchmore-Vokoun

Elena Vestri Solomon

Houghton Mifflin Company


Unit 1 What Is a Paragraph?

This unit introduces students to a paragraph and its four basic features, namely the

topic sentence, the interrelation of all the sentences to one topic and only topic only, the

indenting of the first line, and the concluding sentence. Some students may already be

familiar with paragraph writing, but students’ familiarity with paragraphs may vary

greatly.

In Unit 1, students are not expected to learn to write a specific kind of paragraph,

but they are expected to recognize these four key features in several example paragraphs.

Having students complete this material gives the teacher a chance to see who knows

exactly how much about paragraphs from the very beginning of the course. In addition,

Unit 1 introduces students to the Building Better Sentences and Web practice activities

found throughout the text.

OBJECTIVES

1. Understand what a paragraph is and looks like as well as how it relates to

sentences and essays. (1-3; 13-19)

2. Understand the importance of repetition of key words and use of present tense

verbs in paragraphs. (3-4)

3. Analyze a process paragraph. (4-7)

4. Analyze a narrative paragraph. (7-8)

5. Understand the use of “I” and past tense in narrative paragraphs. (8)

6. Become familiar with the four features of a paragraph. (9-11)

7. Learn to analyze multiple paragraphs to compare the use of the four features in all

four paragraphs. (12)

8. Be able to use capitalization and end punctuation better by the end of this course.

(19-20)

9. Understand how to create and then correctly write a title in English. (20-21)

10. Learn to identify the verb in a sentence without any difficulty. (22-24)

11. Understand the importance of rewriting your work soon after it is written. (26)


12. Introduce Building Better Sentences and Web Activities found throughout the

textbook (Appendix 5 pp 229-247)

13. Combine sentences for sentence variety. (9, 21)

CHAPTER NOTES

Unit 1 introduces students to the basics of the composition of a paragraph. The

unit introduces the four main features that every good paragraph has, namely: (1) a topic

sentence, (2) a single theme around which all the sentences revolve, (3) an indented first

line, and (4) a concluding sentence or statement.

If your students are already familiar with the basics of paragraph writing, then

jump into the middle of unit 1 rather than starting with page 1.

Most of the activities in this unit require students to read an example paragraph,

answer some comprehension and analysis questions about the paragraph, and then

consider how they might write a paragraph like this.

Activity 1, pp. 2-3

As with all the paragraphs in the entire text, it is important for the teacher to ask

some pre-reading questions to (1) pique students’ curiosity about the upcoming topic, (2)

gauge how much English vocabulary they already know about the content of the

paragraph, and (3) prime the students for the material that they’ll be encountering very

soon.

For this paragraph, potential questions include “What do you call it when a person

can’t see?” “How can blind people read books?” (Get some recent statistics from the

Web about the number of blind people in your area or in the country.).

As you go over the questions following the paragraph, encourage students to ask

questions about vocabulary and content. Also, encourage (force?) students to write down

new vocabulary in some sort of vocabulary notebook. They should learn MANY

vocabulary items by the time they finish Great Paragraphs..

Writer’s Note, pp. 2 – 3


This Writer’s Note explains repletion of key vocabulary words as well as the

predominant use of present tense in factual paragraphs, i.e., explanations of things that

are always true. It is imperative that the teacher ask students about this concept every

time they see another example paragraph. Ask “Why is this paragraph in present tense?

Or why aren’t the verbs here in present tense?”

Activity 2, p. 4

You may wish to have some students volunteer to write 1 or 2 of their sentences

on the board for everyone to see. Have other students take turns reacting to their

classmates’ sentences. Keep the pace moving!

Activity 3, p. 4

Possible pre-questions include “What is the easiest food you can think of to

make?” “On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being very easy and 10 being very hard, where

would rate cooking a steak? Cooking a turkey? Making a salad? Making a sandwich?”

and/or “Have you ever made egg salad? If so, how do you usually make it?”

Writer’s Note, p. 6

Some students may know this grammatical form as the “command form.”

Activity 4, pp. 6-7

Students have a chance to write some of their unique ideas on paper. It’s ok if

they write as few as 4 steps but not more than 7. If it takes more than 7, you need to cut

down what you are planning. If you have fewer than 4, then your topic is far too simple.

Activity 5, pp. 7-8

Prereading questions include “How many of you have flown on an airplane?”

“How many have flown more than 20 times? 10 times?” and “Can you remember your

first flight? Tell us about it.”



This note simply reminds paragraph writers that narrative writing frequently uses

past tense and it is o.k. to use I in narrative writing but that this should be avoided in

other types of more academic writing.

Activity 6, p. 9

Students must write about something that happened to them, but it should be in

the form of a list of the events or steps in the thing that happened to them. The minimum

acceptable number of sentences is 5 and the maximum is 10.

Building Better Sentences, Practice 1, p. 9

Take students to first two pages of Appendix 5 (229-230) and go through the

examples of sentence-combining strategies as a class. Many students need to see the

steps of combining on the blackboard before doing it themselves. Explain the importance

of sentence variety in writing and ask them to be conscious of the types of sentences they

are creating.

While working on Building Better Sentences Activities, it is important that

students NOT look at the original sentences. The goal here is to see the combinations

that result and how they are different, not just to see if the student combinations match

the original.

Activity 7, 8, 9, pp. 10-18

These three exercises provide extensive practice in identifying the four parts of a

paragraph. It is important to make sure that everyone knows the four features and can

analyze a paragraph to indicate whether or not the four features are there in that

paragraph.

In these activities, students will work with seven paragraphs (#4-#10). You

should ask pre-reading questions to keep students interested. In addition, after students

have read and analyzed all of these paragraphs, ask them which they liked the most and

why as well as which they did not like and why not.

You may wish to list the four paragraph features on a poster board or newsprint

and keep this in an easily seen area of the classroom for the remainder of this unit.



It is important that students NOT look at the original sentences. The goal here is

to see the combinations that result and how they are different, not just to see if the student

combinations match the original.

Activity 10, pp. 19-20

Students work with basic capitalization and end punctuation rules.

Writer’s Note, pp. 20-21

This writer’s note explains the basic issues in coming up with a good, clear, well-

written, and well-punctuated title for subsequent paragraphs and essays.


You may want to have your students copy their work on separate sheet of paper

rather than use the book pages. However, if you do this, it is important then that you read

and comment on what you collect. For students who are good writers, this copying phase

can be omitted.

Language Focus, Writer’s Note, Activity 12, pp. 22-24

All three of these deal with the importance of finding the main verb in a sentence.

When you are helping students analyze sentence, ALWAYS have them find the verb first

and work back from the verb.


This is a copying activity.


In this Original Writing Practice, students must choose a topic, develop a topic

sentence, and write a paragraph.


Because this is the first writing assignment given to students, you may decide that

it is too soon for the students to write an original paragraph. In this case, you might want

to ask students to outline a paragraph, work in groups to create an outline, or give

students a specific topic to write about.

Peer Editing: Writer’s Notes and Activity 15, pp. 26-27

Peer editing of original writing is an important part in the writing process.

Students will use Peer Editing Sheet #1 from Appendix 6. The introduction to peer

editing in Unit 1 explains what to expect (or not) in terms of Peer Editing.

EXPANSION ACTIVITIES

1. Bring in extra paragraphs on overhead transparency sheets. Ask students to find

the general topic and then the actual topic sentence.

2. If your school has a school newspaper, you can avoid photocopying by picking up

15 copies of the student newspaper and have students dissect it to find examples

of good topic sentences or good concluding sentences. If there is an editorial

page, the paragraphs there are more likely to be better crafted than those in the

regular news stories. (Important: Very few paragraphs in the regular news stories

will have good concluding sentences, and most will not even have any concluding

sentence, let alone a good one.)

3. Some editing formats do not indent the first lines of the first paragraph in a story.

Have students find examples of this. (This happens with first paragraphs in

textbook examples, but we have asked the typesetters for the GREATs to make

sure that all paragraphs are indented.) I would make sure that the whole class

sees one example of this and then verbalizes the rule and rational behind

exception.

