Bad grades Book of Writing
By Angelica Velazquez
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[YOUR] BOOK OF WRITING SECTION 1 PUNCTUATION and CAPITALIZATION Punctuation – Identify the function and create one (1) example sentence of the uses for each mark. 1. . Period (a way to end a sentence) - The boys anxiously ran to the mail in hopes of getting their report cards before their mom because of their bad grades. 2. , Comma (separates grammatical elements of a sentence) Andres, Steven, and Marvin luckily got to the mail before their mom. 3. – em dash (can replace parenthesis, colons, commas) The boys quickly got to the mail before their mom – therefore they can keep playing tennis for the season. 4. - en dash (represents a set of numbers, dates, or time) For the boys school a passing grade is from a 70-80 percent which they certainly did not receive. 5. : colon (introduces a list of terms) The boys didn't meet the standards: they honestly don't deserve to play. 6. ; semicolon (used in between two independent clauses) The three boys immediately need to make up assignments to raise their grade; they can't play tomorrow. 7. ? question mark (used to end a direct question) How’re they going to carefully hide the grades? 8. ! exclamation mark (used to sometimes show the significance of what is being said) “You do things carelessly!” Andres screamed to Marvin 9. ‘ apostrophe (used in contractions) “It’s all your fault.” Marvin rudely yelled back 10. “ ” quotations marks (used when stating something for dialogue) “Can you guys stop screaming?” Steven furiously said. 11. … ellipses (a trailing thought) “I wouldn't be talking…” Marvin nervously told Steve. 12. [ ] brackets (allow insertion of editorial material) He [Marvin] immediately regretted saying that to Steven. 13. ( ) Steve finally came up with a comeback (after blankly staring back at both of them for a while) but did not shout it. 14. / forward slash (to abbreviate, or in an and/or) If/when the boys show up to make up work they surely will raise their grade.
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[YOUR] BOOK OF WRITING SECTION 2 TEMPLATE AND GUIDELINES PARTS OF SPEECH NOUNS Types of nouns: · Common Nouns: name a class of people, places, things, or idea. Report card, pencil, school · Proper Nouns: give the name or title of a particular person, place, thing, or idea (must be capitalized). Steven, tennis, bravo · Compound Nouns: consist of words used together to form a single noun. Aile, hallway, phone · Concrete Nouns: refer to material things, to people, or to places. ruler, Chair, ball · Abstract Nouns: name ideas, quality, emotions or attitudes. Fear, excited, upset Functions (How nouns are used): · Subject (comes before the verb) The girl spoke quietly to the teacher · Direct Object (comes after the verb and answer what or whom) Andres asked his friends to give his side of the story to understand both sides. · Indirect Object (answers to who or to whom) Steven gave Andres a gift card for his birthday. PRONOUNS Pronouns take the place of nouns that have been established. Personal: Nominative (subjects) Objective (objects) I/we me/us you/you you/you He, she, it, one/they him, her, it, one/them Possessive My, mine Your, yours His, her, hers, its, one’s
our, ours your, yours their, theirs 3
Relative: Nominative who That
Objective whom that those/ this
Possessive whose of that
Interrogative: who, which, what, whatever, whoever Reflexive: (personal pronouns plus the suffix –self or –selves) Used only: when the action verb is directed toward the subject of the construction: Steven balances his grades the most to intensify a point: Marvin spoke up to argue towards his friend. Demonstrative: this, these that, those Indefinite: all, another, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, everywhere, few, many, much, neither, nobody, none, no one, nothing, one, other, several, somebody, someone, such. VERBS Verbs show the time, action, and state of being of a subject. Tense: verbs indicate time via tenses:
simple past past past perfect past progressive
simple present present present perfect present progressive
present perfect progressive future future perfect
Types: There are at least eleven (11) types of verbs: auxiliary verbs (helping verbs) linking verbs (verbs that do not describe action, but connect the subject of a sentence 4
