Writing Course Text for Future Reference.

I extracted this text from Corsera's Crafting an Effective Writer with Ted Blake, Larry Barkley and Lorrie Ross

NOUNS

Nouns can be grouped into five categories: (1) persons, (2) places, (3) things, (4) living creatures, and (5) ideas/concepts. Below are some examples for each category.

1. Persons includes a sister, a grandmother, John, the teacher, fire fighter, Aunt May, a neighbor, the friend, Hoon, a boss, the colleague, a peer, the individual, and Nelson Mandela.
2. Places can be a school, Texas, a home, a store, Japan, a room, a stadium, the desert, a cave, Australia, a state, Veracruz, and a drawer.
3. Things can comprise the Statue of Liberty, a car, a computer, a cup, the Great Sphinx, a stapler, a pen or pencil, a fence, a cell phone, and the Oxford English Dictionary.
4. Living creatures are a lion, a Bengal tiger, a dog, a pig, a Siamese cat, a horse, a dolphin, a caterpillar, a Monarch butterfly, a vole, an American Robin, and a yak.
5. Ideas and concepts include Buddhism, love, freedom, money, time, the Declaration of Independence, marriage, religion, and Hinduism.

In reading through the lists of nouns, you noticed that some of the nouns are capitalized and others are not. In addition of being a person, place, thing, living creature, or concept, nouns can be common and proper. Common nouns are not capitalized. Proper nouns are capitalized.

So while the nouns adult, country, pastry, dog, and disease are common nouns, the nouns Mother Teresa, Latvia, Buche de Noel, Basenji, and Ebola are all proper nouns.

PRONOUNS

Pronouns are words that stand in for or replace nouns. There are nine categories of pronouns:

1. Subject Pronouns
2. Objective Pronouns
3. Indefinite Pronouns
4. Relative Pronouns
5. Demonstrative Pronouns
6. Possessive Pronouns
7. Interrogative Pronouns
8. Reflexive Pronouns
9. Intensive Pronouns

---

Subject pronouns include I, you, he, she, it, we, and they. As their name implies, subject pronouns always function as subjects of a sentence.

Number	Person	Case (subjective)
Singular	1st	I
	2nd	You
	3rd	She  He  It
Plural	1st	We
	2nd	You
	3rd	They

This category of subject pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the pronouns listed are the complete set. No changes or additions exist.

Below are sentences that use each of the subject pronouns as subjects.

Singular

• I ate the last piece of pizza.
• You are a very fast runner.
• She left a book in my car.
• He bought a hamburger.
• It had begun to rain.

Plural

• We always work together.
• You get bonuses every month.
• They joined the choir.

---

Objective pronouns include me, you, him, her, it, us, and them. Objective pronouns always function as objects in a sentence, for example, the direct object, the indirect object, or the object of a preposition.

Number	Person	Case (objective)
Singular	1st	Me
	2nd	You
	3rd	Him  Her  It
Plural	1st	Us
	2nd	You
	3rd	Them

This category of object pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the pronouns listed are the complete set. No changes or additions occur.

Below are sentences that use each of the object pronouns as different types of objects.

Singular

• She gave the award to me. (indirect object)
• I baked that batch of cookies sitting near you. (object of the preposition near)
• Mr. Jones met him for lunch. (direct object)
• He picked out flowers especially for her. (indirect object)
• Open the door and walk through it. (object of the preposition)

Plural

• The usher led us to our seats. (direct object)
• The company sent the merchandise directly to you. (indirect object)
• The teacher gave them more time to finish the quiz. (indirect object)

---

Indefinite pronouns can function as either subjects or objects. Also, they can be singular or plural or both (depending on the context in which they are used). The reason this is most important is because the number of the pronoun determines the number of the verb to be used, which you will study in the next unit. Singular indefinite pronouns use singular verbs. Plural indefinite pronouns use plural verbs.

• Indefinite pronouns that end in –one are always singular. These words include anyone, everyone, someone, and one.
• Indefinite pronouns that end in –body are always singular. These words include anybody, somebody, and nobody.
• Indefinite pronouns like both, many, others, and several are always plural.
• Indefinite pronouns like any, more, most, and some can be singular or plural, depending on how they are used.

Singular  Indefinite	Plural  Indefinite	Singular or  Plural
another  anyone  each  everyone  everybody  everything  much  nobody  nothing  other  someone  anybody  anything  either  little  neither  no one  somebody  something	both  few  many  others  several	all  any  more  most  none  some

This category of indefinite pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the pronouns listed are the complete set. No changes or additions exist.

Below are several examples of the indefinite pronouns as both subjects and objects.

• Everyone seems to have a social media account. (subject)
• Cheryl gave the tomato seed packages to everyone who attended. (object)
• Somebody needs to dust the furniture and mop the floor. (subject)
• We gave the boxes to somebody at the shop. (object)

Below are sentence examples of singular and plural indefinite pronouns.

• Most of the pie has been eaten. (Singular)
• Most of the pies have been eaten. (Plural)
• None of the light enters the bedroom. (Singular)
• None of the lights seem to be working. (Plural)
• Both of the men run quickly out of the room. (Plural)
• Several of the children play hop-scotch during recess. (Plural)

---

Relative pronouns include, most commonly, that, which, who, whom, whoever, whomever, and where. Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses, which you will study in Week 4.

---

Demonstrative pronouns include This, That, These, and Those and can function as subjects, objects, and adjectives.

Number	Near in Distance or Time	Far in Distance or Time
Singular	This	That
Plural	These	Those

This category of demonstrative pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the ones listed are the complete set. No changes or additions occur.

Below are several examples of sentences using demonstrative pronouns as subjects.

• This is the best place to park.
• These are the strawberries that are on sale.
• That really got to me.
• Those fell off the truck.

The following sentences use demonstrative pronouns as objects.

• “Get as close as you can to that,” he stated, pointing to the loading dock.
• “I want a handful of these,” she laughed picking up the strawberries.

Below are two sentences that use demonstrative pronouns as adjectives.

• I need a picture of those flowers.
• This phone is the one I truly want.

---

Possessive pronouns are pronouns used to refer to subjects in sentences that are specific person/people or thing/things belongingto a person/people [and sometimes to an animal(s) or thing(s)]. Possessive pronouns function as subjects, objects, and adjectives.

Number	Person	Possessive  Pronoun
Singular	1st	My/Mine
	2nd	Your/Yours
	3rd	His  Her/Hers  Its
Plural	1st	Our/Ours
	2nd	Your/Yours
	3rd	Their/Theirs

This category of possessive pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the ones listed are the complete set. No changes or additions exist.

Following are sentences that use possessive pronouns as subjects.

Singular

• Mine is the last cake on the table.
• Yours was left in the car.
• Hers came with the card attached.
• His was a mighty blow.

Plural

• Ours describe ways others might interpret art.
• Yours were the last to arrive.
• Theirs won first place.

