WRITING IN THE DISCIPLINE | GENERAL EDUCATION - ENGLISH | LECTURE NOTES

 COMPETENCIES

Use English accurately, meaningfully, and appropriately in written discourse

 

CONTENT UPDATE

I. COMMON SENTENCE ERRORS

A.  Fragments

B.  Run-on Sentences and Comma Splice

C.  Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

D.  Faulty Parallelism

E.   Faulty Coordination

F.   Subordination

 

II. THE TOPIC SENTENCE AND THE PARAGRAPH

A.  Topic Sentence

B.  Paragraph

C.  Elements of a Strong Paragraph

D.  Transitional/Cohesive Devices

E.   The Thesis Statement

III. PATTERNS OF PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT

 

A.  Narration

B.  Descriptive Essay

C.  Process Essay

D.  Comparison-Contrast

E.   Cause-Effect

 

COMMON SENTENCE ERRORS

 

A. Fragments

SENTENCE FRAGMENT fails to be a sentence in the sense that it cannot stand by itself.

It does not contain even one independent clause.

There are several reasons why a group of words may seem to act like a sentence but not have the wherewithal to make it as a complete thought.

 

1. It may locate something in time and place with a prepositional phrase or a series of such phrases, but it's still lacking a proper subject-verb relationship within an independent clause:

In Japan, during the last war and just before the armistice.

 

2. It describes something, but there is no subject-verb relationship:

Working far into the night in an effort to salvage her little boat.

3. It may have most of the makings of a sentence but still be missing an important part of a verb string:

Some of the students working in Professor Espinoza's laboratory last semester.

4. It may even have a subject-verb relationship, but it has been subordinated to another idea by a dependent word and so cannot stand by itself:

Even though he had the better arguments and was by far the md powerful speaker.

 

Dependent-Word Fragments

Some words that begin with a dependent word are fragments. Following is a list of common dependent words.

Whenever you start a sentence with one of these words, you must be careful that a fragment does not result.

Dependent Words

after if, even if when, whenever even though although, though

in order that where, wherever until as since

whether who, whose because that, so that

which, whichever how before unless while what, whatever

 

B. Run-on Sentences and Comma Splice,

A run-on is two complete thoughts that are run together with no adequate sign given to mark the break between them. Some run-ons have no punctuation at all to mark the break, between the thoughts.

Such run-ons are known as fused sentence: they are fused, or joined together, as if they were only one thought.

Three ways to correct run-on sentences:

1. Place a semi-colon in between the two sentences

Jim's father passed the board exam for merchant marine officers he will be the captain of the ship next month.

 

2. Add a transitional marker: a subordinating conjunction, or a coordinating conjunction (it depends upon the nature of the sentence) between the two sentences

Jim's father passed the board exam for merchant marine officers, and he will be the captain of the ship next month.

 

3. Divide the sentence into two.

Jim's father passed the board exam for merchant marine officers, He will be the captain of the ship next month.

 

A comma splice is committed when a writer uses a comma without the proper connective. This, according to Tiempo and Tiempo, "destroys the unity of the sentence". (Tiempo & Tiempo, 1980) The sample sentence below looks almost the same with the sample run-on sentence.

The only difference is the fact that the sentence uses a comma to divide the two independent clauses.

The crowd cheered loudly when the band emerged from the backstage, Eric stood quietly.

 

Fused Sentences

The bus stopped suddenly. I spilled coffee all over my shirt, Mario told everyone in the room to be quiet his favorite show was on.

In other run-ons, known as comma splices, a comma is used to connect, or "splice “together, the two complete thoughts. Some stronger connection than a comma alone is needed.

 

Comma Splices

The bus stopped suddenly, I spilled coffee all over my shirt. Mario told everyone in the room to be quiet, his favorite show was on

 

 

C. Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

 

We often use phrases to describe words within sentences, and we determine the meaning of our sentences by placing these descriptive phrases next to the words they point to or modify."

 

For example, the sentence, "I saw a boy running down the street," indicates that the "boy" was doing the running. However, if we wrote, "Running down the street, I saw the boy." we would be suggesting to readers that "I" was doing the running,

 

Misplaced Modifier

Sometimes we become careless and place descriptive phrases far away from the words they modify, making our sentences unclear or inaccurate. We call these phrases misplaced modifiers.