to other parts of the sentence – usually the predicate) lexical verbs (main verbs) dynamic verbs (indicate action) stative verbs (describe a condition) finitive verbs (indicate tense) nonfinitive verbs (infinitives or participles) regular verbs (weak verbs) irregular verbs (strong verbs) transitive verbs (verbs followed by a direct object) intransitive verbs (verbs that do not take direct objects) Voice: Voice is the form of the verb that indicates how it relates or interacts with the action. The English language has two voices: ACTIVE and PASSIVE. Verbals: (VERB FORMS NOT USED AS VERBS) Gerund: word ending in “ing” used as a noun. Marvin likes talking to his clients. Participle: word ending in “ing” or “ed” used as an adjective It is frightening to Andres when speaking to his mom about his grades. Infinitive: verb preceded by the word “to” (to go, to jump) used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs Marvin needs to do his research before arguing. ADJECTIVES Adjectives modify, describe, limit, and identify nouns and pronouns. · Kinds: Demonstrative, Common, Proper ADVERBS Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. · Endings (Create one example related to your subject for each) –ly, -wards, -wise The husband was not nice towards his wife. The husband's actions said otherwise. The wife kindly got her husband a gift. · Conversions (Show how three words related to your subject can become adverbs – Example: “Educational” becomes “Educationally”) Fear - fearlessly Calm - camly Time - timely
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Types: Manner, Frequency, Degree, Place, Time Example Types: (Create one example each related to your subject) Manner – Marvin slowly reflected on his feelings. Time – When Andres is nervous about an argument with his mom about his grades he immediately reflects on his feelings carefully. Place – Steven gets nervous in the classroom when taking tests. Degree – Marvin expertly projected his voice. Frequency – Marvin consistently hit the ball CONJUNCTIONS Coordinating (FANBOYS): for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so Correlative: Either/or; neither/nor; not only/but also; both/and; whether/or; as/so Subordinate: after, though as, as if, as long as, as thought, because, before, if, in order that, provided that, since, so, so that, that, though, till, unless, when, where, whereas, while. Relative pronouns: who (refers to people), which (refers to nonliving object or animals), that (may refer to animals or nonliving objects) PREPOSITIONS Prepositions link nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other parts of the sentence. Prepositions are NEVER followed by verbs. There are one-word prepositions and complex prepositions. These are some common one-word prepositions: aboard, about, above, according to, across, across from, after, against, along, alongside, alongside of, along with, amid, among, apart from, around, as, as far as, aside from, at, away from, back of, because of, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, but (except), by, by means of, concerning, despite, down, down from, except, except excluding for, for, from, from among, from between, from under, in, in addition to, in behalf of, including, in front of, in place of, in regard to, inside, inside of, in spite of, instead of, into, like, near, near to, notwithstanding, of, off, on, on account of, on behalf of, onto, on top of, opposite, out, out of, outside, outside of, over, over to, owing to, past, prior to, to, toward, under, underneath, until, unto, up, upon, up to, versus, with, within, without. 6
INTERJECTIONS Interjections are the final part of speech. Find and copy/paste an alphabetical list of prepositions here.
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[YOUR] BOOK OF WRITING SECTION 3 TEMPLATE AND GUIDELINES PHRASES and CLAUSES Phrases – groups of words that function as a part of speech. Noun Phrase: A group of words consisting of nouns or pronouns and their modifiers that function as a noun. The ability to give to others is an important part of a person's personality and bad grades don't define you. Verb Phrase: A group of words consisting of verbs working together and that function as a verb. The girls were trying hard to give food to homeless people for their community service hours. Prepositional Phrase: A group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun, and functions as an adjective or an adverb. It will cost a lot of money to get to everyone. Appositive Phrase: A group of words that include all the words that modify an appositive and function as an adjective - IT MUST BE SURROUNDED BY COMMAS. Arleth, one of the friends of the group, got the waters to put in the baggies. Verbal Phrases: A group of words that begin with a verbal and ends with a noun. ● Gerund Phrase verb ending in -ing that functions as a noun. Feeding every homeless is impossible. ● Participial Phrase word ending in -ing (present participle) or -ed (past participle) that functions as an adjective. Some girls were afraid to get assaulted. ● Infinitive Phrase verb preceded by the word “to” (to read, to study, to write) that function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. The girls knew it was time to put their worries to the side.
