Colleen M. Richardson

Student Resources for English 101

The following information and assignments are for remediation, self-improvement, and or for use as make up work for missing class.  I have attempted to match the assignments to what we are doing in class.  Some of the information is directly relevant. Other information is a means to promote your personal growth as a writer.

Click on the week of class to find handouts, exercises, hyperlinks and pictures.

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Week 1:Introduction and Remembering Events

Sentence Variety Exercise: Writing short, choppy sentences or repeating the same pattern becomes very boring for the reader and is indicative of an undeveloped style on the part of the writer. Once you have completed a rough draft of a writing assignment, you should take time to polish your work by improving sentence variety and emphasis.

Directions: the following pairs of sentences are correctly written, but their repetitive structure can become boring. Combine the sentences by changing the structure of one and joining it to the other to create one new sentence. Do not use conjunctions such as and, but, and or to join the sentences, and do not change the meaning. There is no single correct way to rewrite the sentences. Email or attach all twenty completed sentences.

Example: I put my complaint on paper. I felt much better.
Combined: After I put my complaint on paper, I felt much better; or As soon as I put my complaint on paper, I felt much better; or Putting my complaint on paper made me feel much better, etc.

1. Her weaving became a full-time business. It began as a hobby.
2. Rain passes through a band of cold air. It turns to ice and sleet.
3. I got my recommendation from a doctor. I had once worked for him.
4. Boyd won an athletic award. He is very proud of it.
5. The magician pulled away the scarf. The rabbit had vanished.
6. The poem was good enough to print. Peggy wrote it for my birthday.
7. I am not very familiar with Springfield. This might hamper my ability to make friends.
8. The directions were of little help. They were confusing.
9. MCC allows many area students to receive a substantial background in all facets of agricultural production. Some of those facets include animal nutrition and crop production.
10. The grounds crew has the watering system going every morning. This makes the lawn rich and full.
11. Jerry took one taste of the soup, and he pushed it aside.
12. A girl sang two Irish songs, and her voice was very shrill.
13. You mention politics to Mr. Pearson, and you will certainly regret it.
14. You solve one problem, and you often create two new ones.
15. My cousin Steve became a doctor, and his father is a veterinarian.
16. Bob has a good memory, and he can learn his part fast.
17. The heroine falls in love with a lawyer, and he is very ambitious.
18. You hear a commercial repeated too many times, and you begin to dislike the product.
19. Do the right thing, and your conscience will be clear.
20. The little boy had the most innocent look, but he had broken the window.

Structural Plan for Themewriting: the following organization will serve as a framework for all the writing assignments in this course, and will be useful to you in other courses as well. You should mark this plan or make a hard copy for future reference.

The introduction is usually a paragraph in length but may be expanded to several paragraphs in a longer paper. It begins with an introductory technique, a way of leading the reader into the content of the paper. Some introductions try to give the reader a sense of the importance of the topic (the justification), and virtually all papers written for college classes should include a thesis statement in the first paragraph. The thesis usually comes at the end of this first paragraph, but not always.
The first body paragraph begins with some sort of transitional device to lead the reader from the introduction into the remainder of the paper. The purpose of this paragraph is to talk about the first major aspect of your idea, to develop it in any way which advances the purpose of your paper, for example by giving an example or examples, by comparing and/or contrasting, or by defining. A good paragraph should be substantial, eight to twelve sentences in length. In a long assignment you might decide to devote several paragraphs instead of just one to the treatment of this first idea, but most college essays treat the first idea in one fully developed paragraph. Bring this part to a close with an appropriate preliminary concluding sentence.
The second body paragraph uses the same structure as the first without being repetitive, redundant, in wording. Introduce the second major idea with a transition, discuss it fully, and bring your treatment of the subject to a close.
The third body paragraph once again uses the same structure as the first without being repetitive, redundant, in wording. The paper can continue in this manner with as many body paragraphs as you have topics to discuss, each one of these topics supporting the thesis statement in the introduction. A typical college essay assignment is five or more paragraphs in length, including an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
The conclusion is a separate paragraph that brings your paper to a close, giving the reader as sense of finality. The conclusion often echoes the introduction by using a similar technique to finish the presentation. Concluding paragraphs are generally not as long as body paragraphs, but they must still be fully developed.