VOCABULARY ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

Below is a list of vocabulary words from the paragraphs in the unit (not including

the glossed words).


Because vocabulary is such an important point in moving to a higher proficiency

level, instructors may want their students to maintain a vocabulary journal to correspond

to the vocabulary, something that we strongly advocate. An easy way to accomplish this

is to do the following:

1. Ask students to separate a piece of paper into two sections: the section on the left

(approx. 2 inches wide) with the vocabulary word and the section on the right for the

definition and a sample sentence.

2. In the left column, students will write the vocabulary word and what part of speech it

is.

3. On the right side of the paper the student will write either a definition, a synonym, or

a native language translation of the word.

4. Underneath the definition, the student will create a sample sentence using the word,

but a BLANK SPACE will be used instead of the vocabulary word.

5. Explain to the students that this type of vocabulary journal can be used in different

ways: a. by covering the list of vocabulary words vertically, students must look at the

clues (definition and sentence) and recall the vocabulary word; b. by covering up the

vocabulary word and the definition, students must use the sample sentence with

context clues to recall the vocabulary word; c. by covering up the vocabulary word

and the sample sentence, students must recall the vocabulary word by using its

definition as a clue.

VOCABULARY JOURNAL

vocabulary word definition/synonym/translation

sample sentence

1. routine, n. custom; habit

My daily is getting up, going to work,


and coming home to make dinner.

2. glamorous, adj. exciting attractiveness; stylish

Movie stars usually have lifestyles.

3. tasks

4.

5.

6.

7.

Paragraph 1, p. 2

1. special

2. run (your fingers across a system)

3. characters

4. pattern

5. (Braille) gets (its name from ….)

6. yet (= but)

7. effective

Paragraph 2, p. 4

1. easiest

2. delicious

3. cool

4. a bowl

5. a fork

6. creation


Paragraph 3, p. 7

1. although

2. flew

3. afraid

4. wonder

5. to be like (What is that like?)

6. crowded

7. turn (a color)

8. entire

9. meal

10. even

11. details

Paragraph 4, pp. 10-11

1. at some point (= at some point in time)

2. whether or not

3. allow

4. a pet

5. responsibility

6. take care of

7. in addition

8. compassionate

9. on the other hand

10. hurt

11. might do something

12. shed

13. require

14. in brief

15. be divided

16. a variety of


17. reasons

Paragraph 5, p. 13

1. typewriters

2. allow

3. major

4. fluid

5. correction fluid

6. fix

7. effort

8. research

9. convenient

10. several

11. sources

12. useful

13. however

14. obtain

Paragraph 6, p. 14

1. several

2. inaugural speech

3. develop

4. pneumonia

5. term

6. less than

7. a pension

8. ironic

Paragraph 7, p. 15

1. valuable

2. industry / industries


3. products

4. cotton

5. tobacco

6. battles

7. revolution

8. fought

9. War Between the States

10. seaport

11. distinct

Paragraph 8, p. 16

1. victory

2. controversial

3. sports figure

4. took away

5. athlete

6. professional

7. reverse (a decision)

8. a ruling

9. achieve, achievements

Paragraph 9, p. 17

1. skip

2. extremely

3. prepare

4. uncomfortable

5. stomach

6. be concerned about

7. avoid

8. fatty (foods)

9. scrambled eggs


10. fried sausage

Paragraph 10, p. 18

1. incident

2. trembling

3. humor


1. increase

2. the number of

3. residents

4. public

5. funding

6. result

7. facilities

8. services

9. current

10. however

11. (be) concerned

12. handle

13. conservationists

14. environmental

15. damage

16. Everglades

17. decreasing

18. supply

19. positive


1. vary

2. method


3. exist

4. appropriate

5. amount

6. culture

7. each other

8. disinterested

9. behavior

10. farther

11. apart

12. close

13. might

14. aggressive

15. a universal language


Unit 2

Developing Ideas for Writing a Paragraph

The main goal of Unit 2 is for writers to learn how to come up with lots and lots

of ideas for a writing topic and narrow that topic down to one that is suitable for a

paragraph. To accomplish this purpose, the main focus in Unit 2 is on

BRAINSTORMING ideas.

OBJECTIVES:

1. Learn how and why of brainstorming. (28-34)

2. Improve subject-verb agreement accuracy. (35-37)

3. Add variety to sentence patterns. (37)

4. Write an original paragraph that started from an original general idea that was

narrowed down to a more specific topic by brainstorming potential subtopics and

questions about the topic. (37)

CHAPTER NOTES:

One of the hardest things for many writers is coming up with an idea for a topic.

Some students can come up with the general topic but need a great deal of assistance in

narrowing down their chosen topic. The material and activities in Unit 2 will teach

students to brainstorm. This improves their ability to ask questions about a topic, which

in turn improves their ability to answer those questions, which in turn provides

information for sentences that can become the backbone of a good paragraph.

Introducing Brainstorming, p. 28

The unit opener activity on p. 28 is an easy, structured way to get students to

understand what brainstorming is. You may want to ask them what BRAIN is and then

what a STORM is. Ask them if they can make the connection between the meanings of

these two words separately and the new term BRAINSTORMING.


Activity 1, p. 29

This activity is similar to the unit opener on brainstorming. Follow the directions.


This note discusses the why behind the concept of brainstorming. (In contrast, the

unit opener and Activity 1 focused more on the how of brainstorming.)

Activity 2, p. 31-33

There are three topics for this brainstorming activity. It is not necessary to do all

three. If two of these will suffice for your students, we suggest that you try to choose the

two topics that are the most relevant and meaningful to your group of students.

Activity 3, p. 34

This activity is important because it asks students to use printed material as their

base for brainstorming (unlike the visual/pictorial prompts found in Activity 2).

Language Focus, p. 35-36

Subject-verb agreement is one of the most basic yet error-filled grammar points

for composition writers. The most common student errors are discussed.

We suggest bringing in other sentences on an overhead transparency to provide

further examples.


In this activity, students must find all the subject-verb errors in the paragraph and

correct them.






Activity 5, p. 37

In this Original Writing Practice, students must choose a topic, brainstorm

specific ideas, develop a topic sentence, and write a paragraph.

Because of the variety of levels in any writing course, some learners may need

additional help with this activity even though all of the “pieces” have been covered in

Unit 2 (and in Unit 1).

Activity 6, p. 37


Students will use Peer Editing Sheet #2 from Appendix 6.


1. Write out general topics on 3 x 5 notecards or small sheets of paper. Have

students work in groups of 3-5 students to brainstorm ideas for writing a

paragraph on specific topics from that general topic. Allow students 8-10

minutes per card and then have them exchange cards. At some point, have

students compare answers with their classmates from other groups.

2. Have students practice subject-verb agreement with other similar paragraphs that

you have typed in large font on an overhead transparency.



the glossed words). Because vocabulary is such an important point in moving to a higher

proficiency level, instructors may want their students to maintain a vocabulary journal to

correspond to the vocabulary, something that we strongly advocate. Whether or not this

particular strategy is employed, it is imperative that students acquire a large amount of

appropriate vocabulary in this course.


1. kindergarten


2. elementary school

3. organize

4. supplies

5. teacher’s aide

6. keeps

7. extremely

8. fight

9. cry

10. attend

11. create


Unit 3

The Topic Sentence

In Unit 3, students will learn what a good topic sentence looks like as well as why

a particular sentence would not be a good topic sentence. At the same time, this unit

builds upon the information found in Unit 1 and Unit 2.

OBJECTIVES

1. Learn the basics of a good topic sentence. (whole unit)

2. Evaluate the effectiveness of various topic sentences. (41-42)

3. Learn about controlling ideas. (43-47)

4. Write topic sentences that have controlling ideas. (47-50)

5. Explore keeping a journal as a way to develop writing topics. (50)

6. Write sentences with more varied patterns. (50, 55)

7. Improve use of commas. (51)

8. Understand the difference between a fragment and a comma splice. (52-55)

9. Write an original paragraph by choosing a general topic, narrowing it down, and

developing a good topic sentence with appropriate controlling ideas.