CLAUSES Clauses – groups of words with BOTH a subject and a verb that function as parts of speech. There are TWO kinds: Independent and Dependent (called “Subordinate”) INDEPENDENT – CAN stand alone as a complete sentence, known as a simple sentence pattern. They enjoyed giving back to their community. 8
DEPENDENT (SUBORDINATE) – CANNOT stand alone as a complete sentence and MUST begin with a SUBORDINATE CONJUNCTION. There are seven (7) kinds: Noun Clause: Used as the noun in a sentence and may function as a subject, a predicate noun, a direct object, an object of a preposition, an indirect object, or an appositive. The girls were saddened to see how many homeless people there are and taught them that they should take school more seriously. Adjective Clause: Used to modify a noun in an independent clause. Some adjective clauses begin with an introductory word: The smelly alley was filled with trash. Adverb Clause: Used to modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in an independent clause, introduced by a subordinate conjunction and used to indicate time, place, cause, purpose, result, condition, and/or concession. Modifying verbs: Wherever there is food, homeless people will come. Modifying adjectives: Giving out food took twice as long as they anticipated. Modifying adverbs: Gissele worked harder to give out food than Sam. Relative Clauses: Dependent clause that begins with a relative pronoun. Cindy bought Arleth a small gift because she helped her put the baggies together. Elliptical Clauses: Adverb clauses in which part of the clause is omitted. When driving, Arleth kept an eye out for homeless people to give them food. Essential Clauses: Clauses necessary to the meaning of the sentence. The man who forgot to get his water came back. Nonessential Clauses: Clauses that are NOT necessary to the meaning of the sentence. Arleth, who takes drawing lessons with Cindy, went with her.
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[YOUR] BOOK OF WRITING SECTION 4 TEMPLATE AND GUIDELINES SENTENCES Sentence – a set of words that contains a subject and a predicate and conveys a statement, command, question, or an exclamation.
Sentence Parts Subject – what/who the sentence is about The girls patiently waited for their grades to go up after attending their community service hours. Predicate – what the subject does The girls learned about how percentages in grading works. Sentence Types Declarative – a sentence that makes a statement (ends with a period mark) Learning to find your strengths and what you can do to improve will help. Imperative – a sentence that makes a command (ends with a period mark) Learn to manage your time as soon as possible. Interrogative – a sentence that asks a question (ends with a question mark) Why would anyone not want to improve their grade? Exclamatory – a sentence that expresses great emotion, passion, excitement (ends with an exclamation mark) The recent test score was better than the last one!
Sentence Patterns Simple Sentence: A sentence that is just one independent clause. Most writing for school is in the form of a simple sentence pattern. Compound Sentence: A sentence with multiple independent clauses, but no dependent clauses connected by FANBOYS (coordinating conjunctions) or a semicolon (;). All homework takes time especially when you're in sports but it can be accomplished. Complex Sentence: A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. 10
Complex-Compound Sentence: A sentence with multiple independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. Whether or not you pass the class, teachers will continue with their lessons because if not it'll take up too much time. Loose Sentence: A sentence that contains an independent clause plus a subordinate construction (either a clause or phrase) with your main point at the beginning. Sports will take up time no matter what sport you play because it takes dedication. Periodic Sentence: A sentence in which the independent clause is given at the end of the sentence in order to create interest or generate suspense with the main point coming at the end. No matter what sport you play it will take up time. Parallel Structure: A sentence using the same pattern of two or more verbs or ideas that match in tense or structure to show that they are of equal importance and to help the reader comprehend what is being written - this sentence requires symmetry. The girls and boys worked hard at the end of the semester so they can continue playing their sport. Balanced Sentence: A sentence where phrases or clauses at the beginning and the end parallel each other by virtue of their likeness of structure, meaning, or length - this sentence requires symmetry. The boys turned in old assignments and still having to do more to catch up. Chiasmus: A sentence that includes a repetition of ideas (words, phrases, or clauses) in inverted (reversed) order - this sentence requires symmetry. Without the girls contribution to the sport the team wouldn't be where its at. Asyndeton: A sentence