LESSON 1

PUNCTUATIONS
Directions:
1. This lesson is aimed at providing the students with knowledge and application of
punctuations in order that they are able to read better.
2. After you studied this lesson, it is expected that you have good understanding
about punctuations.
3. This lesson contains all important types of punctuations which are needed very
much in cathing the writer’s messages..

1. DEFINITION OF PUNCTUATION

Punctuation is the set of marks used to regulate texts and clarify their meanings,
principally by separating or linking words,phrases, and clauses.
A. COMMA
Commas often (though not always) signal a minor break, or pause, in a sentence.
Six main uses of the comma :
 To separate items in a series
 To set off introductory material menyela
 Before and after words that interrupt the flow of thought in a sentence
 Before two complete thoughts connected by and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.
 To set off a direct quatation from the rest of a sentence
 For certain everyday material

1. Comma between items in a series.

Examples :
a. Do you drink tea with milk, lemon, or honey?
b. Today the dishwasher stopped working, the garbage bag split, and the
refrigerator turned into a freezer.
c.The talk shows enraged him so much hi did not know whether to laugh, cry, or
throw up.
 The final comma in a series is optional, but it is not often used.
 A comma is used between two descriptive words in aseries only if and inserted
between the words sounds natural. You could say :

Reiko awoke from a restless and nightmare-filled sleep.

But notice that in the following sentence that the descriptive words do not sounds
natural when and is inserted between them. In such cases, no comma is used.

Exercise 1

Please commas between items in a series.

1. Superman believes in truth justice and the American way.
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2. The commitee voted to donate $300 to the scholarship fun to reschedule the January
meeting to book a band for the spring dance and to invite. Professor Duncan to lecture
on animal psykology in March.
3.Jovan had lived in three South American cities: Lima Santiago and Buenos Aires.

2. Comma after introductory material

Example :

a. After punching the alarm clock with his fist, bill turned over and went back to
sleep.
b. Looking up the sky, I saw a man who was flying faster than a speedinh bullet.
c. Holding a baited trap, Cylde caustionsly approach the gigantic mousehole. In
addition, he held a broom in his hand.

 If the introductory material is brief, the comma is sometimes omitted. In

the activities here, you should use the comma.
 A comma is also used to set off extra material at the end of a sentence.
Here are two sentences where this comma rule applies :

A sudden breeze shot through the windows, driving the stuffiness

out of the room.
I love to cook and eat Italian food, especially eggplant rollatini
and lasagna.
Exercise 2

Place commas after introductory material :

1. After the Civil War my ancestor opened a grocery store in Indianapolis.
2. Feeling brave and silly at the same time Tony volunteered to go onstage and help the
magician.
3. At first putting extra hot pepper flakes on the pizza seemed like a good idea.
However, I felt otherwise when flames seemed about too shoot out of my mouth.

3. Comma around word interrupting the flow of though.

Use commas before and after words or phrases that interrupt the flow of thought
in a sentence :
Example :
My brother, a sport nut, owns over five thousand baseball cards.
That reality show, at long last, has been canceled.
The children used the old Buick, rusted from disuse, as a back yard clubhouse.

Exercise 3

1. During Dan’s teenage years when he lived on Long Island Dan often went crabbing in
the Great South day.
2. Driving fron Minneapolis to Chicago especially during a heavy snowstorm can be
unnerving.
3. My Cousin Luccile who is wearing the black dress with the white pearls looks very
stylish this evening.

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 4. Comma between complete thoughts
Use comma between complete thoughts connected by and, but, for, or, nor, so,
yet.
Example :
The wedding was schedule for four o’clock, but the bride changed her mind at
two.
We could always tell when our instructor felt disorganized, for his shirt would
not be tucked in.
a. The comma is optional when the complete thoughts are short.
b. Be careful not to use comma in sentence having one subject an a double verb.

Exercise 4

1. The oranges in the refrigerator were covered with blue mold and the potatoes in the
cupboard felt like sponges.
2. All the pants in the shop were on sale but not a single pair was my size.
3. Martha often windows-shop in the malls for hours and comes home without buying
anything.