CHAPTER NOTES:

Without a good topic sentence, a paragraph will go nowhere fast. For many

writers, coming up with a general topic is not too difficult and even narrowing the topic

down is not that hard. However, they simply have a very difficult time with a solid topic

sentence, one that has a general topic with specific controlling ideas. The bulk of this

unit is devoted to controlling ideas and how they can make or break a topic sentence,

which can make or break the entire paragraph. The exercises may seem a bit easy at

times, but it is important to discuss answers as a whole class to help students make the

transition from objective exercises in this book to their own original writing.



Students read a paragraph and answer analysis questions about grammar,

vocabulary, and organization. SHIFT will be a new word (paragraph 14) to students, so

we recommend doing a prereading survey to see (1) how many students in the class can

drive, (2) how many have their license, and (3) how many can drive both a manual and an

automatic shift car. (You might also point out that SHIFT is the word used in the final

flight attendant speech on every flight upon arrival: “Please be careful when removing

items from the overhead bin as items may have SHIFTED during flight.” They have

heard this word many times but have probably not caught it since they did not know the

meaning of the word, i.e., to change place.)

The questions are straight-forward and lead you through the activity logically.


Students need to be reminded that they have to read all three of the sentences

before they try to deduce the general topic. Reading just the first one will not suffice.


This activity practices the information in “Controlling Ideas” from page 43.





Activity 4, pp. 45

Multiple choice. Students have to choose which of three sentences is the best

topic sentence. The clue here is to look for the best controlling ideas.



This exercise simulates student errors with topic sentences that lack controlling

ideas. Students have to rewrite a sentence that lacks controlling ideas.


Students will find five paragraphs that are missing the opening topic sentence.

Students must read the entire paragraph, decide which ideas control or help organize the

paragraph, and then go back and write the topic sentence including these controlling ideas

in it.

Teachers should ask questions about these paragraphs to force students to

comment on the organization, especially the controlling ideas, the organization (e.g., first,

second, third, etc.)

You may want to earmark these pages for later use when you teach concluding

sentences in the next unit.


Point out the option of keeping a journal that can serve as a springboard for new

ideas for paragraphs.





Activity 7, p. 51

This exercise practices commas in twelve related sentences. Students can look at

Appendix 3 if they need instructional help.


Students copy the sentences in Activity 7 in the correct paragraph format. They

also have to add an appropriate title.


You may have your students skip this activity is they are beyond the material.

Some students may like this type of “safe” exercise.

Since Activity 7 and 8 work with a paragraph and not unrelated sentences, you

should take advantage of this by having students point out the topic sentence, the overall

organization, the nature of the paragraph (i.e., a comparison or contrast of two countries),

etc.

Language Focus: Sentence Fragments and Comma Splices, pp. 52-53

A common error by both native and nonnative speaking students is sentence

composition. If a sentence does not have a subject OR does not have a verb, that

sentence is not a sentence but rather a fragment. Likewise, if a sentence actually consists

of several sentences that have been “connected” by commas, that sentence is called a

comma splice.


Students practice identifying fragments and comma splices and correcting them.





Activity 10, 11, 12, pp. 55-56

Students will brainstorm ideas (Activity 10, write an original paragraph (Activity

11), and analyze and edit their work through peer editing (Activity 12).

EXPANSION ACTIVITIES:

1. Have students bring in original topic sentences that either have or do not have

viable controlling ideas. Students write these on the board and other groups of

students take turns voting YES or NO as to whether or not the sentence is a good

topic sentence.


2. Continue practicing brainstorming ideas for paragraphs.

3. Divide the class into small groups of 3-4 students. Give them a general topic such

as CATS. Ask them to brainstorm the general topic and eventually come up with

a viable topic sentence with good controlling ideas. Students can vote on which

group came up with the best answer.









1. kindergarten

2. elementary school

3. organize

4. supplies

5. teacher’s aide

6. keeps

7. extremely

8. fight

9. cry

10. attend

11. create

Paragraph 14, p. 39

1. shift

2. clutch

3. advantages


Paragraph 15, p. 48

1. wealthy

Paragraph 16, p. 48

1. surroundings

2. may seem

3. quite

Paragraph 17, p. 49

1. trim

2. healthy-looking

3. fewer

4. in shape

5. overall

Paragraph 18, p. 48

1. doubt

2. foods

3. utensils

4. served

5. piping

6. addition

7. calories

8. cup

9. fat

10. heart-friendly

11. snack

12. furthermore

13. source

14. fiber


15. certain types

16. surprised

17. sales

18. soaring

Paragraph 19, p. 50

1. learners

2. foreign language

3. native language

4. stage

5. link

6. target word

7. hatchet

8. head

9. cut down

10. wheat

11. tree

12. effective


1. located

2. next to

3. each other

4. might

5. similarities

6. to a certain extent

7. temperate

8. climate

9. throughout ____

10. attract

11. colony


12. thus


Unit 4

Supporting and Concluding Sentences

Now that students have seen what a paragraph looks like, how to come up with

ideas for writing one, and what a good opening topic sentence is, it is time to work with

the middle and ending of a paragraph: the supporting sentences and the concluding

sentence.

OBJECTIVES

1. Learn how to write the “rest” of a paragraph. (whole unit)

2. See the relationship between the topic sentence, the controlling ideas in the topic

sentence, and the supporting sentences in the paragraph. (57-68)

3. Write sentences with more varied patterns. (69, 74)

4. Use correct pronouns for key nouns. (69-70)

5. Learn about the importance of staying on track, i.e., writing about ONE and only ONE

topic. (70)

6. Study the kinds of good concluding sentences. (70-74)

7. Write an original paragraph by choosing a general topic, narrowing it down, and

developing a good topic sentence with appropriate controlling ideas. (74)

CHAPTER NOTES:

Getting a topic and a good topic sentence was actually less than half the

proverbial battle here. The real meat of a paragraph is the middle, which must be good

supporting statements that follow logically from the topic sentence and the controlling

ideas. In addition, a well-composed paragraph has a solid concluding sentence. This

concluding sentence can do many things, but the information here focuses on two things:

(1) restate the main idea (from the topic sentence) OR (2) make a prediction about what

may happen (related to the paragraph topic).

It is important for you to point out that a single paragraph all alone hardly ever

really happens in the real world. In an essay, for example, a paragraph may be

sandwiched among fifteen others. In this case, the concluding statement serves as a


transition or link to the next paragraph. The concluding sentence should lead the reader

logically to the content of the next paragraph.

Activity 1, p. 59

Students read three topic sentences and then predict what information would

logically appear in a paragraph that begins with each of them. In order to predict this

accurately, learners must identify the controlling ideas. (NOTE: These three topic

sentences and their corresponding “body” or paragraph appear in Activity 2, so students

will have a chance to check their answers by analyzing a real paragraph.)


Students read the three paragraphs that the topic sentences in Activity 1 came

from. This allows students a chance to verify their answers from Activity 1 by analyzing

real paragraphs.


Students match eight supporting sentences with one of two topic sentences.


This is an important activity because it helps students add supporting details (and

sentences) to their paragraphs.

Activity 5, pp. 63-64, and Activity 6, p. 65

These two activities require students to brainstorm topics, write a topic sentence

with controlling ideas, and then create a list of questions that can help generate

supporting details.


Students read three paragraphs to analyze whether underlined sentences are good

supporting sentences or unrelated sentences. Be sure to make students explain their

reasons, especially when the sentence is judged to be unrelated.






Language Focus, p. 69, and Activity 8, p. 70

Students practice using appropriate pronouns for key nouns in their writing.


This small note is extremely important. It is connected to the recently studied

notion of “unrelated” vs. “good supporting” sentences. Writers must stay on track; they

must stick to the topic.


This exercise is a little more difficult than most because the students are not given

any information. In previous exercises, certain words or sentences were underlined and

students had to identify those as unrelated or good supporting information. Here,

however, students must work with three paragraphs, analyze them for topic sentence,

good supporting information (vs. unrelated information), and write a good concluding

sentence. The writing of the concluding sentence alone is a difficult task.