Sentence examples using possessive pronouns as objects include.

• That backpack looks like mine.
• The restaurant’s bouillabaisse tastes similar to ours.

The following examples use possessive pronouns as adjectives.

• That is my seat in which you are sitting.
• Your seat is at the end of the row.

---

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. These pronouns represent the thing that isn’t known (what the question is asking about). Interrogative pronouns can stand in for subjects.

If the Subject is a ...	Use this pronoun...
Person	Who
Thing	What
Person/thing	Which
Person	Whose

This category of interrogative pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the ones listed are the complete set. There will be no changes or additions.

The sentences below use interrogative pronouns as subjects.

• Who borrowed my pencil?
• What is the name of the café’?
• Which seems to be the most popular?
• Whose is the red blanket?

---

Reflexive and Intensive pronouns each use the same forms.

Number	Person	Reflexive  Pronoun	Intensive  Pronoun
Singular	1st	Myself	Myself
	2nd	Yourself	Yourself
	3rd	Himself  Herself  Itself	Himself  Herself  Itself
Plural	1st	Ourselves	Ourselves
	2nd	Yourselves	Yourselves
	3rd	Themselves	Themselves

This category of reflexive and intensive pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the ones listed are the complete set. There will be no changes or additions.

Reflexive pronouns function as objects in a sentence; they show subjects performing actions on themselves.

Below are two sentences using reflexive pronouns as objects.

• He enjoyed himself painting the shed.
• Chandra and Wallace watched themselves on video prepare the meal.

Intensive pronouns emphasize another noun or pronoun. See the following examples.

• You yourself will be responsible for the delivery.
• Raul and I ourselves seem to be the only people who want to hike the gorge.

ADJECTIVES

Adjectives are words you use to modify a noun or a pronoun. In this section you will learn about three categories of adjectives: (1) descriptive adjectives, (2) proper adjectives, and (3) predicate adjectives.

---

A descriptive adjective describes a quality of the noun the adjective modifies.

• large house
• frigid night
• wide gorge
• purple plum
• green truck
• blissful sleep

---

A proper adjective is formed by using a proper noun.

• French pastry
• Shakespearian play
• Jeffersonian democracy
• African dance

---

Predicate adjectives follow the noun and are connected to the noun by a linking verb, which you will learn about in the next module. In the following examples, the predicate adjective follows the highlighted linking verb (linking verbs are discussed in the next segment):

• She seems brave.
• The bread is stale.
• He looks bored.
• The trash smells unpleasant.

The three articles in English, a, an, and the (sometimes referred to as determiners) always function as adjectives in a sentence.

PREPOSITIONS

Prepositions are words that connect nouns and pronouns to other words and show the relationship between the words. While there are hundreds of prepositions, some of the more common prepositions are:

about  along  behind  beyond  during  inside  off  over  to  up

above  among  below  but  except  into  on  since  toward  upon

across  around  beneath  by  for  like  onto  through  under  with

after  at  beside  despite  from  near  out  throughout  underneath  within

against  before  between  down  in  of  outside  till  until  without

Even though knowing individual prepositions is important, you will use prepositional phrases far more frequently. A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun and includes any words that come in between the two. Study the examples below.

• in the village
• despite the extensive remodeling project
• underneath the grey blanket
• near him
• between you and me
• with her

Note how each phrase above begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun. You will learn more about prepositional phrases as well as other phrases in Week 4.

CONJUNCTIONS

Conjunctions are words that link other words in a sentence and indicate the relationship between those words. There are four types of conjunctions:

1. coordinating conjunctions
2. correlative conjunctions
3. adverbial conjunctions
4. subordinating conjunctions

You will study conjunctions again in Week 4 when you study the different types of clauses. But for now, learn the four types of conjunctions as subcategories of one of the eight parts of speech.

---

Coordinating conjunctions join words or word groups of equal importance.

There are only seven coordinating conjunctions: 
*Use the memory word FANBOYS to help you remember all seven coordinating conjunctions.

1. For
2. And
3. Nor
4. But
5. Or
6. Yet
7. So

Examples

• The child was crying, for he had fallen and scraped both knees.
• The man and the woman walked hand and hand down the street.
• The Tan’s did not wish to visit Alaska, nor did they wish to visit Tierra del Fuego.
• She likes tea but not coffee.
• The student could play or study, but not both.
• The young man ate breakfast, yet he was still hungry.
• The game ended, so the team left the field.

---

Correlative conjunctions are word pairs that join words or words groups of equal importance.

Common correlative conjunctions include:

• not only . . . but also
• whether . . . or
• both . . . and
• not . . . but
• either . . . or
• as . . . as
• neither . . . nor

Examples

• They want to travel not only to Europe but also to Asia.
• I want either the red dress or the black shoes.
• I want both the red dress and the black shoes.
• Whether you clean your room or vacuum the house is up to you.

---

Unlike coordinating conjunctions and correlative conjunctions that link words and word groups, adverbial conjunctions join independent clauses, which you will study in Week 4.

Adverbial conjunctions tell the reader the relationship between the two main clauses. Below are common adverbial conjunctions organized by the relationship they specify.

Addition	Emphasis	Comparison  or Contrast	Cause or  Effect	Time
in addition  furthermore  moreover  further	in fact  indeed	however  nevertheless  nonetheless  otherwise  in contrast  in comparison	as a result  consequently  hence  therefore  thus	finally  meanwhile  next

---

Subordinating conjunctions are a word or group of words that introduces a subordinate clause, which you will study in Week 4.

Below are common subordinating conjunctions organized by the relationship they specify.

Cause or  Effect	Concession	Condition	Comparison  or Contrast	Purpose	Space or Time
as  because  since	though  although  even though  even if	if  since  unless  when  whenever	while  as  rather than	in order that  so that	before  since  once  after  while  when  until

Study these charts, for you will be referring to them throughout the course. You should become familiar with these words and the corresponding organizational relationship. They will help you to improve your thought and sentences as you write.

INTERJECTIONS

Interjections, the last part of speech, express surprise, emotion, or demand attention.

• Amen!
• Wow!
• Hey!
• Absolutely!
• Bless you!
• Ouch!
• Damn!

You should avoid using interjections in formal academic prose. Insert interjections in more informal writing or when you are writing dialogue.

PARTS OF SPEECH AT WORK

Before you begin reading this section, take a few moments to copy down or print this list of symbols that will be used to identify parts of speech in sentences we will be working with throughout this unit.

Part of Speech/Sentence	Symbol
Subject	S
Verb	V
Noun	N
Pronoun	P
Adjective/determiner	ADJ
Adverb	ADV
Prepositional Phrase	Prep P
Conjunction	C
Interjection	INT

The sentences that you will learn to write in this course will contain many words from the eight parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives/determiners, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections). What is even more important is that the words categorized as the eight parts of speech can do many different “jobs” in the sentences you create. The box below illustrates some of the work these elements can do for you.