5. Comma with direct quotation

Example:
His father shouted,”Why don’t you go out and get a job?”
“No,”said Celia to Jerry.”I won’t write your paper for you.”

Exercise 5
Use comma to set off quotation from the sentence below.
1.Su Lin turned to her husband and said “The man may be the head of the family, but the
woman is the neck that turns the head.”
2.The students behind me whispered”The skin.”
3. “Everyone is wise”says my eighty-year-old-grandmother ”until he speaks.”

6. Comma with everyday material

a. Persons spoken to
example: Tina, go to bed if you are not feeling well.
Sara, where did you put my shoes?
b. Dates
example: March 4, 2007, is when Martha buried her third husband.
c. Adresses
example: Tony’s grandfather live at 183 Roxborough Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio
44112
d. Opening and closing of letters
example: Dear Santa,
Truly yours,
e. Numbers
example: The dishonest dealer turned the used car’s odometer from 98,170 miles.

Exercise 6

Place commas where needed.

1. I expected you to set a better example for the others Mike.
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2. Liz with your help I passed the test.
3. Kitty left Dredge on October 12 2006 and run off with their marriage counselor.

Review Test

Insert comma where is needed.

1. My mother who makes the best lasagna in the world was born in Sicily.
2. “Although men have more upper-body strenght “said the lecturer “women are more
resistant to fatigue.”
3. Many people who had kidney transplants neede to take immune system suppressing
drugs but that has become less common because of new medical technology.
4. Navel oranges which Margery as a little girl called belly button oranges are her
favourite fruit.
5. The company agreed to raise a senior bus driver’s salary to $42000 by January 1
2009.
(Hand Book of sentence skill)

B. SEMICOLONS

The semicolon or semi-colon (;) is a punctuation mark that separates major

sentence elements. A semicolon can be used between two closely related independent
clauses, provided they are not already joined by a coordinating conjunction. Semicolons
can also be used in place of commas to separate items in a list, particularly when the
elements of that list contain commas.
Rule 1. A semicolon can replace a period if the writer wishes to narrow the gap between
two closely linked sentences
Examples:
Call me tomorrow; you can give me an answer then.
We have paid our dues; we expect all the privileges listed in the contract

Rule 2. Use a semicolon before such words and terms as namely, however, therefore,
that is, i.e., for example, e.g., for instance, etc., when they introduce a complete
sentence. It is also preferable to use a comma after these words and terms
Example:Bring any two items; however, sleeping bags and tents are in short supply

Rule 3. Use a semicolon to separate units of a series when one or more of the units
contain commas

Incorrect:The conference has people who have come from Moscow, Idaho, Springfield,
California, Alamo, Tennessee, and other places as well
Note that with only commas, that sentence is hopeless

Correct:The conference has people who have come from Moscow, Idaho; Springfield,
California; Alamo, Tennessee; and other places as well

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Rule 4. A semicolon may be used between independent clauses joined by a connector,
such as and, but, or, nor, etc., when one or more commas appear in the first clause

Example:When I finish here, and I will soon, I'll be glad to help you; and that is a
promise I will keep

Semicolons - Exercise 1
Joining Independent Clauses

Instructions
1. A semicolon belongs in each of the following sentences. Determine where the
semicolon belongs. Then select the word that comes just before the semicolon.
2. If you accidentally click on the wrong button, simply click on the button you
meant to select.
3. Now proceed to the next sentence and continue in the same manner until you
have finished all 5 sentences.

Questions

.1. If it is raining outside I will bring my umbrella with me

a.) raining
b.) outside
c.) umbrella

2. Hopefully, the weather will change soon otherwise the whole summer will go by
without the sun shining
a.) soon
b.) otherwise
c.) summer