Activity 10, 11, p. 74

Students will use a topic sentence from Activity 5 to write an original paragraph

(Activity 10) and then edit their work through peer editing (Activity 11.



This note talks briefly about the fact that it is up to the writer of the information to

decide what is and what is not important information. However, a writer can only use

information that can logically occur in a paragraph with that topic sentence with those

controlling ideas.


1. Many of the activities mentioned in Units 2 and 3 can be used here with

supporting and concluding sentences.

2. Scrambled Paragraphs: Since all parts of a paragraph have been covered, teachers

can now use scrambled paragraphs as an expansion activity. Choose or write a

paragraph that has a good topic sentence, good supporting sentences, and a good

concluding sentence. Write out the sentences of a paragraph on a sheet of paper

and cut them in strips. Give groups of students the strips and have them race to

put the sentences in the correct order.








Paragraph 21, p. 59

1. cities

2. coast

3. landmarks

4. tourist spots

5. monuments

6. such


7. excitement

8. northwest

9. famous

10. rooms

11. appeal

12. own

Paragraph 22, p. 60

1. career

2. flight attendant

3. amount

4. training

5. job

6. interpersonal skills

7. customer service

8. safety

9. scenery

10. bargain price

11. wide variety

12. truly

13. worth

Paragraph 23, p. 61

1. immigrant

2. admire

3. grandmother

4. young

5. ship

6. landing

7. seamstress

8. grandfather


9. large

10. discrimination

11. world wars

12. depression

13. illnesses

14. rarely

15. accomplishments

Paragraph 24, p. 66

1. childhood

2. parents

3. strict

4. protective

5. prison

6. straight

7. cartoons

8. chores

9. laundry

10. ironing

11. mowing the lawn

12. architect

13. housewife

14. hard work

Paragraph 25, p. 67

1. pool

2. beautiful

3. maintained

4. chlorine

5. swimming pool

6. grow algae


7. rainstorm

8. chemicals

9. balanced

10. swallow

11. leaves

12. insects

Paragraph 26, p. 68

1. sweet dreams

2. asleep

3. relax

4. pleasant

5. peaceful

6. creative mind

7. effective

8. deep-breathing

9. rhythmic

10. stay awake

11. classical

12. baroque

13. developed

14. majority

Paragraph 27, p. 72

1. college

2. adjustments

3. surprised

4. hardly

5. university

6. seemed

7. mountains


8. important

9. information

10. night out

11. high school

Paragraph 28, p. 73

1. river

2. turtles

3. equipment

4. rocks

5. sand

6. vegetation

7. items

8. aquarium

9. large

10. construct

11. pond

12. back yard


1. eggs

2. prepare

3. delicious

4. boil

5. cook

6. scramble

7. mixture

8. pan

9. involves

10. skillet

11. yolk


12. spatula

13. poaching

14. involves

15. dish

16. shallow


Unit 5 Paragraph Review

This unit is a review unit for Units 1-4.

OBJECTIVES

1. Consolidate information regarding the basics of paragraphs. (whole unit)

2. Consolidate language focus material on verbs in a sentence, capitalization and

punctuation, sentence fragments and commas splices, and pronouns. (whole unit)

3. Understand articles better in composition. (85-87)

4. Learn about the importance of proofreading. (77)

5. Combine sentences to develop sentence variety. (78, 85)

6. Write original paragraphs that contain all of the necessary parts and features. (88)

CHAPTER NOTES

This unit is a chance for students (and teachers) to catch their breath a bit. All of

the basics of writing paragraphs have been covered. In this unit, students must

demonstrate mastery of the parts of a good paragraph.

If your students are already familiar with the basics of paragraph writing, then it is

possible to begin the writing course with this unit before moving into Units 6 – 10, each

of which deals with a different rhetorical mode of paragraph writing.


Students must write a good topic sentence for three independent paragraphs.


Discuss the importance of proofreading with your students. You may wish to say

that you will give a poor grade to any paper that has obviously not been proofread.



This is a straight-forward exercise on editing.





Activity 3, p. 78

Students are asked to copy their corrected sentences/paragraph from Activity 2

here. You may wish to skip this with more advanced students. For students whose

language uses a different alphabet, such copying may be helpful.

Activity 4, p. 79, and Activity 5, p. 79

These are parallel to Activity 2 and 3. You may opt to skip this if students seem

to be good at editing at this point.

Activity 6, p. 80, and Activity 7, pp. 80-81

This activity is also similar to Activity 2 and 3. It does not involve editing,

however. In Activity 6, students have to put the five sentences in the correct order and

label each as topic sentence, supporting information, or concluding sentence. In Activity

7, students copy these sentences in correct paragraph format.

Activity 8, p. 81

Students must answer four questions to analyze the content, formatting, and

organization of Paragraph 35 in the previous activity.


This is just a simple reminder that students should check each sentence as they

proofread to make sure that it is related to the topic sentence.



Students read two paragraphs and identify any unrelated sentences in each.


Students read a paragraph to edit the comma errors. (Students can refer to

Appendix 3 for help if they need to.)


This is a proofreading activity but with a new twist. The writer has written

questions in the margin for the editor (a classmate) to answer. Answering these questions

will give the writer feedback regarding the paragraph.





Language Focus: Articles, pp. 85-86, and Activity 12, p. 87

Articles are tiny words, but they are extremely problematic for students. Some

will omit articles; others will add articles; still others will confuse articles. Some basic

rules of article usage in writing are covered. In Activity 12, students must practice these

rules.

Activity 13 and 14, p. 88

Students will brainstorm ideas and write an original paragraph (Activity 13) and

analyze and edit their work through peer editing (Activity 14).

Activity 15, p. 88

This is an important listing of additional writing assignments. The number and

exact scope of any extra assignments are up to the instructor.



1. For further practice, use paragraphs in Units 1-4 for any of the expansion

activities described up to now. As long as students have their books closed, this

can be a good activity.








Paragraph 30, p. 76

1. request

2. submit

3. academic records

4. paperwork

5. reaches

6. deadline

7. accepted

8. quota

9. semester

10. steps

11. quickly

12. easily

Paragraph 31, p. 76

1. bridge

2. suspension

3. rises


4. wood

5. rope

6. steep canyon

7. adventure-seeking

8. attempt

9. narrow

10. goal

11. amazing

12. sight

Paragraph 32, p. 77

1. young

2. public

3. excited

4. seat

5. crowd

6. grew

7. band

8. guitars

9. blared

10. drums

11. crashed

12. deafening

13. arena

14. ached

15. throat

16. sore (throat)

17. rock concert

18. grown-up

Paragraph 33, p. 78


1. hockey

2. skate

3. score

4. hit

5. goalie

6. perhaps

Paragraph 34, p. 78

1. southern

2. beverage

3. stir

4. dissolve

5. mixture

6. brew

7. definitely

8. refresh

Paragraph 35, p. 80

1. ancient

2. coin

3. mast

4. shipbuilder

5. variety

6. location

7. active

8. frigate

9. shipbuilding

10. tradition

11. roots

12. disaster

13. crew


14. afterlife

15. sailor

16. ferry

Paragraph 36, p. 82

1. frozen

2. harsh

3. Arctic

4. amount

5. land

6. percentage

7. region

8. scenery

9. extremely

10. be accustomed to _____

11. Inuit

12. desert

13. several

14. growth

Paragraph 37, p. 83

1. bears

2. Polar bears

3. weight

4. warm

5. icy

6. winds

7. snowdrift

8. claws

9. paw

10. amazing


11. creatures

Paragraph 38, p. 84

1. historic

2. culture

3. zoo

4. giant

5. cubs

Paragraph 39, p. 85

1. Everglades

2. unique

3. gigantic

4. fresh water

5. marsh

6. environment

7. hundreds

8. flooding

9. lake

10. wide

11. variety

12. drain

13. worse

14. management

15. dams

16. canals

17. generations

Paragraph 40, p. 87

1. grandchildren

2. great-grandchildren


3. relatives

4. experience

5. seafood

6. red beans

7. one kind of _____

8. stew

9. cookbook

10. memory

11. agree

12. conclusions

13. ability


Unit 6 Definition Paragraphs

This unit introduces students to definition paragraphs. Students will learn how to

write concise definitions of a term. Writing a concise definition requires students to use

adjective clauses, which is the main grammar focus of unit 6.