For example, in "I was told that I had been awarded the scholarship by my professor," does the underlined phrase mean that the professor did the telling or the awarding? If the professor did the telling, we could make the meaning of this sentence clearer by repositioning the phrase: "I was told by my professor that I had been awarded the scholarship."

 

COMMON SENTENCE ERRORS

 Dangling Modifiers

Other times we write descriptive phrases that point to or modify words that are not clearly stated in our sentences, making our sentences illogical. We call these phrases dangling modifiers. For example, in "Walking to college on a subzero morning, my left ear became frozen," the underlined phrase modifies "my left ear."

This doesn't make sense; some person must have been doing the walking. We can clarify the sentence by putting a logical word after the phrase: for example, "Walking to college on a subzero morning, I froze my left ear." Or, we can change the phrase so that it has a logical subject and verb in it: "When I was walking to college on a subzero morning, my left ear became frozen."

 

 

Examples of Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

 

1. On July 20,1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz” Aldrin landed on the moon, watched by nearly a fifth of the world's population.

Revision

Watched by nearly a fifth of the world's population, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on July 20,1969.

(the world was not watching the moon; the world was watching the astronauts.)

 

2. After seeing the benefits of reduced employee turnover, absenteeism, and lateness, onsite daycare, is being provided more frequently as a perk for working parents.

Revision

After seeing the benefits of reduced employee turnover, absenteeism, and lateness, more and more companies are providing onsite daycare as a perk for working parents.

 

(Onsite daycare is not seeing the benefits of reduced turnover, absenteeism, and lateness; companies are seeing these benefits as a result of onsite daycare.)

 

3. An author who did not receive much attention until after her death, readers of all ages enjoy Emily Dickinson's poetry today. or Readers of all ages enjoy Emily Dickinson's poetry today, an author who did not receive much attention until after her death.

 Revision

Today, readers of all ages enjoy the poetry of Emily Dickinson, an author who did not receive much attention until after her death.

(The phrase, an author who did not receive much attention until after her death, should modify Emily Dickinson rather than readers or Emily Dickinson's poetry.)

 

4. Cost-efficient and convenient, many of today's corporate employees are being trained through computer-assisted instruction.

Revision

Cost-efficient and convenient, computer-assisted instruction is being used by many companies to train employees.

(The descriptive words, cost-efficient and convenient, modify computer-assisted instruction rather than today's corporate employees.)

 

5. Having submitted the conference registration form after the deadline, special permission by the chairperson was needed before she could give her presentation.

Revision

Having submitted the conference registration form after the deadline, Susan needed special permission from the chairperson before she could give her presentation.

 

(The example doesn't make sense as it is written. Someone must have submitted the form late. According to the revision, Susan submitted the form late.)

6. When purchasing a cellular phone, the wide variety of calling plans and features overwhelms many people.

Revision

When purchasing a cellular phone, many people become overwhelmed by the wide variety of calling plans and features,

(The calling plans and features aren't purchasing cellular phones. People purchase cellular phones.)

 

D. Faulty Parallelism

v Words in a pair or series should have parallel structure.

 

v By balancing the items in a pair or series so that they have the same kind of structure, you will make the sentences clearer and easier to read.

 

v Nonparallel (Not Balanced)

My job includes checking the inventories, initialing the order, and to call the suppliers.

 

v Parallel/Balanced

My job includes checking the inventory, initializing the orders, and calling the suppliers.

 

(A balanced series of –in g words; checking, initialing, calling,)

 

v Nonparallel (Not Balanced)  The game -show contestant was told to be cheerful, charming, and with enthusiasm.

 

v Parallel/Balanced

The game -show contestant was told to be cheerful, charming, and enthusiastic.

 

v (A balanced series of descriptive words: cheerful, charming, enthusiastic)

 

v Nonparallel (Not Balanced)

Grandmother likes to read mystery novels, to do needle point, and browsing the Internet on her home computer.

 

v Parallel/Balanced

Grandmother likes to read mystery novels, to do needle point, and to browse the Internet on her home computer.