3. She doesn't understand algebra therefore she will probably not pass the math final

a.) understand
b.) algebra
c.) therefore

4. We will play tennis tomorrow then we will go out for dinner

a.) play
b.) tennis
c.) tomorrow

5. She had very high grades in high school she applied to Harvard University.

a.) grades
b.) schoo
c.) applied

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C. INTERJECTION

Interjections are expressions of exclamation that show emotion. The words

themselves often do not have any other meaning. An interjection is often followed by an
exclamation point, but not always. In grammar, an interjection or exclamation may be a
word used to express an emotion or sentiment on the part of the speaker (although most
interjections have clear definitions). Interjections are often placed at the beginning of a
sentence. An interjection is sometimes expressed as a single word or non-sentence
phrase, followed by a punctuation mark. The isolated usage of an interjection does not
represent a complete sentence in conventional English writing. Thus, in formal writing,
the interjection will be incorporated into a larger sentence clause.
An interjection is one of the eight major parts of speech, along with verbs, nouns,
pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions. Some grammarians
believe that interjections are the least important part of speech. This is because
interjections are not generally required in order for the meaning of a sentence to become
clear.
An interjection is a word solely designed to convey emotion. It expresses meaning or
feeling. It does not:
 relate grammatically to the other parts of the sentence
 help the reader understand the relationship between words and phrases in the
sentence
Instead, it simply conveys to the reader the way the author is feeling. Interjections
are rarely used in academic or formal writing, but are common in fiction or artistic
writing. They are usually, but not always, offset by an exclamation point (which is also
used to show emotion).
Expressions such as "Excuse me!", "Sorry!", "No thank you!", "Oh dear!", "Hey
that's mine!", and similar ones often serve as interjections. Interjections can be phrases
or even sentences, as well as words, such as "Oh!" "Pooh!" "Wow!".

1. Use of Interjections

A. Beginning of Sentences
When people think of interjections, they commonly think of them being used at the
beginning of the sentence. Many also associate interjections with a punctuation mark
designed to convey emotion: the exclamation point. This is often true. Interjections can
and do appear in the beginning of sentences. For example:

 “Yikes, I didn’t realize that there was a test on grammar today!”

 “Oh no, I can’t believe that it is snowing here again!”

In both of these sentences the interjection - “yikes” and “oh no” appear at the
beginning of the sentence. In addition, in both of the sentences, the emotion is a strong
emotion and the sentence itself ends with an exclamation point.

B. Middle or End of Sentences

Interjections do not always have to be at the beginning of a sentence. They can
appear in the middle, at the end, or anyplace else where the author wants to interject a bit
of feeling and emotion. For example, in the sentence “So, it’s snowing again, huh?” the
interjection is found at the end. Here, the interjection is designed to express confusion
(or perhaps dismay) at the continued snow falling. In this sentence, the emotion wasn’t
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an emotion that necessitated an exclamation point--instead, the interjection ‘huh’ turned
the sentence into a question.
The sentence “In my opinion, my gosh, this is just the smartest thing you have ever
said” the interjection is found in the middle. It designed to express or convey the
author’s emphasis on his opinion that the statement was smart. Again, no exclamation
point is required.

C. Stand-alone Sentence
` An interjection can also be used by itself as a stand-alone sentence. For example,
look at the two sentences: “Oh gosh! I can’t believe how late it is.” The interjection “oh
gosh” is a stand-alone sentence. This is grammatically correct, although “Oh Gosh” does
not contain a subject and action that is normally required for a complete thought to be
expressed. The interjection--or the emotion felt--is the entire point of the sentence.

2. Types of Interjections
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of interjections in the English
language. Most are designed to express strong emotions, such as love, hate, surprise,
happiness, anger, enthusiasm, disgust, boredom, confusion or unhappiness. However,
this is not always true. Some interjections can express either a mild emotion, or can be
expressions, such as “Excuse me.”

A sample list of interjections includes words such as:

1. Aha
2. Boo
3. Crud
4. Dang
5. Eew
6. Gosh
7. Goodness
8. Ha
9. Oh
10. Oops
11. Oh no
12. Ouch
13. Rats
14. Shoot
15. Uh-oh
16. Uh-huh
17. Ugh
18. Yikes
19. Yuck
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but is representative of the types of
interjections you may use on a daily basis. For more examples see Examples of
Interjections.
3. Interjections in Writing

Interjections are not commonly used in formal or academic writing. Because of the
function that interjections serve, there is virtually no place for them in an academic
paper that is designed to convey facts. By definition, facts should be devoid of motion or
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opinion such as the emotions conveyed by interjections. Interjections are used most
often in speech. While people don’t necessarily pause to think about it, they use
interjections all the time. This is even more true when you consider the fact that
common words used in pauses, such as “uh,” and “um” are interjections.
Interjections can find their way into fictional pieces, most often in the form of
dialogue. They can also be used in informal written communication between two people,
such as letters or emails.