Parts of Speech	Jobs They Perform in Sentences
Nouns, pronouns	Subjects (the actor/who/what) and Objects (receive the action of the actor)
Verbs	Verbs (describe the action of the actor)
Adjectives, adverbs, prepositions	Modifiers (add details and description)
Conjunctions	Conjunctions (link sentences, words)
Interjections	Interjections (exclamations)

Each part of speech, as you can see, corresponds to one or more of the writing jobs it can do. They are all really hard workers when it comes to creating sentences.

There is one more significant thing to know about the relationship between the eight parts of speech and sentences. Just as the parts of speech can do various jobs in sentences, words that make up the eight parts of speech can also multitask. In fact, many of the words in the English language can be more than one part of speech, as you already know, and can do a variety of jobs in sentences. Look at the following examples.

Word	Part of Speech	Sentences
bubbles	Noun	The bubbles floated up and away.
	verb	Water bubbles when it begins to boil.
up(s)	adverb	He climbed up to the top of the ladder.
	preposition	They went up the stairs.
	adjective	The up elevator is on the left.
	noun	She has had more ups than downs lately.
well	interjection	Well! I don’t believe it!
	adverb	The teacher spoke well of the student.
	adjective	My friend is well.
daily	noun	The daily arrives at 3:00 pm.
	adjective	Daily attendance is a requirement.
	adverb	He called her cell phone daily.

And these examples are just four of tens of thousands of words that multitask in this way. Learning the parts of speech and how they function will help you be a better writer and editor.

But, rest assured, once you have a firm grasp of English based on the descriptions of it you find here, you will better understand that this ability words have to do so many things helps to make the English language very rich and very flexible and very descriptive.

Now that you can see all of the roles English words can play in sentence structures, creating sentences for writing will become much easier for you.

For example, the noun and verb Seals performed create a complete sentence.

Now add the adjective the:

The	seals	performed.
ADJ	N	V

Add another adjective that describes the color of the seals:

The	black	seals	performed.
ADJ	ADJ	N	V

The verb, performed, doesn’t really describe the actions of the seals. Try a verb that better describes the seals’ actions:

The	black	seals	leaped
ADJ	ADJ	N	V

Leaped better describes the seals' action. Writing and reading would be rather dull if there weren’t verbs that described action. In fact, sentences sometimes contain multiple descriptive verbs. Look at the following sentence.

The	black	seals	leaped,	slid,	and	barked
ADJ	ADJ	N	V	V	C	V

Look at how this sentence gains energy and vitality when action verbs are added. (Do note that adding additional verbs also means adding commas and the conjunction and.)

There is one more thing you can do to make this sentence even more dynamic. Add adverbs and prepositional phrases to give additional details about the verbs.

The	black	seals	leaped	eagerly	out	of the water,	slid	quickly	upon the deck,	and	barked	noisily	at the spectators.
ADJ	ADJ	N	V	ADV	ADV	Prep P	V	ADV	Prep P	C	V	ADV	Prep P

By adding adverbs (words and phrases that modify verbs) to the sentence, you create a sentence that is even more specific and visual.

Now, add several adjectives. Remember adjectives are words used to add descriptive details to nouns and can be inserted in prepositional phrases.

The	sleek	black	seals	in the pool	leaped	eagerly	out	of theshimmeringwater,	slid	quickly	upon thewooden deck around the pool,	and	barked	noisily	at thestunnedspectators	in thehalf-emptybleachers.
ADJ	ADJ	ADJ	N	Prep P	V	ADV	ADV	Prep P	V	ADV	Prep P	C	V	ADV	Prep P	Prep P

Remember, this sentence began as Seals performed.

A sprinkling of action verbs and their attending adverbs, as well as a few adjectives and prepositional phrases turned this sentence into an event. As you begin to experiment with expanding sentences in this way, your writing will become word pictures that readers will be able to visualize.

CLAUSES

Again, a clause is a group of related words that contains a subject and verb.

Clauses that stand on their own are Independent Clauses. Here is an independent clause:

• The tutor discussed the paper with the student.

Some clauses, however, even though they still contain a subject and verb, cannot stand on their own. These are Dependent Clauses. Let’s add a dependent clause to the previous sentence:

• The tutor who was in the writing center discussed the paper with the student.

In the dependent clause, who functions as the subject (because it is a pronoun), was is the verb, and in the writing center is a prepositional phrase. The dependent clause modifies tutor, clarifying which tutor discussed the paper. Knowing the difference between dependent and independent clauses will be of crucial importance when you learn about the four sentence types.

Look at some examples of clauses:

• Once I find the axe . . . (dependent)
• The bunny found shelter under the tree. (independent)
• Although you lost the keys . . . (dependent)
• I cannot believe you were right! (independent)

Subordinating Conjunctions will signal dependent clauses. You learned about subordinating conjunctions in Unit 2, so take a look at the list again:

Cause or Effect	Concession	Condition	Comparison or Contrast	Purpose	Space or Time
as because since	though although even though even if	if since unless when whenever	while as rather than	in order that so that	before since once after while when until

Dependent Clauses

There are two types of Dependent Clauses, or Subordinate Clauses, that are important for you to know at this stage of your development as a writer, Adjective Subordinate Clauses and Adverb Subordinate Clauses.

Adjective Subordinate Clauses

Adjective Subordinate Clauses, as the “adjective” in the name suggests, modify a noun in a sentence. Most adjective subordinate clauses will usually begin with a relative pronoun: who, whom, that, which, whose, when, and where. You can already see that an adjective clause will give a certain type of information about a person, thing, concept, event, or place by looking over these words.

Here are some examples using each of the words in the list:

• Lydia, who was an expert climber, needed less coaching than Ava.
• The dog, to whom the treat was given, ran around in circles.
• The cars that were directed to an alternative entrance passed by the old cotton candy stand.
• Johnny found Monday, which was his birthday, quite exciting and full of surprises.
• The officer located the student whose backpack was stolen crying in the lobby.
• Do you remember the day when you lost your phone?
• I can still remember the place where I thought I left it.

In some of these cases, you may actually choose to omit the relative pronoun for stylistic reasons. Instead of “Do you remember the day when you lost your phone?”, you can simply write, “Do you remember the day you lost your phone?” In either case, you are modifying the noun “day,” but the adjective clause is not as obvious when you leave out the relative pronoun “when.”

You may notice in the examples above that sometimes you use a comma to separate the adjective subordinate clause from the sentence. When you use an adjective subordinate clause, you will need to decide whether it is a restrictive or nonrestrictive adjective subordinate clause. In many cases, you will find that which will signal a nonrestrictive clause (comma required) and that will signal a restrictive clause (no comma needed). However, this is not always the case. If you get used to thinking through the difference, you will know when to use a comma and when not to.