 

v (A balanced series of to verbs: to read, to do, to browse)

 

 

v Nonparallel (Not Balanced)

We painted the trim in the living room; the wallpaper was put up by a professional.

 

v Parallel/Balanced

We painted the trim in the living room; a professional put up the wallpaper.

 

v (Balanced verbs and word order: We painted.; a professional put up...)

 

E. Faulty Coordination

The Coordinating Conjunction Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, and clauses. And, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet - these are the seven coordinating conjunctions.

Look at the examples that follow:

1. The bowl of squid eyeball stew is hot and delicious.

2. The squid eyeball stew is so thick that you can eat it with a fork or spoon,

3. Rocky, my orange tomcat, loves having his head scratched but hates getting his claws trimmed.

4. Rocky terrorizes the poodles next door yet adores the German shepherd across the street.

5. Rocky refuses to eat dry cat food, nor will he touch a saucer of squid eyeball stew.

6. I hate to waste a single drop of squid eyeball stew, for it is expensive and time consuming to make.

7. Even though I added cream to the squid eyeball stew, Rocky ignored his serving, so I got a spoon and ate it myself.

 

F. Subordination

Ø Subordination, however, emphasizes the idea in the main clause more than the one in the subordinate clause.

Ø Generally, the patterns look like these:

 

main clause + 0 + subordinate clause

subordinate clause +, main clause +

 

Ø Punctuate coordinating conjunctions correctly.

 

Ø Three patterns in writing use coordinating conjunctions. Add commas when required.

 

Ø Pattern 1- Connecting two main clauses

 

Ø When you connect two main clauses with a coordinating conjunction, use a comma.

 

Ø The pattern looks like this:

 

Ø Here is an example: main clause +,+ coordinating+ conjunction + main clause

 

Ø While / am at work, my dog Floyd sleeps on the bed, and my cat Buster naps in the bathtub.

 

Ø Pattern 2 - Connecting two items

Ø You can also use a coordinating conjunction to connect any two items. These items can be any grammatical unit except main clauses. The pattern looks like this:

item + 0 + coordinating conjunction + item

 

Ø Here are some examples:

My dog Floyd has too many fleas and too much hair’

My cat Buster has beautiful blue eyes but a destructive personality

 

Ø Pattern 3 - Connecting three or more items in a series

 

Ø When you have three or more items in a series, you generally use a comma before the coordinating conjunction.

 

Ø Some handbooks and style guides will tell you that this comma is optional, but my advice is to put it in.

 

Ø The pattern looks like this:

item + , + item + , + coordinating conjunction + item

Ø Here is an example:

Swatting olives off the kitchen counter, dragging toilet paper streamer through the house, and terrorizing Jacques Cousteau, the parakeet, ha consumed another of Buster's days.

 

Subordinating Conjunctions

 

Ø A subordinating conjunction joins a subordinate clause to a main clause.

Ø An adverb clause is always introduced by a subordinating conjunction.

Ø A noun clause and adjective clause sometimes are.

Adverb clause: Before you go, sign the log book.

Noun clause: He asked if he could leave early.

Adjective clause: That is the place where he was last seen.

Ø A subordinating conjunction is always followed by a clause.

Ø Many subordinating conjunctions can be other parts of speech.

 

Adverb: Jill came tumbling after.

Preposition: Jill came tumbling after Jack.

Subordinating Conjunction: Jill came tumbling after Jack had fallen.

 

II. THE TOPIC SENTENCE AND THE PARAGRAPH

 

¨     A good paragraph contains several related sentences that support one main idea, which is limited to and focused in one sentence.

 

¨     This sentence helps guide the reader through the related sentence in the paragraph.

 

¨     The term used to identify this main idea is topic sentence

 

¨     A topic sentence has two parts:

 

¨     A topic (key word or phrase)

 

¨     A direction or general word, which may be a conclusion an opinion, or a statement about the topic.

 

¨     For example, the following sentence could be a topic sentence Doing housework can be very boring.

 

¨     You could use each one of these sentences as a topic sentence because each main idea is limited to and focused into two essential parts:

¨     a topic (key word or phrase) and

 

¨     a general direction (conclusion or opinion about the topic:

 

 

Topic                                        Direction or General Word

Doing housework---------------------------is very boring.