Exercise
There are many kinds of interjections. Many interjections such as “hey!” or
“cool!” are well known. Sometimes writers invent them according to the emotions they
wish to express.
See examples of interjections below in boldface.
Ouch! That really hurt!
Hey, that wasn’t nice.
Dang! I meant to change that light bulb.
Wow! What a great idea!
Yikes! I’m scared of heights!

Complete the sentences below by placing an interjection in each blank.

Brainstorm examples of interjections with a partner before beginning.
1. Jenna shrieked, “___________!” when she saw Nick’s spider collection.
2. __________! I hate when I mess up on a project when I am almost done.
3. __________, you really should sing this song for the whole class.
4. “__________, you make me so mad,” Kyle said. “Why won’t you help with the
dishes?”
5. Isn’t this exciting? __________, I can’t wait to go on this trip!

D. PARENTHESIS ( )

History for parenthesis

1540s, "words, clauses, etc. inserted into a sentence," from Middle French parenthèse
(15c.), from Late Latin parenthesis "addition of a letter to a syllable in a word," from
Greek parenthesis, literally "a putting in beside," from parentithenai "put in beside,"
from para- "beside" (see para- (1)) + en- "in" + tithenai "put, place," from PIE root *dhe-
"to put, to do" (see factitious ). Sense extension by 1715 from the inserted words to the
curved brackets that indicate the words inserted.

Definition:

(1) Either or both of the upright curved lines, ( ), used to mark off explanatory or
qualifying remarks in writing. Plural: parentheses. Adjective: parenthetical.

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(2) The insertion of some verbal unit that interrupts the normal syntactic flow of the
sentence. Parenthetical remarks may also be set off by dashes. See Examples and
Observations, below.
Etymology:
From the Latin, "to insert beside"

Examples and Observations:

1. "My very photogenic mother died in a freak accident (picnic, lightning) when I
was three."
(Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita, 1955)
2. "Write a three page essay on the subject 'What I Shall Do With My Life' (with a
brief account of its chief events to date and a plan for the future).

"Miss Cut bush loved parentheses."

(Cid Ricketts Sumner, Sudden Glory, 1951)
3. "The English (it must be owned) are rather a foul-mouthed nation."
(William Hazlitt, "On Criticism")
4. "'Black dog' is the mood of bottomless, suicidal despair suffered, most
notoriously, by Winston Churchill (himself a kind of bulldog in nappies, a logo
for Empire; growling and dribbling, wheezing smoke, swollen veins fired with
brandy)."
(Iain Sinclair, Lights Out for the Territory. Granta Books, 1997))
5. "It is now necessary to warn you that your concern for the reader must be pure:
you must sympathize with the reader's plight (most readers are in trouble about
half the time) but never seek to know the reader's wants. Your whole duty as a
writer is to please and satisfy yourself, and the true writer always plays to an
audience of one."
(William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White, The Elements of Style. Allyn & Bacon,
1995)
6. "For the vagabond-voyeur (and for travelers voyeurism is irresistible), nothing is
not for notice, nothing is banal, and nothing is ordinary: not a rock, not the
shoulder of a passer-by, not a teapot."
(Cynthia Ozick, "The Shock of Teapots")

E. THE COLON
There are several rules for using a colon (:), but it basically indicates that a list or
explanation is to follow.
Rule 1
Use a colon between two independent clauses when the second clause
explains, summarizes, or answers the first one:
Barry wanted only one thing from life: he wanted to make lots of money.
(subj) (verb) (subj) (verb)

Both clauses are complete sentences. The second clause explains the first one. It’s true
that a period or a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction would work here, and
even a semicolon would work between these two clauses. However, the colon is the best
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choice because it is the most specific and exact form of punctuation in this case and
helps the reader see the answer-explanation relationship between the two clauses.
Here’s another example:
Erin knew there were two options left for her: She could finish school, or she
could join the army.