OBJECTIVES

1. Learn what a definition paragraph is (89)

2. Study and analyze examples of definition paragraphs (90-95)

3. Combine sentences for sentence variety. (95, 103-107)

4. Use quotation marks to cite taken information (95-98)

5. Include specific, relevant examples in writing. (99-100)

6. Use adjective clauses in constructing definition sentences (100-103)

7. Write an original definition paragraph by choosing a general topic, brainstorming

it, narrowing it down, developing a good topic sentence with appropriate

controlling ideas, including cited information with quotation marks. (107-108)

CHAPTER NOTES

Unit 6 is the first of five paragraphs that deal with a specific rhetorical mode, i.e.,

type of paragraph writing. Unit 6 introduces students to the basics of composing a

definition paragraph.

We suggest that you begin with a definition. Ask students to define terms that

they know but that someone else might not know. This could be a word from their

language. It could be a kind of food that they like but that most people would not know.

It could be something related to a hobby of theirs that most people would not know.

Students will need to use an adjective clause in their sentences, so this is a natural lead

into the grammar focus of this unit.

If you want your students to see the bigger picture here, then try to show how a

definition paragraph could fit into an essay. This is important because a definition


paragraph by itself is a rare occurrence. For example, if the essay is comparing two plans

or two medicines, the writer will need to define the two plans or the two medicines. Such

an essay might have an introductory paragraph followed by a definition paragraph

followed by the body of that essay (which might be a compare-contrast chunk of writing).

In this unit, students will study how to write a good topic sentence for definition

paragraphs. Most of the activities in this unit require students to study example

paragraphs and interact with them or analyze them.

Activity 1, p. 90

Students will study and analyze a definition paragraph on gumbo, one on gossip,

and one on pretzels. Follow the questions for a good analysis of this material.






This writer’s note covers the use of quotation marks for citing material taken from

other sources. First, discuss what students know about quotation marks. They will bring

up their use for enclosing direct statements. Then move to this new use of quotation

marks. Teachers may wish to bring in other forms of citation, depending on the goals of

the particular writing course, e.g., write a research paper, write a thesis, etc.


This activity practices inserting quotation marks in the correct place. It covers

both words taken from a book and words spoken by someone.

Activity 3, p. 97; Activity 4, p. 98, Activity 5, pp. 99-100

In Activity 3, students have to number seven sentences in the correct sequence to

form a coherent definition paragraph. In Activity 4, students copy the sentences in their


own writing in correct paragraph format, including indentation. In Activity 5, students

must answer six questions to analyze the content and composition of this paragraph.


Students study when, where, and how to include an example in their writing to

make their message more powerful.

Language Focus: Adjective Clauses, pp. 100-101

Students learn how to construct an adjective clause. (If you are using Houghton

Mifflin’s TOP 20, have students work on the unit with adjective clauses at this time.)


Students study a definition paragraph about a hurricane. Students have to identify

the adjective clauses in the paragraph and then label the relative pronouns and nouns that

the clauses describe.


Students write sentences with adjective clauses.


This is one of the longest writer’s notes in the book. This note discusses how to

have more variety in student writing.


In this activity, students find three paragraphs that are each missing one sentence.

Students are given the chunks or pieces that must be combined logically into a correct

sentence. Students must then copy this sentence into the paragraph. This activity serves

two purposes: (1) students practice sentence combining and (2) students have a chance to

see how a single sentence (that they have composed) fits (or does not fit!) into the bigger

picture (here, a paragraph)






Activity 9, p. 107


specific ideas, develop a topic sentence, and write a definition paragraph.



earlier units.

Activity 10, p. 108


Students will use Peer Editing Sheet #6 from Appendix 6

Activity 11, p. 108

This is an important listing of five additional writing assignments. The number

and exact scope of any extra assignments are up to the instructor.


1. For further practice, have students find examples of definition paragraphs.

2. For many students, writing good, varied topic sentences for definition paragraphs

may be the hardest part. To work on this, have students create numerous topic

sentences for definition paragraphs and then critique these with in a peer-editing

setting.









Paragraph 41, p. 90

1. definition

2. thick

3. a dish

4. mix

5. peppers

6. sausage

7. a delicacy

8. tasty

Paragraph 42, p. 92

1. harmless

2. grow

3. facts

4. add

5. damage

Paragraph 43, p. 94

1. originally

2. as a matter of fact

Paragraph 44, p. 98

1. a hatchet

2. gain

3. among

4. sound (verb)

5. alike


6. native language


1. storm

2. hurricane

3. dangerous

4. tidal

5. flood

6. mostly

7. modern technology

8. strike

9. case

10. resident

11. track

12. movement

13. weather phenomena

Paragraph 46, p. 105

1. patience

2. ability

3. result

4. misbehave

5. polite

6. customer

7. clerk

8. lack

9. nowadays

10. a civilized society


1. folly


2. purchase

3. waste

4. barren

5. gold


1. relationship

2. guess

3. pottery

4. wax

5. crack

6. worthless

7. brand-new


Unit 7 Process Analysis Paragraphs

This unit introduces students to process analysis paragraphs. Students will learn

how to analyze a task by listing the steps in the task. The main grammar focus for this

type of writing is the use of transition words and chronological order.

OBJECTIVES

1. Learn what a process analysis paragraph is; study and analyze examples of this

kind of paragraph (109-115)

2. Organize information correctly in a process analysis paragraph (116-118)


4. Use index cards to manage information. (115)

5. Use appropriate transition words and chronological order (whole unit)

6. Consider which words the audience may or may not know (118)

7. Use commas with transition words (119)

8. Write an original process analysis paragraph by choosing a general topic,

brainstorming it, narrowing it down, developing a good topic sentence with

appropriate controlling ideas, including cited information with quotation marks.

(120-121)

CHAPTER NOTES

Unit 7 teaches students about the process analysis paragraph. It is, simply put, a

paragraph that tells the steps in doing something or the subtasks in a larger task.

However, dividing a task into smaller specific tasks is difficult for many writers. Writers

need to remember their audience. The audience does not know the steps in the process,

so the writer must be sure to define terms that may be new and to explain all steps to the

audience.

In this unit, students will study how to write a good topic sentence and a concise

listing of the subtasks of the material in process analysis paragraphs. Most of the


activities in this unit require students to study example paragraphs and interact with them

or analyze them.


Students will study and analyze a process analysis paragraph on eating a taco, one

on applying to a university, and one on Turkish coffee. Follow the questions for a good

analysis of this material.






Bring in some note cards for your students. Have them make note cards for

material. There is no better way to learn about this than actually doing it.

Language Focus: Transition Words and Chronological Order, p. 115

The material here is self-explanatory. Many students like lists. Study the list on

p. 116 as a group. See if students can come up with any other words for this list. What

you want to stress is how difficult it is for a reader to keep up with the steps if they are

note clearly identified either by number (which is boring!) or by transition words (which

is better writing).


Students have to put eight sentences in the correct sequence.

Activity 3, p. 117

Students copy the sentences from Activity 2 in correct order in correct paragraph

format. They also have to give the paragraph a good title. More advanced students may

skip this activity.


Activity 4, p. 118

Students answer four questions to analyze the content and organization of the

paragraph that they sequenced in Activity 2 and copied in Activity 3.


Remind students to keep their audience in mind. If a student is writing a process

analysis paragraph about how to clean an aquarium, it is important for him to remember

that the reader may or may not know the vocabulary associated with an aquarium (pump,

gravel, etc.). Unknown or technical words must be defined for the audience.

Activity 5, p. 119

Students have to put ten sentences in the correct sequence and add commas where

necessary. Have students guess the content of the sentence from the artwork.

Activity 6, p. 120

Students copy the sentences from Activity 5 in correct order in correct paragraph

format. They also have to add commas where needed and give the paragraph a good title.

More advanced students may skip this activity.


This note urges writers to go back and check their work for agreement between

nouns and possessive adjectives.