You need to decide whether or not the description is essential to distinguishing the noun from other nouns or not. Look at some examples:

• Suzanne chose to dance with the guy who was wearing a blue bandana.
• ("who was wearing a blue bandana" is restrictive because the writer needs to distinguish the guy from the other people at the dance.)
• Suzanne chose to dance with the guy wearing a blue bandana, which was faded.
• ("which was faded" is nonrestrictive because the writer is merely adding information about the bandana.)

Noting the distinction between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses is less important while you are drafting, but it is quite important when deciding whether or not to separate the clause from the main sentence with a comma during the editing stage of the writing process (you will learn about the writing process in the next unit).

To review, remember:

• A Restrictive Clause (no comma) narrows down all of the possibilities of the noun into one specific reference.
• A Nonrestrictive Clause (use a comma) does not restrict, or limit, the noun to a particular specific reference.

Adverb Subordinate Clauses:

In order to add concrete detail and to construct more elaborate sentences, you will need to learn about and use adverbial subordinate clauses. Adverb subordinate clauses, as the name suggests, will modify a verb by describing how, when, why, where, or under what condition something is happening or someone is doing an action. Note that these clauses, like adjective subordinate clauses, will not stand on their own. Rather, they will be added to a sentence to provide additional description and information. However, adverb subordinate conjunctions are easy to spot and use. The most noticeable characteristic of adverb subordinate clauses is that they will begin with one of the subordinate conjunctions that you learned about in Unit 2. Here is the list again:

Cause or Effect	Concession	Condition	Comparison or Contrast	Purpose	Space or Time
as because since	though although even though even if	if since unless when whenever	while as rather than	in order that so that	before since once after while when until

Although adverb subordinate clauses contain at least one subject and one verb, they begin with words that make them dependent. In other words, these clauses have to be attached to independent clauses that provide additional information in order for them to make sense.

Let’s look at some examples:

• Because it might rain, I will bring an umbrella to the festival.
• Although your mother doesn’t like him, she must admit that he plays the piano beautifully.
• Whenever we leave the beach at dinner time, we get pizza at the brewery.
• Rather than taking the freeway home, why don’t we drive the old highway 395?
• So that you don’t have to pay a fine, you better not park in front of that fire hydrant.
• After she finished the interview, Emma felt relieved.

For each of the above, notice how we have answered a potential question the reader might ask. Adverb clauses will describe the verb and add detail to your sentences. In the first example above, the adverb clause clarifies why Fiona is “bringing” the umbrella. Also, when you learn about the four sentence types, you will discover that adverb clauses create a unique type of sentence.

You should consider keeping a list of these subordinating conjunctions as you write so that you can begin to work these into your sentences. As you use them, they will become a natural part of your writing style.

Placement and Punctuation of Adverb Subordinate Clauses:

Adverb Subordinate Clauses require a comma if they are placed before the main clause. You are free to place an adverb subordinate clause before or after the main clause. Here are some examples:

• Because it might rain, I will bring an umbrella to the festival. (comma)
• I will bring an umbrella to the festival because it might rain. (no comma) 
   
• Whenever we leave the beach at dinner time, we get pizza at the brewery.
• We get pizza at the brewery whenever we leave the beach at dinner time. 
   
• Rather than taking the freeway home, why don’t we drive the old highway 395?
• Why don’t we drive the old highway 395 rather than taking the freeway home? 
   
• So that you don’t have to pay a fine, you better not park in front of that hydrant!
• You better not park in front of that hydrant so that you don’t have to pay a fine! 
   
• After she finished the interview, Emma felt relieved.
• Emma felt relieved after she finished the interview.

In each of the examples, notice how the adverb subordinate clauses can go either before or after the main sentence. The rule is simply to place a comma after the clause if it precedes the main sentence, but generally to omit the comma if it appears after the main sentence.

Which of the versions of sentences above do you prefer? Which placement (before or after) gets your attention and produces a strong sentence? Your answers to these questions will help you to begin to think about your writing style.

For greater emphasis, many writers will place adverb subordinate clauses at the beginning of their sentences rather than after. This is also true of many arguments when writers qualify their position before stating their main argument.

To review, there are two rules to remember when punctuating adverb subordinate clauses:

1. If the clause is at the beginning of the sentence, use a comma after the clause.
2. If the clause is at the end of the sentence, you will generally not use a comma.

There is, however, an exception to rule #2:

If the clause comes at the end of the sentence and is contrasting or contradictory, then you insert a comma. For example:

• He cleaned the kitchen, whereas his roommate sat on the couch eating pizza.

In this case, you use a comma because the clause comes at the end of the sentence and is also a contradictory idea.

NOUN PHRASES

   

Prepositional Phrases

   

Absolute Phrases

   

Appositive Phrases

Noun phrases may be easier for you to begin using and are the most common phrase you will encounter and use (even in other languages!). In fact, you’ve already read about and worked with some noun phrases, prepositional phrases, so let’s start there.

Prepositional Phrases:

Prepositional phrases contain a preposition and a noun. “In the writing center” is an example of a prepositional phrase.

Take the sentence we looked at above:

• The tutor, who was in the writing center, discussed the paper with the student.

We can change the clause, who was in the writing center, into a phrase by removing the modifier “who” and, most importantly, the verb “was.” We now have the phrase in the writing center. Let’s place it back in the sentence:

• The tutor, in the writing center, discussed the paper with the student.

The crucial difference is that we no longer use a verb (was). Therefore, we have a simple prepositional phrase.

Look at a few more examples:

• From my vantage point, I can see two eagles.
• Upon further review, I think you deserve an “A.”
• You’ll find the door down the hall and to the left. (two prepositional phrases)

Prepositional phrases---made up minimally of a preposition + noun or a pronoun---are the hardest working modifiers in the English language. They can act like nouns, like adjectives, and like adverbs. Because they are so robust, they can modify nouns or verbs in sentences. Prepositional phrases can add description and detail to your writing.

Here is a list of the most commonly used prepositions in English:

aboard about above according to across after against along amid among around as at atop because of before behind below beneath beside

besides between beyond but (meaning except) by concerning considering despite down during except excepting excluding following for from in inside in spite of instead of

into like minus near of off on on account of onto opposite out out of outside over past per plus round save

since than through throughout to toward towards under underneath unlike until up upon versus via with within without

Absolute Phrases:

Absolute phrases are an important type of noun phrase to know when writing because absolute phrases modify an entire clause. Many phrases modify a specific word, but absolute phrases describe the whole clause that follows or comes before it. This is helpful to you because you may like a sentence that you have written, but you want to add more detail. You can place an absolute phrase before or after the sentence as it’s written.

Here are some examples:

• Diamonds sparkling in the sunlight, the ring made its way up the wedding aisle.
• She fought off the zombies one by one, hands grabbing and punching each of them as they advanced.
• His feet rooted to the spot, the hunter listened for sounds of movement in the forest.