Note: When a colon separates two independent clauses, the second independent clause
usually begins with a capital or lowercase letter
(He wanted . . .).

Rule 2
Use a colon after an independent clause that is followed by a word or phrase that
answers or explains the idea set up in the independent clause.
Barry wanted only one thing from life: to make lots of money.
[Colon followed by a phrase]
Barry wanted only one thing from life: lots of money.
[Colon followed by a phrase]
Barry wanted only one thing from life: money.
[Colon followed by a single word]
Two options were left for her: finishing school or joining the army.
[Colon followed by a phrase]
Tip: An independent clause must come before the colon.
Correct: The test was assessing two things: the students’ understanding of the reading
and their use of examples.
Incorrect: Assessing two things: the students’ understanding of the reading and their
use of examples.

Rule 3
Use a colon after an independent clause that introduces a list of items.
Vik and Seema bought several household items at the street fair: art, rugs, dishes, and
linens.
To get good grades you will have to focus on the following tips: getting enough sleep,
reading all homework assignments, finishing homework tasks on time, and doing
professional work in and out of class

Tip 1: Be sure that the clause that comes before the colon and the list is independent. It
should have both a subject and a verb and not be introduced by a subordinating
conjunction. To learn karate, you will need: discipline, time, patience, and a sensei.
[Incorrect use of the colon—delete it]

Tip 2: Don’t use a colon after words and phrases such as for example, such as, and
including. Think of these words as replacements fora colon; they serve the same
function.
Examples: Many birds frequented Jen’s feeder such as: finches, chickadees, sparrows,
and starlings. [Incorrect use of the colon—delete it]
Use a colon before a quotation if an independent clause is used to set up the
quotation:
Richard Bach wrote the following words of wisdom in Illusions: “Disappointment
requires adequate planning.”
Miscellaneous Uses
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There are several miscellaneous uses for colons.

· In greetings:
To the Director of Personnel:
Dear Mr. Sanders:
· To show hours and minutes:
3:24 PM
· In titles and subtitles:
Changing Economics: A Study of Spending in Our Current Times
· To show ratios:
The odds were 3:1 against him.
· In bibliography or works cited formats:
Boston: Bedford, 2004.
When Not to Use a Colon
· Do not use a colon after especially, such as, consisted of, including, and other words or phrases that
indicate a list will follow.
· Do not use a colon after a verb that sets up a list of objects.
· Do not use a colon between book and verse or act and scene (in MLA style). Use
periods instead:
Correct: Bible: John 2.5 Plays: Romeo and Juliet, 1.3 (or I.III)
Incorrect: Bible: John 2:5 Plays: Romeo and Juliet, 1:3 (or I:III)

ACTIVITY 1: Colon Practice

Directions: Add colons where they belong in the following sentences.

1. There was one obvious reason for the fireThe faulty wiring started a spark on the
old wood walls.
2. The name of the textbook was Fundamentals of MathAn Introduction to College
Mathematics.
3. The following cars are the most popular: Hondas, Toyotas, and Fords.
4. Marcia and Hugh have two lovely daughtersThey are Page and Eliza.
5. He had two things he wanted to say: He loved her, and he wanted to marry her.

ACTIVITY 2: Add or Delete Colons

Directions: Add or delete colons where needed in the following sentences.