Browsing in a library -----------------------is an exciting experience.

 

The paragraph

A paragraph has three parts:

1. A topic sentence

2. Support sentences

3. A conclusion

The following is an example of a paragraph that has these three parts.

       My blind date last night was a disaster. I got wet because just as I stopped to pick up my date, it started raining, and she borrowed my raincoat. At dinner, she ate so much that I had to use my next day's lunch money to pay for her meal. I had a terrible time because she could not dance. To make matters worse, I had a cut on my lip that hurt when I kissed her. That's the last blind date will ever have

 

 

Elements of a Strong Paragraph

 

¨     Strong paragraphs need to have the following elements: completeness, logical or sensible order, unity and coherence.

 

Completeness

 

¨     A paragraph must have enough information in it to give the reader a clearer picture or a full discussion of its main idea ( the topic sentence).

 

¨     A paragraph without details or examples will be vague and unconvincing.

 

¨     A paragraph that does not have enough information is called incomplete or undeveloped.

Example of an undeveloped paragraph.

 

Dancing can be good exercise. It can be entertaining. It can be lots of fun as well. Dancing can be very beneficial to everyone.

 

Example of a complete paragraph:

Dancing can be good exercise. The constant arm and leg movements are like aerobics. They can be a really good workout if the dance lasts long enough. If the dance requires lots of quick movements, many calories can be used up, and more fat will be burned. Some dances require movements that are like stretching. so flexibility and muscle tone will be increased. Dancing can he maintain weight and can be beneficial exercise to everyone.

 

Logical Order

All the support sentences should be in clear, logical order. Sometimes the order of these supporting details does not matter. Other times, however, it does matter because if the sentences are not in logical order, the reader misses the main point of the paragraph.

Illogical Order

I opened the front door of my house and went inside. I walked up the front steps to my front door.

Logical Order

I walked up the front steps to my front door.

I opened the front door of my house and went inside.

 

Unity

All sentences in a good paragraph relate to the topic sentence (main idea). When any idea doesn't relate specifically to the topic sentence, then that paragraph lacks unity or is not unified.

 

Example of a unified paragraph:

American scientists are working hard to gather facts about sea turtles called leatherbacks. The observers work, no matter what the weather is like on clear days or in pouring rain. They count the turtles as they come ashore. When the turtles lay their egg, the scientists walk up and down the beaches for many hours at a time. They count the eggs in the sand. Then, later, they count the eggs that hatch. These biologists know that they are collecting information that will someday be important to other scientists.

 

Coherence

One of the most important considerations in writing a paragraph is coherence the way all the sentences should be clearly connected to each other.

Without connecting words or phrases, supporting ideas may be hard to follow and sometimes may even seem to be unrelated to the topic sentence and to each other.

The following paragraph has all the coherence it needs: When Sue was a child, she learned from her dad how to be a hard worker. For example, she always helped in the yard. Many times they mowed the lawn together. Sue emptied the grass catcher (which her dad did not overfill), and he did the heavy part by lifting the barrels full of grass. Working together, they did not quit until the job was done. She and her dad worked even after the sun was gone, making sure the edges of the lawn were neat. In this way, Sue learned to stay with a job until she had done well and could feel proud of her effort.

The Thesis Statement

In a nutshell, a thesis statement:

·        tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.

 

·        is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.

 

·        directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be on Poverty or a movie analysis; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the issue or the movie.

In a nutshell, a thesis statement:

·        makes a claim that others might dispute.

 

·        is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

 

You can tell if your thesis is strong if you can answer the following:

·        Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question.

 

·        Have / taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could. disagree with, it's possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.

 

·        Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument.

 

·        Does my thesis pass the "So what?" test? If a reader's first response is, "So what?" then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.

 

·        Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change.

 

·        Does my thesis pass the "how and why?" test? If a reader's first response is "how?" or "why?" your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader.

 

Broadly, thesis statements can be divided into 3 categories:

 

Analytical: An analytical thesis basically provides a comprehensive insight to some important issue and the facts that are related to the issue plus the analytical aspects of the same,

For example,

 "An analysis of the ferruginous hawk reveals two kinds of flight patterns: patterns related to hunting prey and patterns related to courtship.".