Activity 7, p. 121


specific ideas, develop a topic sentence, and write a process analysis paragraph with

correct transition words.



earlier units.

Activity 8, p. 121



Activity 9, p. 121




1. Have students find samples of process analysis paragraphs (or even a list of the

steps of a process) in books or on the internet. Have students read their finding

out loud and let other students guess what the process is.

2. As an alternative, read only the even-numbered steps to see if anyone can guess

what it is. (The point here would be that without some of the steps, it is much

harder to guess what the process is; hence, student writers should not assume that

readers know some of the steps in the process that they have chosen to write

about.)

3. Scramble sentences from process analysis paragraph and have students put the

sentences in the logical order. Point out the transition words. (This could be done

on an overhead transparency.)










1. juicy

2. blouse

3. smart

4. such as

5. attack

6. gently

7. raise

8. corner

9. bite

10. messy


1. apply

2. early

3. require

4. a money order


1. worth

2. a coffee pot

3. handle

4. teaspoon



1. hit

2. opposite

3. swing

4. volley

5. reach

6. peak

7. toss

8. position

9. shoulders

10. elbow

11. sky

12. knee

13. quite

14. left-handed


1. jar

2. oxygen

3. stem

4. sunlight

5. tiny

6. bubbles

7. temperature

8. science experiment

9. prove

10. quart

11. tight

12. lid

13. tape


14. goldfish

15. tightly

16. layers


Unit 8 Descriptive Paragraphs

This unit introduces students to descriptive paragraphs. The main goal of this unit

is for students to use more descriptive information in their writing, whether it be in the

form of simple adjectives, a series of adjectives, adjective clauses, or “feeling” nouns or

verbs. Students need their writing to do more than report the obvious facts.

OBJECTIVES

1. Learn what a descriptive paragraph is; study and analyze examples of this kind of

paragraph (122-129)

2. Examine the role of adjectives in better descriptive writing. (130-137)

3. Understand the power of the connotation (vs. denotation) of adjectives. (134-137)

4. Use prepositional phrases of location to add descriptive information. (138-145)

5. Write an original descriptive paragraph (that exhibits a variety of adjective usage)

by choosing a general topic, brainstorming it, narrowing it down, and developing

a good topic sentence with appropriate controlling ideas. (138)

CHAPTER NOTES

Unit 8 teaches students about descriptive paragraphs and more generally about

better descriptive writing. Students work with simple adjectives, series of adjectives,

adjective clauses, and even using prepositional phrases of location to describe their

information better. Writers should do more in their sentences so that readers do not leave

their writing with vague or simple snapshots of what the writer was trying to say.

Opening Activity, p. 123

Students read a paragraph and look for the descriptive language, i.e., the

adjectives. In “Describing with the Five Senses,” students will relate the five senses to

specific original examples.


Activity 1, p. 124

Students will take their examples from the previous exercise and expand upon

them by identifying descriptive words for each.

Activity 2, p. 124

Students will write original sentences with the descriptive words from Activity 1.


Students will study and analyze a descriptive analysis paragraph on the subway,

one on a tornado, and one on a special garden. Follow the questions for a good analysis

of this material.

Language Focus: Adjectives, p. 130

This is the introduction to the importance of using adjectives in good descriptive

writing.


This note is on the correct sequencing of adjectives in a series.

Grammar Note, p. 131

This note deals with linking verbs. The term predicate adjective may or may not

be useful to your students, depending on how much grammatical terminology you wish to

use.


Many students find this activity very easy.

Activity 5, p. 132

This is a fun activity. Students produce some interesting sentences, so this is an

activity where you will want students to share / compare answers.



This activity is similar in nature to Activity 5, but it requires more thought.

Students who found Activity 4 or 5 easy will be more challenged here.






This note encourages students to crosscheck their findings in any bilingual

dictionary to ensure that a found word is really the intended word/meaning that the writer

was looking for.

Language Focus: Denotation and Connotation, pp. 134-135

Have students think of an item or idea or action that has two or more names for it.

Have students decide whether one name is “better” or “more polite” or “more technical”

than the other. In other words, even with the same denotation, two words can have

different connotations.


Practice with positive and negative connotations.


This is a cool activity. Two paragraphs on the same topic, a description of a river

scene, have the same number of sentences, a similar number of words, and the same

number of phrases or clauses. The differences are in the adjectives that the describe the

nouns. Have students notice how the meaning of the paragraphs is affected by the use of

certain adjectives.

Activity 9, p. 137


Students fill in the missing adjectives to form a coherent descriptive paragraph.

You may skip the copying part at the end. The most important part is to have students

see how the adjectives “color” the paragraphs.

Language Focus: Prepositions of Location, p. 138

Students know simple prepositions, but this list looks at AHEAD OF, ON TOP

OF, THROUGHOUT, and AMONG. Point out how adding the location of the action or

the noun with a prepositional phrase can actually add “color” to the sentence.

Activity 10, p. 139

Students have to write 5 original sentences describing their classroom (or any

room).


Students analyze the use of prepositional phrases of location in a paragraph about

a room and a paragraph about the Statue of Liberty. Answering the questions is sufficient

for this exercise because the questions are quite detailed.


This note discusses word order with prepositional phrases of location. Use of

commas is also discussed.

Activity 12, p. 144

Students analyze a paragraph describing a person to identify prepositional phrases

with particular emphasis on the objects within those phrases.






Activity 13, p. 145


specific ideas, develop a topic sentence, and write a descriptive paragraph with

appropriate adjectives and prepositional phrases of location.



earlier units.

Activity 14, p. 145



Activity 15, p. 145




1. One step below writing a good descriptive paragraph is the ability to include more

and more varied descriptive words and phrases in one’s writing. Have students

look at different paragraphs to identify why one author’s work is very colorful or

descriptive and another’s is not.

2. Have students bring in paragraphs from short stores on the Internet that are

descriptive. These could typically be paragraphs in a dramatic story in which the

author is trying to “paint” the scene in detail.

3. Bring a paragraph to class that you have gone through and cut out all the

descriptive adjectives. Have students add logical adjectives. See which student

writes the most descriptive paragraph.










1. strong

2. giant

3. urn

4. fascinated

5. copper

6. swirl

7. craftsmen

8. village

9. exotic

10. aroma

11. brew

12. velvet


1. underground

2. event

3. subway

4. staircase

5. increase

6. noise

7. poster

8. deep

9. palm tree

10. faraway



1. slender

2. horrible

3. neighborhood

4. huge

5. wild

6. beast

7. winds


1. bush

2. rip out

3. delicate

4. bright

5. replacement

6. smile

7. armful

8. enjoy


1. forest

2. environment

3. fresh

4. compete

5. perch

6. the supply

7. shade

8. healthy

9. grassy

10. bank (of a river)



1. sluggish

2. scrawny

3. struggle

4. pollute


(Students supply key vocabulary here.)


1. living room

2. wooden

3. bookcase

4. lamp shade

5. arrange

6. a sofa

7. stripe

8. coffee table

9. legs (of a table)

10. sailboat


1. freedom

2. structure

3. robes

4. continent

5. symbol

6. amazing


1. paralegal


2. curly

3. makeup

4. blush

5. chain

6. eyeglasses

7. lose

8. I.D.

9. law firm


Unit 9 Opinion Paragraphs

This unit introduces students to opinion paragraphs. Students will learn how to

separate facts from opinions. The main grammar focus that is emphasized here is the

accurate use of word forms.

OBJECTIVES

1. Learn what an opinion is; study and analyze examples of this kind of paragraph

(146-152)

2. Separate facts from opinions. (152-153)

3. Work on using word forms for various parts of speech of the same base

vocabulary. (153-156)

4. Sequence material in an opinion paragraph in a logical way. (157-158)

5. Choose topics that are most suitable for an opinion paragraph. (158)


7. Write an original opinion paragraph by choosing a general topic, brainstorming it,

narrowing it down, developing a good topic sentence with appropriate controlling

ideas. (159)

CHAPTER NOTES

Unit 9 teaches students about the opinion paragraph. This writing style is

connected to persuasive writing or argumentative as well. If you are expressing your

opinion, you are in essence defending it and even promoting it. At the very least, your

writing should influence the reader; thus, an opinion paragraph can be persuasive or

argumentative.