Absolute phrases are sometimes easily added to your sentences because you need not change the root sentence that you have written. Let’s say you started with the following sentence:

• The clerk monitored the customers.

But we can easily add to the sentence using the parts of speech that you learned in Unit 2.

• The busy clerk monitored the customers in the self-checkout area at the hardware store.

With an absolute phrase, we can add even more to this simple sentence.

• His eyes watching every scanner, the busy clerk monitored the customers in the self-checkout area at the hardware store.

The absolute phrase describes the whole sentence and provides detail about how the clerk monitors the customers. Absolute phrases are especially helpful when writing about something you have observed closely. As you may have already noticed, absolute phrases are considered a type of noun phrase because they contain at least a noun and a participle.  A participle, as you learned in Unit 3, is the –ing(present participle) or –ed (past participle) form of a verb. In most cases, you will also easily be able to add modifiers and/or objects to your Absolute Phrases.

• Diamonds (noun) sparkling (verb - present participle) in the sunlight (modifier, in this case a prepositional phrase)
• hands (noun) grabbing and punching (verbs – present participle) each (object) of them as they advanced (modifiers)
• Feet (noun) rooted (verb – past participle) to the spot (modifier)
• His eyes (noun) watching(verb – Present participle) every scanner (object)

Absolute phrases will be one of the most helpful phrases as you develop as a writer because they are so easy to add to well-crafted sentences.

Appositive Phrases:

Appositive Phrases add detail and modify a noun. Apposition means to place two things next to each other for explanation. With Appositive Phrases, you add layers of meaning to a sentence.

An appositive may be one word that modifies another noun (“My cousin Dan lives next door.”).

Like Absolute Phrases, you may add these to a sentence that you’ve already written. Appositive phrases can be added to the beginning or end of a sentence like Absolute Phrases, but they can also be added within sentences as well. Instead of containing a noun and a verb/participle, Appositive Phrases will consist of nouns and modifiers.

Here are some examples:

• His car, a rusty 1982 Ford Mustang, chugged down the road like an old mule.
• A usually calm and mild-mannered employee, Anthony erupted with a volley of barely intelligible words.
• The critic praised the lead actor, a teenager from India.

When using appositive phrases in the middle of a sentence note that you must use two commas, one before the phrase and one at the end, to separate it from the main sentence. We can add verbs to appositive phrases, as in the following example:

• The critic praised the lead actor, a teenager from India who began working at the theater and became an understudy with no formal training.

You must always place an appositive as close to the noun it is modifying as possible. Otherwise, you may end up modifying a noun you did not intend.

VERB PHRASES

   

Infinitive Phrases

   

Participial Phrases

Two types of verb phrases that you have already written will help you to add detail to sentences: Infinitive Phrases and Participial Phrases. Because each of them begins with a certain type of verb, you will refer to them as verb phrases.

Infinitive Phrases

Infinitive phrases begin with the infinitive form of a verb, to+verb:

• to swim
• to laugh
• to feel

We can make phrases from these infinitives by adding detail:

• to swim the length of the pool under water
• to laugh more often
• to feel valued and respected

We can then add these to sentences:

• To swim the length of the pool under water, he had to hold his breath for two full minutes.
• To laugh more often, the couple decided to watch more comedies.
• To feel valued and respected, students should share their talents and life experiences.

These same Infinitive Phrases can also go in a different position in the sentence to create a different emphasis. As with adverb subordinate clauses, if an infinitive phrase is placed at the end of the sentence, you do not use a comma:

• He had to hold his breath for two full minutes to swim the length of the pool under water.
• The couple decided to watch more comedies to laugh more often.
• Students should share their talents and life experiences to feel valued and respected.

Infinitive Phrases will always contain and begin with to+verb and express a goal. You will find these helpful when you are writing about what you desire to have happen or are making a plea for something that needs to happen.

Participial Phrases

Participial Phrases use the participial form of the verb. There are two types:

1. Present: -ing verbs, as in “having a good time”
2. Past: -ed verbs, as in “knocked out by a blow to the head”

Participial phrases will add action and excitement to your sentences. Look at a few examples:

• Overpowered by the strong urge to vomit, the boy ran outside.
• Running out of time, she wrote the first word that came to mind.
• Driving at nearly 120 miles per hour, the car swerved and narrowly missed a deer.
• Exhausted by the long day of rowing, he fell asleep immediately.

Notice how these sentences are more descriptive and appealing with participial phrases. As you learned in Unit 3, both participles and infinitives can be subjects of sentences. As verb phrases, though, you can use them to expand and add sophistication to your sentences.

Knowing infinitive and participial phrases can be helpful to you as you improve your writing. Remember, though, that when applying phrases to your writing, phrases, as opposed to clauses, will not stand on their own as a complete idea. Therefore, you will be using phrases to modify and add detail to your sentences.

SENTENCE TYPES

   

Simple Sentences

   

Compound Sentences

   

Complex Sentences

   

Compound-Complex Sentences

When you start to put together all the clauses and phrases you are learning, your sentences will become much different, and you will begin to create your own writing style. You will find that your way of constructing sentences will be different from other students, and this is part of the craft of writing. In fact, that is one of the reasons that writing is so interesting. An infinite number of ways exists to state your ideas.

Thankfully, though, there are NOT an infinite number of sentence types. There are only four, and they are categorized according to what type and how many independent and dependent clauses you will find in each.

Simple Sentences

Simple Sentences contain only one independent clause. These will be basic, but complete, sentences like these:

• The roses grew quickly in the wet, fertile soil.
• The balloons floated away.

Notice that each of these sentences contain some concrete detail, yet they do not have any dependent clauses. Simple sentences can have phrases in them, though. These are still simple sentences even though we have added phrases to them:

• The roses, red and glistening, grew quickly in the wet, fertile soil.
• Spinning wildly, the balloons floated away.

Many beginning writers are told that their writing style is “choppy.” This simply means that a writer is relying too heavily on simple sentences. To fix this and improve writing style, you need to learn how to write using a variety of sentence types. The three remaining sentence types are Compound, Complex, and Compound-Complex.

Compound Sentences

When you join two (or more) independent clauses, you will create a compound sentence. The most common way to construct a compound sentence is by using coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS). Coordinating conjunctions indicate the logical relationship between sentences, so use them to your advantage. You may want to refer to this list while you are writing and composing compound sentences:

Coordinating Conjunction		Relationship
F	for	reason
A	and	addition
N	nor	not another option
B	but	contrast
O	or	another option
Y	yet	contrasting addition
S	so	result

Here are some examples:

• We are looking for sticks, for these are the best materials to use.
• The girls are building a trap, and they hope to catch a lizard.
• They have not found any insects, nor have they seen any lizards today.
• Lizards are fast, but the girls are determined to catch one.
• We could go to the beach, or we could go up to the mountains.
• I have been meaning to tell you, yet I just have not had a chance.
• The chocolate was left in the sun, so you should probably not eat it right now.