 

Expository: This is the simplest of all types of thesis, the expansionary thesis principally puts forth some facts and simplified explanations regarding a specific idea, in front of the people.

 

Example:

Watching too much television may lead to physiological and psychological problems.

 

Argumentative: The third type is that of the argumentative thesis and presents arguments between two viewpoints.

Example: Smoking should be banned in all public places.

 

III. PATTERNS OF PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT

 

Ø There are various Writing Genres or Patterns of Paragraph Development, and each pattern or genre has a specific function.

Ø Often, these genres are merged with each other to make the written output more effective.

Ø Narration

Ø Descriptive Essay

Ø Process Essay

Ø Comparison-Contrast

Ø Cause-Effect

Ø Argumentative

Narration

Use narration to establish a series of events that tells the reader what happened.

Narration follows a chronological pattern of development. It is a convincing mode of paragraph development to the extent that it tells a coherent story.

       Larry suddenly woke up from a deep sleep. The sun was dazzling his half-open eyes, and he couldn't figure out what time it was. The door to his room was closed; the house was immersed in some sort of reckless silence. He slowly got out of his bed and approached the bench right next to the window. For a moment, he thought, he heard a tapping sound coming from the attic. Then again he heard the sound only this time it seemed to be somewhat closer. He looked outside the window and saw a man going by the left side of the road. On seeing Larry, the man approached his garden's fence and whistled. At this point, Larry recognized Nick and waved his hand. He quickly got dressed and was about the get down to open the gate, but he again heard someone murmuring in the other part of the house. Larry decided to go to the attic and see what was causing this, now buzzing, sound. He got to the second floor of his house and looked toward the attic. He quickly opened its door and looked inside. Nothing was found. He was about to turn back and attend to his guest when he suddenly, slipped on the stairs and fell. He called out to Nick to help him get up

 

Ø Descriptive Essay

Ø The descriptive essay reties on concrete, sensory detail to communicate its point.

Ø When writing a descriptive essay, writers should have a broad fund of modifiers,

Ø i.e., adjectives. Moreover, writers should be specific in using adjectives and other words that would describe the topic, i.e., beautiful may be different from pretty, cute, gorgeous, etc.

Sample Descriptive Paragraph

The Blond Guitar

by Jeremy Burden

              My most valuable possession is an old, slightly warped blond guitar-the first instrument I taught myself how to play. It's nothing fancy, just a Madeira folk guitar, all scuffed and scratched and finger-printed. At the top is a bramble of copper-Wound strings, each one hooked through the eye of a silver tuning key. The strings are stretched down a long, slim neck, its frets tarnished, the wood worn by years of fingers pressing chords and picking notes. The body of the Madeira is shaped like an enormous yellow pear, one that was slightly damaged in shipping. The blond wood has been chipped and gouged to gray, particularly where the pick guard fell off years ago. No, it's not a beautiful instrument, but it still lets me make music, and for that I will always treasure it.

 

Process Essay

Ø A process essay may either be "How to do" or "How something works"

Ø In a "How to do" essay the objective of the writer is to tell the reader how a certain product is produced.

Ø Most often, this type of essay uses the first person point of view because it "demonstrates how something is does to the reader, (e.g. How to apply for the Fulbright Scholarship Grant),

Sample Process Paragraph

 

       The writing process has four distinct phases. (2) The first is invention, which is aided by any number of techniques, including free-writing, mind-mapping and outlining. (3) In this first stage, it's important for a writer not to edit but to let ideas flow and to simply get them down on paper. (4) After invention, comes the first draft- the stage where the ideas start to take shape. (5) Many writers use a sentence outline at this stage to see where they need to cut and where they need to add material. The first draft is also where writers should develop a tentative thesis to guide the structure of their essay. (6) The next stage of the process is when both the second and third drafts are done. (7) Here, ideas and structure are refined, and the thesis is revised until it becomes the unifying idea of the paper. (8) Finally, comes the last stage, that of editing. (9) Writers should take care at this stage that all sentence structure and punctuation is correct, and they should make corrections to documentation format as needed. (10) Writers often repeat these four phases more than once, or skip a phase and go back to it, making the writing process more cyclical than linear.

