Summary of Ch. 3
Major Points:
1. Paragraphs that give examples
Examples are facts and specific cases that support a statement by illustrating it or providing a clearer picture of it. Examples answer questions like these:
- Can you explain that to me?
- Can you be more specific?
- Can you show that to me?
Remember that examples should be relevant to your topic.
2. Choosing your topic
Jonathan Gold’s topic is Street Food.
Lara Flynn Boyle’s topic is Sundays in Chicago.
Writers often think of examples first and then discover a topic they want to write about.
3. Brainstorming
Keep in mind that even if you have a topic, before you begin writing you need to brainstorm or pre-write. Think of examples and write them down. In what order do your want to present them to your readers?
Do a few drafts of your topic sentence. Which one describes your topic better? Do your examples support your topic sentence?
4. Discovery Draft
A discover draft is a rough draft that helps you understand what you want to write about. Thinking about your ideas is important when you’re gathering them; but it won’t help you write a good draft. Remember that good writing is REWRITING. Get it out of your system first, then edit it.
Verb Moods and Tenses
Below is a summary of what we discussed in class on Wednesday.
The subjunctive mood is used in dependent clauses that do the following: 1) express a wish; 2) begin with if and express a condition that does not exist (is contrary to fact); 3) begin with as if and as though when such clauses describe a speculation or condition contrary to fact; and 4) begin with that and express a demand, requirement, request, or suggestion.
- She wishes her boyfriend were here.
- If Juan were more aggressive, he’d be a better hockey player.
- We would have passed if we had studied harder.
- He acted as if he were guilty.
- I requested that he be present at the hearing.
Sequence of Tenses
Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.
Strictly speaking, in English, only two tenses are marked in the verb alone, present (as in “he sings”) and past (as in “he sang”). Other English language tenses, as many as thirty of them, are marked by other words called auxiliaries. Understanding the six basic tenses allows one to recreate much of the reality of time in his writing. The six are:
- Simple Present: They walk
- Present Perfect: They have walked
- Simple Past: They walked
- Past Perfect: They had walked
Future: They will walk.
Future Perfect: They will have walked
Problems in sequencing tenses usually occur with the perfect tenses, all of which are formed by adding an auxiliary or auxiliaries to the past participle, the third principal part.
ring, rang, rung
walk, walked, walked
The most common auxiliaries are forms of “be,” “can,” “do,” “may,” “must,” “ought,” “shall,” “will,” “has,” “have,” “had,” and they are the forms we shall use in this most basic discussion.
Present Perfect
The present perfect consists of a past participle (the third principal part) with “has” or “have.” It designates action which began in the past but which continues into the present or the effect of which still continues.
1. Betty taught for ten years. (simple past)
2. Betty has taught for ten years. (present perfect)
The implication in (1) is that Betty has retired; in (2), that she is still teaching.
1. John did his homework. He can go to the movies.
2. If John has done his homework, he can go to the movies. Infinitives, too, have perfect tense forms when combined with “have,” and sometimes problems arise when infinitives are used with verbs such as “hope,” “plan,” “expect,” and “intend,” all of which usually point to the future (I wanted to go to the movie. Janet meant to see the doctor.)
Past Perfect
The past perfect tense sets up a sequence by marking the action which began and usually was completed before the action in the main verb.
1. If I had been there, I would have said hello to her!
2. John had hoped to have won the trophy.
Thus the action of the main verb points back in time; the action of the perfect infinitive has been completed.The past perfect tense designates action in the past just as simple past does, but the action of the past perfect is action completed in the past before another action.
1. John raised vegetables and later sold them. (past)
2. John sold vegetables that he had raised. (past perfect)
The vegetables were raised before they were sold.
1. Renee washed the car when George arrived (simple past)
2. Renee had washed the car when George arrived. (past perfect)
In (1), she waited until George arrived and then washed the car. In (2), she had already finished washing the car by the time he arrived.In sentences expressing condition and result, the past perfect tense is used in the part that states the condition.
1. If I had done my exercises, I would have passed the test.
2. I think George would have been elected if he hadn’t sounded so pompous. Notice: There can be only one “would have” action group in a sentence.
Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect tense designates action that will have been completed at a specified time in the future.
1. Saturday I will finish my housework. (simple future)
2. By Saturday noon, I will have finished my housework. (future perfect)
Review
1. Judy saved thirty dollars. (past)
2. Judy will save thirty dollars. (future)
3. Judy has saved thirty dollars. (present perfect)
4. Judy had saved thirty dollars by the end of last month. (past perfect)
5. Judy will have saved thirty dollars by the end of this month. (future perfect)
Assignments
1. Choose ONE of the four topics on p.69 (Discoveries) and write a paragraph. Your paragraph should have a TOPIC SENTENCE and supporting sentences that provide examples.
Keep in mind that not every sentence you write should have an example in it. There are transitional sentences that don’t require examples. This paragraph should be at least 7-10 sentences long. If you wish to make the paragraph longer, that’s perfectly fine too.
UPLOAD your paragraph to your page on the wiki. Comment on the paragraphs written by the members of your group.
Questions to keep in mind:
What do I like best about this paragraph?
Does it have a clear topic sentence?
Are the examples interesting?
Which sentences (if any) should be moved or reorganized?
2. Are these sentences correct? Type them on a separate page, put a C(correct) or W (wrong) next to them, and bring the page to class.
- If she was in love with him, they would get married.
- It’s crucial that Bob come on time.
- If this classroom was any smaller, we’d have to go out in the hallway to change our minds.
- Doug wished that Elvis were still alive to star in a new movie set in Vegas.
- Once he had wrote a paragraph, he went upstairs to take a nap.
- Yesterday the plane have flown over our house.
- John has forbade us to play with the cats.
- I will have wash the car when they come home tomorrow.
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