Compound sentences are usually the first type of sentences that writers will begin using after simple sentences because the construction and punctuation of compound sentences are relatively simple. In addition, the list of coordinating conjunctions is so short that students easily remember the FANBOYS.

You can also use the semicolon (;) to form a compound sentence. You will use a semicolon to create a compound sentence when two sentences are closely related. Look at this example:

• The old car sputtered to the top of the hill; we were all relieved.

In this case, all you need is a semicolon. Note that the first letter of the first word in the second clause is not capitalized.

A more common way to use a semicolon when creating a compound sentence is to use an adverbial conjunction. Below is the list of adverbial conjunctions you learned in Unit 2:

Addition	Emphasis	Comparison or Contrast	Cause or Effect	Time
in addition furthermore moreover further	in fact indeed	however nevertheless nonetheless otherwise in contrast in comparison	as a result consequently hence therefore thus	finally meanwhile next

Compound sentences that use a semicolon and adverbial conjunction will commonly look like the sentences below:

• The old car sputtered to the top of the hill; therefore, we were all relieved.
• The construction was proceeding as planned; however, the looming storm threatened to delay the project.

Ultimately, it is your choice whether or not to use a semicolon or a period when you join sentences with an adverbial conjunction. Just remember that if you use a semicolon, you have created a compound sentence.

Complex Sentences

When you compose a sentence by joining at least one dependent clause and an independent clause, you create a complex sentence. Learning to write complex sentences is the best way to improve your writing style. Subordination, deciding which clause is less important, is perhaps the most important step you will make at this stage of your development as a writer. When you decide which clause will begin with a subordinating conjunction, you have chosen the clause that you feel is less important. Look at this list:

Cause or Effect	Concession	Condition	Comparison or Contrast	Purpose	Purpose
as because since	though although even though even if	if since unless when whenever	While As rather than	in order that so that	Before Since Once After While When Until

Most of the time, you will use a subordinating conjunction from this list to create a subordinate clause that precedes the main, independent clause.

Look at these sentences:

• Although your ribs are sore from laughing too much, you really need to compete this weekend.
• Because the stinger is lodged under your skin, you will experience pain for about an hour.
• Since the corpse was found in a shallow pond, the forensic anthropologist will lead the investigation.

Notice how each of these begins with a dependent clause that adds information to the main clause. The main clause is complete, but the writer has added clarifying detail in the dependent clause. Remember that the dependent clause can also appear at the end of a sentence. In that case, you generally would not use a comma between the main clause and the subordinate clause.

Compound-Complex Sentences

The final sentence type is the compound-complex sentence. A compound-complex sentence consists of more than one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. In many cases, you are simply adding a dependent clause to the beginning or end of a compound sentence, or you are adding another independent clause to a complex sentence.

Look at how the compound sentences you already studied can become compound-complex:

• Compound: We could go to the beach, or we could go up to the mountains.
• Compound-Complex: We could go to the beach, or we could go up to the mountains since it might rain on the coast.
•  
• Compound: I have been meaning to tell you, yet I just have not had a chance.
• Compound-Complex: Even though you might not believe it, I have been meaning to tell you, yet I just have not had a chance.

Likewise, you may simply add another independent clause to a complex sentence as in these examples:

• Complex:Although your ribs are sore from laughing too much, you really need to compete this weekend.
• Compound-Complex:Although your ribs are sore from laughing too much, you really need to compete this weekend, but you can still have fun.
•  
• Complex:Because the stinger is lodged under your skin, you will experience pain for about an hour.
• Compound-Complex:Because the stinger is lodged under your skin, you will experience pain for about an hour, yet the pain will subside gradually.

In all of these examples, you are simply adding more detail and specific information to the sentences. Also, you will notice that as the sentences become richer, the possibilities for original combinations increase.

Many writers will begin to use the compound, complex, and compound-complex sentence types and never look back. This is a wonderful step, but at times, a simple sentence is just what a piece of writing needs to communicate a point to the readers. Therefore, never underestimate a well-placed simple sentence for emphasis, and simple sentences can easily be enriched by utilizing the noun or verb phrases you learned earlier in this unit.

Since you now know about clauses, phrases, and four sentence types, you have completed your toolbox. The eight parts of speech form the building blocks; subjects and verbs are the principles of sentence building; and clauses and phrases put the principles into action. The four sentence types are the basic blueprint that you will follow as you begin to construct confident, detailed, varied sentences.

CREATING YOUR WRITING STYLE

As you become more comfortable and begin writing more often, you will find yourself using some types of sentences more than others. You will notice patterns in your writing that will differ from others’ writing patterns. You will use certain adverbial conjunctions more often, and you will gravitate toward certain types of clauses, phrases, and sentence types more than the other ones. This is part of your writing style.

There are many other factors, however, of your writing style besides clauses, phrases, and sentence types. You will remember in Unit 3, that you learned about writing in the active voice and maintaining the same tense. This is also part of your writing style.

Many of the choices you make in terms of what types of words to include, how formal you want the written project to be, and how you use creative aspects of language like analogies and metaphors will also contribute to your own individual writing style. Many writers wisely choose to avoid using clichés as they detract from the individual nature of writing.

Ultimately, as you reflect on who you are and what you value, you will begin to craft a style of writing that is comfortable and authentic to you. This is important because you want your writing to reflect who you are and be an extension of your individual voice. You are a unique individual, so work to have your writing reflect your personality, individuality, and values. Be yourself.

WRITING PARAGRAPHS

   

Topic Sentence

   

Supporting Details

   

Concluding Sentence

As your final assignment for this course, you will be writing a paragraph. A basic paragraph contains three parts:

• Topic Sentence
• Supporting Details
• Concluding Sentence

The Topic Sentence

A topic sentence is usually the first sentence in a paragraph. You use the topic sentence to tell the reader what the paragraph is about. Each topic sentence has two elements: Topic and Purpose.

To write an effective topic sentence, you need to know your topic, the subject of your paragraph. When choosing a topic for a paragraph, you need to choose one that is narrow but still allows for development. For example, you might want to use the topic “student fear” or “teens and their cell phones.” Each of these provides a simple topic you can develop.

In addition to the subject, every topic sentence also needs a purpose to explain what the paragraph will say about the topic. For example, you might write, “Students’ fears hurt their education.” In this example, the paragraph will show how fear hurts educational goals. On the other hand, you might choose the other topic and propose that “Teens are addicted to their cell phones.” In this example, the paragraph will show addictive behavior. Notice how each of these topic sentences clearly states the topic and purpose of the paragraph.

Now look at some examples of common topic sentence mistakes:

• War is bad. 
  This is too broad a topic for one paragraph. People write books about wars. 
   
• I ate bananas yesterday. 
  This is a nice statement, but it is too narrow. Once you tell the reader how many bananas, there is really nothing else to say. 
   