1. Isabelle likes:/ eating macaroons, playing on the beach, and swimming in the
pool.
2. She wanted one thing from this vacation: to get lots of rest.
3. There are several activities to do on the beach such as:/ swim, snorkel, build
sandcastles, or read a book.
4. She was told to order the book titledGeography:An Introduction to the Field in
the school bookstore.
5. To get ready for the camping trip, she needed to buy the following items: coffee,
beans, candles, matches, bottled water, and granola

F. THE DASH --
A dash is a punctuation mark that is similar to a hyphen or minus sign, but differs
from both of these symbols primarily in length and function. The most common
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 versions of the dash are the en dash (–) and the em dash (—), named for the length of
a typeface's lower-case n and upper-case M respectively.
"A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon,
and more relaxed than parentheses."
(William Strunk, Jr, and E.B. White, The Elements of Style)
The uses of dashes are:
To introduce parenthetical information:
I put on a blue jacket --the one my mother bought me-- and blue jeans.
To show an afterthought:
I explained to him my point of view-- at least I tried!
Rules to make dashes :
1. Words and phrases between dashes are not generally part of the subject.
Example: Joe—and his trusty mutt—was always welcome.
2. Dashes replace otherwise mandatory punctuation, such as the commas after
Iowa and 2013 in the following examples:
Without dash: The man from Ames, Iowa, arrived.
With dash: The man—he was from Ames, Iowa—arrived.
Without dash: The May 1, 2013, edition of the Ames Sentinel arrived in
June.
With dash: The Ames Sentinel—dated May 1, 2013—arrived in June.
3. Some writers and publishers prefer spaces around dashes.
Example: Joe — and his trusty mutt — was always welcome.
Examples:
You are the friend, the only friend, who offered to help me.
You are the friend—the only friend—who offered to help me.
I pay the bills; she has all the fun.
I pay the bills—she has all the fun.
I wish you would…oh, never mind.
I wish you would—oh, never mind.

G. THE QUOTATION MARKS “…”

In English writing, quotation marks or inverted commas, also known
informally as quotes or speech marks or as quote marks, quote marks or speech
marks, are punctuation marks placed either side of a word or phrase in order to identify
it as a quotation, direct speech or a literal title or name. They are also used to indicate
that the meaning of the word or phrase they surround should be taken to be different
from (or, at least, a modification of) that typically associated with it; in this way, they
are often used to express irony. They also sometimes appear to be used as a means of
adding emphasis, although this usage is usually considered incorrect.
The closing single quotation mark is identical or similar in form to the
apostrophe and similar to the prime symbol. However, these three characters have quite
different purposes.
The double quotation mark is similar to—and often used to represent—the ditto
mark and the double prime symbol.

Usages:

1. Quotations and speech

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 Single or double quotation marks denote either speech or a quotation. Double
quotes are preferred in the United States, and also tend to be preferred in Canada,
Australia and New Zealand. Single quotes are more usual in the United Kingdom and
South Africa, though double quotes are also common there. A publisher's or author's
style may take precedence over regional general preferences. The important idea is that
the style of opening and closing quotation marks must be matched:
'Good morning, Frank,' said Hal.
"Good morning, Frank," said Hal.
For speech within speech, the other style is used as inner quotation marks:
'Hal said, "Good morning, Dave,"' recalled Frank.
"Hal said, 'Good morning, Dave,'" recalled Frank.
Sometimes quotations are nested in more levels than inner and outer quotation.
Nesting levels up to five can be found in the Christian Bible. In these cases, questions
arise about the form (and names) of the quotation marks to be used. The most common
way is to simply alternate between the two forms thus:
In most cases, quotations that span multiple paragraphs should be set as block
quotations, and thus do not require quotation marks. Quotation marks are used for
multiple-paragraph quotations in some cases, especially in narratives
When quoted text is interrupted, such as with the phrase he said, a closing
quotation mark is used before the interruption, and an opening quotation mark after.
Commas are also often used before and after the interruption, more often for quotations
of speech than for quotations of text:
"Hal," said Frank, "everything is going extremely well".
Quotation marks are not used for paraphrased speech. This is because a
paraphrase is not a direct quote, and in the course of any composition, it is important to
document when one is using a quotation versus when one is using a paraphrased idea,
which could be open to interpretation.
If Hal says: "All systems are functional", then, in paraphrased speech:

Incorrect: Hal said "everything was going extremely well".

Correct: Hal said that everything was going extremely well.

2. Irony
Main article: Scare quotes
Another common use of quotation marks is to indicate or call attention to ironic
or apologetic words:
He shared his "wisdom" with me.
The lunch lady plopped a glob of "food" onto my tray.