In this unit, students will study how to write a good topic sentence and a concise

listing of the subtasks of the material in process analysis paragraphs. Most of the

activities in this unit require students to study example paragraphs and interact with them

or analyze them.



Students will study and analyze an opinion paragraph on dying with dignity, one

on Coke and Pepsi preferences, and one on the pros and cons of wearing school uniforms.

Follow the questions for a good analysis of this material.


Writers cannot give only their own opinion all the time. At times, it is important

to acknowledge the opposing view. This note talks about the importance of at least

acknowledging the opposition as a tool for gaining familiarity.

Activity 2, p. 152

Students must identify good and bad topic sentences for opinion paragraphs.


Students have to identify two facts and two opinions from the previous paragraph

on medicides. The students here learn that information is rarely black and white.





Language Focus: Word Forms, pp. 153-155

Using the correct word form is tough for learners at this level. However, stress to

your students the importance of moving beyond the traditional listing of word forms.

They need to make an attempt to include many different word forms in their written

English. .

Activity 4, p. 156

Students must identify words that do not have an error with word form and those

that have a word form error.



Students must read six sentences, identify them as F (fact) or O (opinion), and

then put them in logical sequential order.


Simple copying. Students copy the sentences from Activity 5 in paragraph

format.

Choosing a Topic for an Opinion Paragraph

This part teaches students how to look at both sides of an opinion, especially

when trying to decide if a particular topic is or is not suitable for an opinion paragraph.





Activity 7, p. 159


specific ideas, develop a topic sentence, and write an opinion paragraph following the

guidelines in the textbook.



earlier units.

Activity 8, p. 159




Activity 9, p. 159




1. Opinions abound. This should be one of the easiest rhetorical modes to find a

sample for in a book, newspaper, magazine, or Internet site.

2. Students need additional help editing. I personally like “Lucky 7,” which means

that the task has 7 mistakes or 7 problems or 7 people. Put examples of opinion

paragraphs on the board. The papers could be from the students who wrote (or

miswrote) the paragraphs; be sure NOT to show the names of the writers.









1. government

2. pain

3. hardship

4. hope


1. advertising

2. better

3. fizz

4. recognizable


5. greatness

6. mind


1. reasons

2. equal

3. choice


1. rays

2. disease

3. deadly

4. treat

5. harmful

6. ultraviolet rays

7. evidence

8. persuade


Unit 10 Narrative Paragraphs

This unit introduces students to narrative paragraphs. Here students will learn the

important features of good narrative paragraphs. Students will learn what topics make

better candidates for this important kind of writing and how to develop these topics into a

good narrative paragraph with a solid beginning, middle, and end.

OBJECTIVES

1. Learn what a narrative paragraph is; study and analyze examples of this kind of

paragraph (160-167)

2. Write good topic sentences and supporting details for descriptive writing. (168-

170)

3. Use verb tenses consistently. (170-176).

4. Write sentences with more variety in their structure and patterns. (159, 176)

5. Write an original narrative paragraph by choosing a general topic, brainstorming

it, narrowing it down, and developing a good topic sentence with appropriate

controlling ideas. (177)

CHAPTER NOTES

Unit 10 teaches students about narrative paragraphs, the last rhetorical mode of

paragraph writing that is covered in this book.

Since good teachers try to work from the known to the unknown, from the

familiar to the new or unfamiliar, try to make use of the fact that many students write in a

daily journal. You should stress the similarities and then differences between journal

writing and a narrative paragraph. Journals are narrative accounts, but narrative

paragraphs are more tightly organized.


This note focuses on the fact that good narrative paragraphs must have a solid

beginning, middle, and end.



Students will analyze three different narrative paragraphs to see why each is or is

not a strong narrative source of writing. Follow the questions after each of the three

paragraphs; these will make the exercise run smoothly.

Activity 2, p. 168

Students must decide whether certain titles are more likely to be good candidates

for narrative writing than others.


Students must read seven sentences that narrate one person’s experiences during a

big earthquake and then put the sentences in the correct sequence.


Students copy the sentences from Activity 3 in correct paragraph format and add a

suitable title. Students must also identify the topic sentence (background information),

beginning of story, middle of story, and end of story.





Language Focus: Verb Tense Consistency, pp. 170-171

Students will hear about the need to use verb tenses consistently. Paragraph 73

serves as an illustration of the material in this language focus.


Activity 5, p. 172

Students must underline all the verbs in a narrative about a first job and then make

corrections to the verbs that have errors. This activity is harder than most students

initially expect it to be.


This is a cool exercise! Students get to become the teacher! There are 5 teacher

comments about 5 short narrative paragraphs. Students must match the teacher’s

comments with the appropriate paragraphs!





Activity 7, p. 176


specific ideas, develop a topic sentence, and write a narrative paragraph following the

guidelines in the textbook. Students are encouraged to check their verb tenses here.

Consistency is key!



earlier units.

Activity 8, p. 177



Activity 9, p. 177





1. Finding additional narrative material is not hard, especially in an ESL setting.

Like opinion paragraphs earlier, this should be one of the easiest rhetorical modes

to find a sample of in a book, newspaper, magazine, or Internet site.

3. Students need additional help editing. I personally like “Lucky 7,” which means

that the task has 7 mistakes or 7 problems or 7 people. Put examples of opinion

paragraphs on the board. The papers could be from the students who wrote (or

miswrote) the paragraphs; be sure NOT to show the names of the writers.









1. conquer

2. fear

3. public speaking

4. assignment

5. mirror

6. podium

7. audience

8. breathe

9. flowed


1. nightmare


2. turn around

3. public address system

4. cap

5. be lost

6. toward

7. hug


1. embarrassing

2. skirt


1. track team

2. scheduled

3. uniform

4. active

5. lonely

6. courage

7. classmates

8. develop


1. earthquake

2. measure

3. violent

4. side-to-side movement

5. rumble

6. shake

7. stucco

8. collapse

9. uneventful


10. unforgettable

11. a sixth sense

12. peaceful

13. tragedy

14. unexpected

15. disaster

16. doorway


1. paperwork

2. document

3. bank statement

4. landscape

5. embassy

6. patiently

7. guard

8. warm-blooded

9. personnel

10. frightened

11. baby-faced

12. employee

13. shocked

14. experience


1. assistance

2. business car

3. launch ( a new career)


1. unfortunate


2. healthy

3. reddish

4. stuff

5. tripe

6. tongue

Paragraph 76, p. 173-174

1. yard

2. scream

3. veterinarian

4. operate

5. cast


1. comfortable

2. banners

3. sports teams

4. twin bed

5. dresser

6. knobs

7. novel

8. closet


1. nightmare

2. backpack

3. missing

4. headquarters

5. steal

6. purse

7. valuables


8. suggest

9. garbage

10. robbers

11. duplicate


1. trick

2. fail

3. cheat

4. restroom

5. switch

6. meanwhile

7. furious

8. right-handed

9. check marks ( )

10. trouble


Unit 11 Paragraphs in an Essay: Putting It All Together

This unit introduces students to the basics of an essay. This unit helps students to

see the similarities between writing paragraphs and essays and to understand how

paragraphs function in a longer essay. The teaching strategy here, however, is not to

teach the essay as independent, separate form of writing—even though it is different from

a paragraph in many ways—but rather as a continuation or elaboration of a paragraph.

We believe that this approach will help students retain the strategizing and organizing

skills that they have developed in the earlier ten units here that deal with paragraphs.

OBJECTIVES

1. Understand what an essay is. (178-180)

2. Compare and contrast the structure of a paragraph and an essay. (181)

3. Differentiate paragraph topics from essay topics. (181-182)

4. Analyze examples of essays. (182-184, 188-189)

5. Learn about the organization of an essay. (184-191)

6. Write a guided essay by brainstorming ideas, writing the body paragraphs, and

peer editing other students’ work. (191-194)

CHAPTER NOTES

It is not enough for students to understand how to write a single paragraph

because real world demands on our students are such that they will rarely have to write a

single well-developed paragraph (except as part of some essay exams). Students must be

able to transfer their organizing skills from paragraph writing to essay writing. They

continue to need a great deal of work on choosing a good topic.