• This paragraph will be about student fears. 
  This is an announcement. The reader has no idea what you want to say about fears, what your purpose is.

Supporting Details

The supporting details in your paragraph will form the basis of most of your sentences. For every detail you include, you will also provide explanation and analysis to link the detail to the idea of your topic sentence.

The best details are vivid, specific, and drawn from your own observation and experience. Many times, these will be “sense” details, what you see, feel, taste, smell, and hear. Your supporting details will come by thinking carefully through the assignment or task. You need to be sure that the details you choose are specific and clear.

Let’s take one of the sentences from above and list some supporting details that we might include in the paragraph.

Topic sentence: Students’ fears hurt their education.

Supporting details might include some of the following:

• Test anxiety
• Inability to learn
• Reading
• Writing
• Mathematics
• Social fears at school
• Self-consciousness
• Bullying
• Public speaking
• Sports
• Inability to set goals
• Short term goals
• Personal
• Academic
• Long term goals
• Career
• Life
• Fear of teachers

A writer can choose from this list when developing a paragraph about how student fears inhibit educational achievement. The best choices for supporting details will come from events or experiences the writer has observed firsthand, and the writer can develop supporting details based on information from the writer’s experience and knowledge.

Generally, a well-developed paragraph will include more than three supporting details/examples. However, each topic will dictate a different set of parameters that you will work through as a writer. Sometimes, one extended example can support the topic sentence, but other times, the topic will require several examples.

The Concluding Sentence

Every paragraph that stands on its own will have a sentence that functions as a conclusion. The concluding sentence will provide a satisfying final thought for your reader. In a short paragraph, you will not need to summarize what you’ve written, so you should think about why your topic or opinion might be important for the reader to consider or what you would like the reader to remember about the topic. A good concluding sentence will be memorable and also links back to the topic sentence. In this way, you create unity in your paragraph.

Here are a couple of examples of concluding sentences:

• To ensure that they will be victorious over fear, students should always keep their long-term goals in mind. 
   
• In conclusion, people need to balance cell phone usage with face to face communication in order to preserve social skills and relationships.

Notice how each of these sentences sums up the paragraph and leaves the reader with a final, significant thought. In fact, we can predict the supporting details that might be in the paragraph by merely reading the concluding sentence.

The Writing Process

   

Inventing

   

Organizing

   

Drafting

   

Revising

   

Editing

Now that you know the basic parts of the paragraph, you are ready to learn the process of writing a paragraph. All good writers realize that writing is a process rather than a spontaneous, mysterious activity. Writing is a craft, and there are steps that are necessary to create a paragraph, a paper, a book, a letter, a screenplay, etc. For most writing projects, you will utilize five distinctly different steps, and they should be considered in this order:

1. Inventing
2. Organizing
3. Drafting
4. Revising
5. Editing

When you learn to follow these steps, you will become empowered and confident when you undertake a writing project.

Step 1 - Inventing

When you start any writing project, you should plan to spend a significant amount of time exploring your thoughts on the topic and generating (inventing) ideas. Many students make the mistake of jumping into writing the paper without having clear ideas. If you take the time to thoroughly explore your thoughts and think deeply about the assignment, you will immediately improve your writing.

You need to know that writing and thinking go hand-in-hand, so you will need to be writing to explore what you’re thinking and generate ideas. There are many easy and effective ways to do this:

• Freewriting: Freewriting occurs when you just let yourself write what’s on your mind without worrying about grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, or repetition. The idea is to just keep writing for about five minutes without stopping. You will be amazed about the ideas that can float to the surface.
• Brainstorming: Exploring your thoughts in a group can be helpful and invigorating, giving you confidence and more ideas than you might otherwise generate in a short amount of time. Working collaboratively, you present ideas to a group of your classmates, family, or friends and keep a record of all the ideas without censoring or discounting any of them. Unlike freewriting, brainstorming is spoken and conducted as a group rather than individually. Each person in the group then keeps the list and can use it as he or she proceeds to the next step of the writing process.
• Journalistic Questions: You may have seen old films where a journalist is trying to get the facts for a story. You can use these same journalistic questions to explore your topic. The classic list of questions includes: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? For many writing assignments, exploring the “how” and “why” may yield the most information. Asking questions and exploring and finding answers will help you to generate ideas for your writing.
• Listing: Make a list of everything that comes to mind, and then go back over the list and pick what you feel are the best ideas. Sometimes, you will even find yourself writing another list from one of these ideas.
• Clustering: Clustering is a visual framework for exploring and generating ideas. You simply start by drawing a circle around your topic and then grouping ideas around it with lines leading to new ideas. You then draw lines to more ideas, linking them together in a diagram.

Here’s an example of how a student worked on a paragraph assignment in Step 1:

Topic: How should one balance different aspects of his or her life?

Freewrite (notice a few typos): Balance means not falling down, maybe juggling things and not dropping them. Choosing what you do, or how to keep things together when you’re busy. I felt like I’m trying to balance work and school and my friends. I wish I had some time to manage. That’s tough. never enough time for the things I want to do just deadlines. my last assignment was in on time but I didn’t do my best. How could I balance my homework and friends and job? What is healthy?

Listing:

• not falling down
• juggling things
• choosing what to do
• work, school, friends
• healthy
• good diet
• exercise
• relationships
  • friends
  • family
  • community
  • romance

Clustering:

Considering Audience and Purpose:

As you generate ideas, you will need to consider who will be reading what you will write and what the purpose of the assignment or task is. For instance, if you are writing a letter to a newspaper, the audience and purpose is likely to be much different than when you are writing a letter to your insurance company questioning a charge. Therefore, for each assignment or project, you should spend some time thinking about audience and purpose in order know which ideas you are generating are the best ones for your audience and purpose.

Considering your audience, or, in most cases, your reader, you should consider a series of questions during this first step of the writing process:

• What is it you are trying to achieve with your audience (besides a good grade)?
• Do you want to convince them something is true?
• Do you want to tell them why something is happening or the results?
• Do you want to explain how something works or what something is?
• Do you want to persuade them to take a certain stand?

Ultimately, during step one, inventing, your job is to generate and examine as many ideas as you can in order to choose the best ones for your writing project. You may not use much or any of the writing you generate during step one in your paragraph, but this writing is essential for the process of discovering and developing good ideas.

Step 2 – Organizing:

The next step in the writing process is organizing your ideas into a structure that fits the assignment you have been given. There are many ways to organize your ideas, and you will have to find the method that works best for you. However, most students agree that starting with some type of an outline is the way to go.

There are many different types of outline, and outlines can have many sub-points organized by letters and numbers, or outlines can look like a bulleted list. Either way, your outline should provide you with a map of what your desired piece of writing will look like.