 

Comparison-Contrast

Ø A comparison-contrast essay presents the relationship between two items; this may be in the form of similarities and differences

Ø This essay may be organized by using either the "point-by-point organization" or the "block organization"

Ø Sample Comparison-Contrast Paragraph

A scientist and a poet both strive for perfection: the poet refines his sensibilities, while the scientist reduces everything to precise measurements. Both share the beauty of a rainbow, but while the poet imagines a pot of gold at the end of it, the scientist wants to spell it out in angstrom units measuring wavelength.

Sample Comparison-Contrast

Point-by-Point or Alternating Arrangement

I. Introduction in which you state your purpose

II. First difference

A. Topic 1

B. Topic 2

III. Second difference

A. Topic 1

B. Topic 2

IV. Third difference

A. Topic 1

B. Topic 2

V. Conclusion

 

Block Arrangement

I. Introduction in which you state your purpose

II. Topic 1

A. Similarity/Difference or Factor 1

B. Similarity/Difference or Factor 1

C. Similarity/Difference or Factor 1

III. Topic 1

A. Similarity/Difference or Factor 1

B. Similarity/Difference or Factor 1

C. Similarity/Difference or Factor 1

IV. Conclusion

 

Cause-Effect

Ø The cause-effect essay presents the reasons or results for something.

Ø There are two possible ways to outline a cause-effect essay: (a) single cause, multiple effects or (b) multiple causes, single effect.

       The tropical rainforests of West Africa, Brazil, Latin America and Southeast Asia are some of the most important environmental regions of the world because they hold millions of unique plants, animals, and people. However, they are being destroyed rapidly for agriculture, mining and logging. This essay will examine the causes of this destruction and outline its effects on our lives.

       One of the main causes of this is logging for timber. Millions of hectares of trees are cu down every year, often illegally. The most valuable wood is taken and not replaced, and landless people move in along the new logging roads

 

Argumentative

Ø An argumentative essay presents premises and conclusions regarding an issue. It presents the writer's stand--whether he/she agrees or not.

Ø However, it should be noted that an argumentative essay is different from an opinion simply because an argumentative essay shows evidences and support details, while most opinions are based on beliefs and personal ideologies.

Ø Premises are reasons that support conclusions, while a conclusion is the key assertion, or claim.

 

Sample Argumentative Paragraph

       Because of the pressing issues regarding global economic recession, it is high time that the government support programs that would boost the country's economy. We should set aside moral issues and start thinking of ways to curb to growing problems in finance. One way to deal with this is by legalizing prostitution.

       We all know that this is the oldest profession and legalizing this will allow more revenues. How? Well, basically, legalizing prostitution is tantamount to taxation. Each prostitute will be taxed. Hence, a portion of their profits will contribute to the needs of the nation.

 

SAMPLE TEST ITEMS

1. Oliver jumps every New Year season. Believing that he will become taller. The error in these statements may be corrected using the following versions, except:

A.   Because he believes that he will become taller, Oliver jumps every New Year season.

B.   Oliver jumps every New Year season, and he believes that he will become taller.

C.   Oliver jumps every New Year season. He believes that he will become taller.

D.   Believing that he will become taller, Oliver jumps every New Year season.

The answer is B. Fragments may be corrected by making one of the sentences a subordinating clause (just like A & D. Fragments may also be eliminated by simply making two sentences (just like C). Bis not acceptable simply because it led to another common sentence error: Faulty Coordination.

2. Which of the following will best complete the sentence below? The demonstrators were so enraged_________

A.    because they threw tomatoes to the effigy and burned it afterwards.

B.    since they threw tomatoes to the effigy and burned it afterwards.

C.    that they threw tomatoes to the effigy and burned it afterwards.

D.    for they threw tomatoes to the effigy and burned it afterwards.

The answer is C. Options A, B, and D present subordination, i.e. the idea presented is a "reason." However, the sentence should present a "result" idea, i.e. what the demonstrators did because of their anger

 

3. All of the transitional/cohesive devices below may be used when writing a comparison-contrast essay, except

A. consequently

B. conversely

C. nevertheless

D. similarly

The answer is A. "Consequently" would be more useful in a cause-effect essay. All the other options may be used when comparing and contrasting.

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