that leaves out conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses for a rhetorical purpose. The girls and boys came out to have good grades due to their commitment. Polysyndeton: A sentence that uses multiple conjunctions in close proximity to each other between words, phrases, or clauses for a rhetorical purpose. Arleth exhibits laziness and below average but she pulled through the last month Anaphora: A sentence that features the purposeful repetition of a word, words, or a phrase at the beginning of several successive clauses in order to place emphasis and draw attention. The boys and the girls had similar high school experiences since they were doing sports and managing school so time went by fast whereas other students were just doing school and time went by slow. Epistrophe: A sentence featuring several phrases or clauses ending with the same word or words. The group of girls and boys spent their days and weekends doing homework for school and taking time to balance their sport so it felt like they live for school and sports, at times making them feel stressed. 11
[YOUR] BOOK OF WRITING SECTION 5 TEMPLATE AND GUIDELINES PARAGRAPHS Paragraphs – a group of sentences that together convey a shared purpose structured around the same topic. Introductory Paragraphs (Introductions) Hook (Lead) – can begin with the title Anecdotal (Brief story to set the mood and lead the reader into the topic) Most people think that grades define them when in reality they dont. You can always improve your grade well at least most of the time. Many people care about their grades because they want to go to a good university which is reasonable but being hard on yourself is not it. Any school/university you go to will be good and you can always transfer from school to school if you don't end up in the ideal school. Any school you go to will give you the same outcome.
“you”)
Query Based (Question that brings the reader to the topic - avoid second person POV
Does school have an impact on someones mental health? Thesis Statements (the purpose of a piece of writing – usually one sentence in length, but can be longer depending on the purpose – must be something that is arguable) Assertion (claim - a subject + a “so what” about the subject) Bad grades represent nothing and should not be portrayed as being lazy. Fact (empirically verifiable but often difficult to argue extensively about - better used as evidence to support a claim) School is easy for some harder for others. Opinion (personal position on a topic) School can be toxic Belief (social, religious, or political in nature – an opinion held by many to be a fact, though it is not necessarily factual – often involves a judgement) Avoiding school for no reason is wrong. Generalization (uses absolute or statistical pronouns: all, always, every, never, none, most, half – avoid using this type of thesis statement unless citing the source of the data Every test failed can affect a persons health. 12
Document Based (cites a specific source, author, and position on a topic) In Bad grades dont wont keep you from success argues that you can still be something big even with a few bad grades. Theory (a statement that can be tested and potentially proven - often answers a research question) School can systematically lead to stress and health problems. Clarification/Expansion of Thesis (could extend the thesis, preview the evidence supporting the thesis, give the purpose of thesis, establish the importance or significance of examining the intricacies of the thesis – this could be several sentences long) Gandhi shares personal experience throughout his lifetime and other peoples experiences. All of the people involved in these experiences are older than us therefore that shows that you can still be something big. Body Paragraphs (must have echoes of the thesis in each AND present evidence to support or expand on the thesis) Topic Sentences (must specifically indicate the topic of the paragraph and focus on one subject and/or area of evidence or support – could start with a “Transition of Logic” that connects to the previous paragraph to give context) Additionally, many resources tell us that bad grades can have an increase on someone's health. Presenting Evidence from Quotations (quotes should NEVER be used as individual sentences – quotes should be embedded within sentences) ORIGINAL QUOTE – “Recently I’ve been doing a lot of mentoring in schools, and this new generation is utterly obsessed with grades.” (pg 1) Examining the Evidence Paraphrasing (rewording of a quote into other words of the same length without quotation marks, but still citing the source - useful for examining the quote and transitioning to your analysis of the quote) ORIGINAL QUOTE – “Recently I’ve been doing a lot of mentoring in schools, and this new generation is utterly obsessed with grades.” People have been mentoring schools noticing that students nowadays are caught up with getting good grades. Summarizing (condensing larger quotes or sections - useful for closing the examination of the quote/evidence and transitioning to your analysis of the quote) ORIGINAL QUOTE – “Fast food can have adverse effects on people’s health” (Schlosser 13