The material in this unit can serve as a bridge for students making the transition

from writing paragraphs to writing essays.


Opening information, pp. 178-179

This is designed to hit the high points of what a paragraph is. In a few pages, the

book will work to show students that essay structure is actually very similar to paragraph

structure; thus, it is important that students know the structure of a paragraph well so that

they can see the similarities.


This is a very short exercise (only 3 questions) that may serve as a warm up to the

unit. The questions seek to identify students’ previous experience and perhaps

perceptions of essays in English.


For each of five problems, there are two thesis statements. Students must identify

which is more appropriate for a paragraph and which is more suitable to an essay.

Essay 1, p. 183

Point out the role of the parts that are underlined or in bold. Point out the

structure of any individual part, e.g., the topic sentence in paragraph 3. Use this sample

essay to show the similarities in parts or features of paragraphs and essays.


This note mentions the true importance of more and more academic vocabulary.

A student’s writing cannot be seen as growing or becoming more academic unless there

is a growth in the writer’s vocabulary use.


Five essay thesis statements are given. Students are to complete a roman numeral

level only outline of these five paragraphs. The first three have been done for the

students.


Activity 4, p. 187

Students compare their answers in Activity 3, pp. 186-187.


Students read Essay 2 and then answer the analysis questions on the next page.

Appendix 6, pp. 189-191

The assignment is to complete the outline for Essay 2. The missing chunks can be

determined by reading and grasping the content of the essay.


Students practice brainstorming for an essay in a “guided” exercise. In the

previous units, students are gradually weaned from any real help from the textbook when

they are brainstorming. Because this is the students’ first attempt at brainstorming for an

essay topic, we have included an essay that does not require students to “sink or swim.”

Instead, we have set up an exercise that leads the student writers through the process.

Have students read the topic and then follow the directions.

Activity 8, pp. 193

Students practice original essay writing within by filling in the body paragraphs of

an essay on the advantages of city life.

Activity 9, p. 194



Activity 10, p. 194





1. Students need to see MANY more essays. If you have a good group, have them

search on the Internet or in the library for more essay samples that (1) are of real

interest to them and (2) contain appropriate language and vocabulary.

2. Have students write outlines of essays.

3. As a group/class, have students brainstorm specific essay themes / titles based on

a generic title. Put the class into groups of 3 or 4. Explain that they must come

up with an essay theme / title and then write a simple five-item (four or six is o.k.,

too) outline. (Number 1 will be introduction and the last will be conclusion.) For

example, you might write the term “DESSERTS” on the board. Give students a

specific time limit of, say, ten minutes to have their outline ready. You may wish

to give each group an overhead transparency and a pen so they can write their

outline on the OHP sheet and then present their ideas to the entire class. (If you

have too many groups in the class, this can be monotonous, so try to limit the

number of presentations to four or five. Those who do not present for

DESSERTS can present the next topic.)

4. Cut up paragraphs of an essay to have students unscramble them in the correct

order.

5. For specific practice, give everyone a copy of the same essay, but remove ONE

paragraph in advance. Students in class need to brainstorm to figure out the

content of the missing paragraph. Teacher listens to students’ ideas and writes

them on the board or overhead. Students talk about the ideas one by one to say

whether each is plausible or not. For homework, have students write the missing

paragraph based on the class discussion.









Essay 1, p. 41, p. 90

1. mass-produced

2. relatively

3. antibiotics

4. plague

5. swell

6. retreat

7. harm

Essay 2, p. 188

1. disregard

2. in contrast

3. impact

4. role

5. widespread

6. entwined

7. behaviors

8. sympathetic

9. conversely

10. potential

Essay 3, p. 193

1. routine

2. approximately

3. culturally diverse

4. obvious

5. afford


6. tranquility


Appendices

The appendices can be used in any order, but it is important that teachers be aware of the

content presented in them.

Appendix 1 covers the basic steps of writing a paragraph. This appendix shows how a

student successfully follows the seven steps and produces a coherent, cohesive paragraph

about a Louisiana dish called gumbo. We suggest you find some time to go through this

appendix before the students go about writing their first paragraph from scratch. (Several

of the early exercises in Unit 1 and 2 requires mere copying or writing of paragraphs that

we know do not follow the correct sequence of brainstorming, first draft, second draft,

etc.)

Appendix 2 focuses on capitalization. This appendix consists of two parts. The first part

is a set of basic rules; the second part is actual practice with capitalization.

Appendix 3 focuses on punctuation. This appendix provides instruction and pertinent

practice in end punctuation, commas, apostrophes, quotation marks, semicolons, and

editing of errors.

Appendix 4 provides additional grammar practice in three key areas: verb tenses,

articles, and editing for errors.

Appendix 5 contains Building Better Sentences exercises. We strongly suggest that

some time be spent on the strategies for combining sentences presented on pp. 229—230

before students attempt the activities. It is at this point that students will probably have

questions about word order and punctuation usage.


Appendix 6 is a list of peer editing sheets for students to use with each other. Students

are much more likely to give relevant feedback if they are looking for specific elements

within an outline or an essay. The questions are specifically designed to concentrate the

students’ attention on specific points.


Below is a list of vocabulary words from the paragraphs in the appendices.

Because vocabulary is such an important point in moving to a higher proficiency level,

instructors may want their students to maintain a vocabulary journal to correspond to the

vocabulary, something that we strongly advocate. Whether or not this particular strategy

is employed, it is imperative that students acquire a large amount of appropriate

vocabulary in this course.


1. article

2. issue

3. Prime Minister

4. economic

5. ties

6. reestablish

7. sort

8. cooperation


1. cross

2. directly

3. certainly

4. twice

5. carry



1. foreign

2. inspire

3. abroad


1. globe

2. destroy

3. area

4. heavy

5. damage

6. amazingly

7. reaction

8. broadcast


1. desert

2. earth

3. dry

4. rainfall

5. canyon

6. sand


1. review

2. wish

3. face

4. greatest

5. triumph

6. king

7. survive


8. range

9. well-written

10. conflict

11. talented

12. independent

13. character

14. plot

15. turns

16. outcome

17. story

18. disappoint

19. praise


1. tuna salad

2. a can

3. flake

4. fork

5. mayonnaise

6. slice

7. easy-to-make ______

8. treat


1. infamous

2. moment

3. assassinate

4. theory

5. fateful day

6. bullet

7. assassin



1. routine

2. daily

3. shower


1. shortest

2. the White House

3. presidency

4. brief

5. catch

6. pneumonia

7. the army


1. soldier

2. battles

3. rich soil

4. thrive

5. agriculture

6. farmer

7. cotton

8. citrus


1. brain teaser

2. amaze

3. multiply

4. square

5. digit


6. correctly


1. among

2. geography

3. recent

4. survey

5. globe

6. capital

7. educator

8. blame

9. knowledge

10. memorization

11. material

12. regardless

13. unfortunate

14. fact


1. free service

2. monthly

3. electricity bill

4. advantage

5. power company

6. analyst

7. inspect

8. identify

9. potential

10. energy-saving _____

11. thermostat

12. air conditioning


13. efficiently


1. convince

2. intrigue

3. improve

4. success


1. surprising

2. statistics

3. a college degree

4. rather _____


1. imagine

2. tap

3. brake pedal

4. emergency

5. emergency brake

6. lower gear

7. rub

8. tire

9. curb


1. aquarium

2. sales clerk

3. report card

4. a dime store

5. a fish bowl


6. sword

7. green swordtail


1. modern technology

2. cellular phone

3. destructive

4. upset

5. (be) prone to _____

6. car accident


1. coins

2. denominations

3. regularly

4. a penny

5. monetary

6. transaction


1. oasis

2. silence

3. campus

4. hectic

5. solitude

6. shelf, shelves

7. rare

8. obscure

9. uncomfortable

10. wooden

11. a copy machine


12. sociable

13. turmoil

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