Quotes indicating verbal irony, or other special use, are sometimes called scare
quotes. They are sometimes gestured in oral speech using air quotes, or indicated in
speech with a tone change or by replacement with supposed[ly] or so-called.

3. Signaling unusual usage

Quotation marks are also used to indicate that the writer realizes that a word is
not being used in its current commonly accepted sense:
Crystals somehow "know" which shape to grow into.
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 In addition to conveying a neutral attitude and to call attention to a neologism, or
slang, or special terminology (also known as jargon), quoting can also indicate words or
phrases that are descriptive but unusual, colloquial, folksy, startling, humorous,
metaphoric, or contain a pun: Dawkins's concept of a meme could be described as an
"evolving idea".

4. Use–mention distinction

Main articles: Use–mention distinction and Meta language

Either quotation marks or italic type can emphasize that an instance of a word refers to
the word itself rather than its associated concept.
Cheese is derived from milk.
"Cheese" is derived from a word in Old English.
Cheese has calcium, protein, and phosphorus.
Cheese has three Es.

A three-way distinction is occasionally made between normal use of a word (no

quotation marks), referring to the concept behind the word (single quotation marks), and
the word itself (double quotation marks):
When discussing 'use', use "use".

The logic for this derives from the need to distinguish use forms, coupled with
the mandate to retain consistent notation for like use forms. The switching between
double and single quotes in nested citation quotes reveals the same literary device for
reducing ambiguity.

Writing about language often uses italics for the word itself and single quotation
marks for a gloss, with the two not separated by a comma or other punctuation, and with
strictly logical quotation around the gloss – extraneous terminal punctuation outside the
quotation marks – even in North American publications, which might otherwise prefer
them inside:[11]
Latin ovis 'sheep', canis 'dog', and equus 'horse' are nouns.

5. Titles of artistic works

Quotation marks, rather than italics, are generally used for the titles of shorter
works. Whether these are single or double depends on the context; however, many
styles, especially for poetry, prefer the use of single quotation marks.
 Short fiction, poetry, etc.: Arthur C. Clarke's "The Sentinel"
 Book chapters: The first chapter of 3001: The Final Odyssey is "Comet Cowboy"

 Articles in books, magazines, journals, etc.: "Extra-Terrestrial Relays", Wireless

World, October 1945
 Album tracks, singles, etc.: David Bowie's "Space Oddity"
As a rule, a whole publication would be italicised (or, in typewritten text,
underlined), whereas the titles of minor works within or a subset of the larger
publication (such as poems, short stories, named chapters, journal papers, newspaper
articles, TV show episodes, video game levels, editorial sections of websites, etc.) would
be written with quotation marks.
 Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
14
  Dahl's "Taste" in Completely Unexpected Tales

6. Nicknames and false titles
Quotation marks can also offset a nickname embedded in an actual name, or a
false or ironic title embedded in an actual title; for example, Nat "King" Cole, Miles
"Tails" Prower, or John "Hannibal" Smith.

7. Nonstandard usage
Quotes are sometimes used for emphasis in lieu of underlining or italics, most
commonly on signs or placards. This usage can be confused with ironic or altered-usage
quotation, sometimes with unintended humor. For example, For sale: "fresh" fish,
"fresh" oysters, could be construed to imply that fresh is not used with its everyday
meaning, or indeed to indicate that the fish or oysters are anything but fresh. As another
example, Cashiers' desks open until noon for your "convenience" could be interpreted to
mean that the convenience was for the bank employees, not the customers.