73). Ex. SUMMARY – School can cause a health issue. Abstract Examples (hypothetical, “what if” examples that do not refer to a source – AVOID USING THEM AS EVIDENCE – but useful for examining the quote) Ex. People can improve their health if they accept that one bad grade wont determine a lifetime. Concrete Examples (actual examples that do refer to a source – useful for enhancing your analysis of the quote) Ex. Gandhi tells us that he even thought he wasnt going tobe anything because of his bad grades but as he got older he understood that its not the end of the world. Closing Sentences (must end the discussion of the topic within the paragraph with a transitional or culminating word – possibly an adverb – and should echo the thesis of the essay) Ex. Clearly, valid authorities on the subject of bad grades agree about its negative health effect Closing Paragraphs (Conclusions – should not be mere summaries of the previous paragraphs of your essay) Consequences of Disregarding the Thesis (establishing the potential consequences of disregarding the implications of the thesis – CREATING A COUNTERARGUMENT – could be one or more sentences) If the good grades truly for everyone there probably wouldn't be many younger generations confused on what they want to do. Final Sentence (connects to the hook and finishes the essay – the “Smoky the Bear”/”Drop the mic”/dot dot dot moment…) So good grades isn't all about rainbows are sunny days there will be bad days and thats totally okay.
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[YOUR] BOOK OF WRITING SECTION 6 TEMPLATE AND GUIDELINES ESSAYS Essays – Explain what an essay is (I know, this is where I usually explain it to you but now that you have made it to the end of this project, it’s your turn) Types – Explain each type of essay and state its purpose Persuasive (Argumentative): A persuasive essay is meant to convince the target audience to do something or not do something. Expository (Informative): Definition or Description: facts or quotations to help your writing that helps describe or explain a concept Process (How-to): General concept for Introduction, begin to explain what you're going to address in your essay, and then lead to your thesis Compare and Contrast: A comparison and contrast essay makes either a comparison, a contrast, or both between two different or similar things. Cause and Effect: A cause and effect essay makes readers understand the cause of things, and their effects on other things. Analytical/Critical Evaluative: present an opinion or viewpoint on a subject or body of work Interpretive Narrative (Tells a story) Personal Statement/Anecdote Research: A research essay revolves around a research question that is meant to answer some specific question through a research of the relevant literature. Timed Document Based Question (DBQ) Synthesis Strategies/Planning Tips/Steps – Explain how to plan and organize essays and how to analyze and break down prompts. Pre-writing/Prompt Analysis/Outlining Researching/Evaluating of Sources Work Cited Page – Explain and give an example of how to set up a works cited entry in both MLA and APA formats - there are subtle differences between each format, so be sure to identify them clearly. 15
MLA Format: Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper. ● Double-space the text of your paper and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are each distinct from one another. The font size should be 12 pt. ● Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise prompted by your instructor). ● Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. ● Indent the first line of each paragraph one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the “Tab” key as opposed to pushing the space bar five times. ● Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor may ask that you omit the number on your first page. Always follow your instructor's guidelines.) ● Use italics throughout your essay to indicate the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, provide emphasis. ● If you have any endnotes, include them on a separate page before your Works Cited page. Entitle the section Notes (centered, unformatted). APA Format Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), with 1" margins on all sides. Include a page header (also known as the “running head”) at the top of every page. For a professional paper, this includes your paper title and the page number. For a student paper, this only includes the page number. To create a page header/running head, insert page numbers flush right. Then type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in the header flush left using all capital letters. The running head is a shortened version of your paper's title and cannot exceed 50 characters including spacing and punctuation.
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