Since you will be writing a paragraph at the end of this unit, your outline should have at least the following points:

• Topic
• Topic sentence
• Supporting Points
• Specific example
  • Explanation
• Specific example
  • Explanation
  Specific Example
  • Explanation
  Specific Example
  • Explanation
• Concluding Sentence

Some writers will choose to include more detail in their outlines, and other writers will include less detail. Those who include less detail will spend more time in the drafting stage because they are organizing their writing as they go. It becomes necessary, then, to rewrite because now they have a better sense of what they are writing about after a first draft.

If you jump into drafting, you should construct a “reverse” outline, so you can see the structure of your paragraph or essay more clearly. You simply take what you’ve written and fit it into the structure of an outline. Ultimately, as long as you work with each of the five steps of the writing process, even if you invert steps 2 and 3, you will be more successful with your writing projects.

You will need to consider what organizational pattern will best suit the assignment and the details which you have gathered for it. There are many patterns of organization that include:

• Compare/Contrast: Explore the similarities and differences between two or more ideas, things, events, etc.
• Cause and Effect: Analyze the causes that have led to a particular effect or the effects that have proceeded from a particular cause.
• Division and Classification: Divide a topic into types or parts.
• Process Analysis: Detail the steps to completing a task, cooking a meal, fixing something, etc.
• Illustration: Describe a topic in detail.

These patterns will generate additional information and supporting details. During the next two steps of the writing process, drafting and revising, you will continue to develop and organize your ideas.

Step 3 - Drafting

After you have explored your topic and organized your ideas, you are ready to write a draft of your paragraph. Many writers begin and end their writing process in this one step, and their grades and success suffer as a result. Drafting is an important step, but it need not take the long hours and become the stressful activity that some writers fear. With the preparation of Exploring and Organizing (Steps 1 and 2), writing becomes much less stressful and less time consuming. Once you learn about the benefits of Revising and Editing (Steps 4 and 5), you will be even more comfortable during the drafting step.

For drafting, the most important thing is to get down to business. Seize the moment. Take your outline and write. Don’t stop to correct every sentence. Don’t stop to change direction. Don’t fix spelling. Just write with the outline as a guide.

During the drafting stage, you will begin to shape your writing into what it will eventually look like as a final product. Therefore, if the assignment is a paragraph, you should draft a complete paragraph before you move on to the next step. If the assignment is a multi-paragraph essay, you should complete a draft of all the paragraphs. However, you need to remember that this is only the third step, so it need not be perfect.

Ideally, after you have generated a full draft, you should set it aside for a day or two. Good writers manage their time carefully and allow for ample time in between each step of the writing process. The time in between steps is useful for your brain by giving it time to process information. Some call this “soak” or “stew” time. Even just a few hours in between steps will help you become more successful.

A note about Writer’s Block: To help keep you moving through this step, remember that your draft need not be perfect. Revising and Editing (Steps 4 and 5) will take care of mistakes. The more you can free yourself to write without anxiety or overloaded expectations, the better, more thorough draft you will generate, which will help you be more successful when revising and editing.

Step 4 - Revising

Once you’ve written a full draft and let it sit for a day or two, you are ready to revise. The word revision means to change a text and review, but the root of the word is vision, which means to see. Therefore, in this step you will attempt to see your paper from a different or new perspective. Most writers find that there are two types of revision: Macro and Micro.

Macro-revision:
Macro means large, so macro-revision means that you are considering your paragraph as a whole, on a large scale. Some people will refer to this as global revision. Many writers find collaboration and sharing helpful during in this step. Getting a different perspective, while it can be scary, is irreplaceable during this stage. You will find that having someone else read your draft, or reading it to someone, will provide you with valuable insights.

There are many different methods for revising, but here are a few key ideas and activities that you should always consider during macro-revision.

You can remember these with the acronym QUEST:

• Question whether you have enough information and if it matches the assignment.
• Understand what is working and what isn’t. Keep what works and cut what doesn’t.
• Explain it to someone else to see if you’ve missed anything and if it is clear. Many writers find collaboration and sharing helpful during in this step. Getting a different perspective, while it can be scary, is irreplaceable during this stage. You will find that having someone else read your draft, or reading it to someone, will provide you with valuable insights.
• Shift and move information if necessary.
• Title & Topic Sentence are evident, clear, and match what you’ve written in the paragraph.

It is always helpful to be methodical and to reread your draft several times and note or make changes. If you are working on a computer, you may find it helpful to save a draft and then revise a new document so that you can compare the two versions after you have finished the macro-revision.

Micro-revision:
Micro means small, so with micro-revision, you are looking at your paragraph on a smaller scale considering your sentences and how they fit together. Some people call this local revision. During the micro-revision step, you will need to look at your sentences and check them for clarity, variety, and effectiveness:

• Clarity: Do the sentences clearly communicate to the reader? Are there any sentences that need additional information or restructuring to be clear?
• Variety: Are the four sentence types used in the paragraph?
• Effectiveness: Do the sentences in the paragraph work together to create a clear and cohesive message to the reader? If not, have you included necessary and appropriate transitional words and phrases?

If your paragraph lacks transitions, use the transitions in the chart below to help you create a smooth, logical flow of ideas in your paragraph. You will also find that you need to link all the details and sentences together carefully when you are composing a paragraph. Transitions not only provide a smooth shift from one idea to the next, but they will also create logical relationships within your topic.

Addition	Emphasis	Sequence	Example	Comparison
furthermore in addition moreover lastly as a matter of fact	in fact surprisingly in any case indeed certainly	first, second, third, etc. Next Then Finally at this point	for example in this case such as notably in particular	on the other hand similarly however in contrast whereas

Note that each of these words or phrases will help you to generate more information and supporting details. In addition, using these words will make your paragraph easier to read.

A note on Collaboration and Peer Revision: As you have hopefully found over the last three weeks, one of the most helpful activities for writers when revising is to share writing with others. Equally, and perhaps more, helpful is reading others’ writing when you share the same assignment. There is no substitute for reading others’ writing and getting feedback to help you gain perspective on your writing. Thus, you have a peer review session to this final paragraph assignment.

Step 5 - Editing

The final step in the writing process is editing. Some writers call this step proofreading because this is where you are considering the smaller details of your final draft. You check and correct your punctuation, spelling, and formatting. This is the final step because doing this earlier will be a waste of your time because you will find that your sentences and content will change, sometimes radically, when you are revising.

Now that the paper is set in terms of content, organization, and sentence style, you can concentrate on rereading again with a close eye on grammar, punctuation, spelling, spacing, formatting, etc.

Almost all student writers use the five step writing process, but some do not complete each step in this order. Many back track along the way, repeat certain ones (especially steps 1, 3, and 4), or reverse step 2 and 3, so consider this a guide rather than a set pattern you must follow. Like any piece of writing, you may need to revise the five steps of the writing process in order to make them work for you.

Eventually, just like any process, you will make it your own, creating a process that meets your particular writing needs. For example, you may spend the majority of your time on Step 1 while someone else may spend most of her time on Step 4. Get to know the process by using it regularly until you find what works for you.