Quotation Mark Exercise

In the following sentences put in quotation marks wherever they are needed, and
underline words where italics are needed.
1. Mary is trying hard in school this semester, her father said.
2. No, the taxi driver said curtly, I cannot get you to the airport in fifteen minutes.
3. I believe, Jack remarked, that the best time of year to visit Europe is in the
spring. At least that's what I read in a book entitled Guide to Europe.
4. My French professor told me that my accent is abominable.
5. She asked, Is Time a magazine you read regularly?
6. Flannery O'Connor probably got the title of one of her stories from the words of
the old popular song, A Good Man Is Hard to Find.
7. When did Roosevelt say, We have nothing to fear but fear itself?
8. Yesterday, John said, This afternoon I'll bring back your book Conflict in the
Middle East; however, he did not return it.
9. Can you believe, Dot asked me, that it has been almost five years since we've
seen each other?
10. A Perfect Day for Bananafish is, I believe, J. D. Salinger's best short story.
11. Certainly, Mr. Martin said, I shall explain the whole situation to him. I know that
he will understand.

LESSON 2
CONTEXT CLUES

A. What is a word?
Words are important. They are the raw material we use to write everything from
email messaes and memos to letters, essays, and textbooks. Therefore, when you don’t

15
understand a word an author uses, you may not understand what he or she is writing
about.
When you don’t understand a word, you can use several strategies to help you
define itu. However, just finding a definition isn’t always enough. To understand an
outhor’s specific meaning of a word, you must look at the word in conetext—how it is
used with the other words in the sentence and surrounding sentences. This is because
words take on meaning from their context.
Words are unit which is a constituent at the phrase level and above. It is
sometimes identifiable according to such criteria. Words are the raw material we use to
write everything from such as email, messages and memos to letters, essays and text
books. Therefore, when you do not understand a word an author users, you can use
several strategies to help you define it. To understand an author’s specific meaning of a
word, you must look at the word in context, how it is used with the other words in the
sentence and surrounding the sentences. This is because word takes a meaning from
their context.

For example, run is common every word. However, if a friend asks to define run,
you need to know which run she means: for example, run as in “the player hit a home
run,” or she had a run in her pantyhose, or she had a run in her pantyhose, “or” he was
going to run to store, “or” she was going to run for office. Once you know the context-
the situation or the rest of the words – you can give a good definition. Like run, many
words have multiple meanings.

Example: think about definitions of the word medium in these sentences.

1. The internet is a powerful medium for finding information.

2. Copper is a good medium for conducting heat.
3. I asked for my hamburger to be cooked medium more than rare, but less than
well done.
4. At the state fair we saw a fortuneteller and a medium to try to communicate with
my dead uncle’s spirit.
5. The artists used watercolors on cloth as the medium for her work.

Explanation

Understanding the way the word is used with the other words in the sentence
helps you understand the specific meaning of medium.

- In sentence 1 medium is a means of communication.

- In sentence 2 medium is something that carries energy.
- In sentence 3 medium is an intermediate amount.
- In sentence 4 medium is a person who channels communications between the
earthly world and spirit.
- In sentence 5 medium is the technique and material used by an artists.

B. Defining words and phrases while reading

16
 To understand the variety of material you’re required to read, you must use the
strategies flexibly: choose the strategy or strategies that best fit the situation, for
example, when you come to a word you do not understand, you might first look for any
context clues you can use. On the other hand, if you recognize a part of the word,
perhaps that is the entire clue you need. Or you might start by looking it up in the
dictionary and fitting the meaning back into the context.

REMEMBERING WORD

 Understanding

Being able to remember something often depends on how thoroughly you

learned it in the first place. You must get or understand, something before you can
“forget it”. In this context, understanding means your ability to translate words and
information into ideas that make sense to you. However, applying several of your
senses will help: see it, say it, hear it, and write it.

 Reviewing and Using

Begin a session by reviewing some of the words you have already learned,
and then tackle new ones. You also have to use new information to remember it. In
fact, it’s been estimated that you must use a new word at least ten times before it’s
really “yours”. Try to use a few new in your writing and conversations each day.

Author often provide clues in their writing to help you understand words and
phrases. Unless a sentence is very difficult, using context clues to understand an
unfamiliar word can be quick and effecient way to ensure a correct definition.
Sometimes authors directly state the definition of an unfamiliar word.

Example : A liquid asset is cash or any other asset that can be converted to cash with a
minimum amount of trouble and no loss in market value. (Winger & Frasca, personal
finance)

Explanation : in this sentence winger and frasca directly state that the definition of liquid
asset is cash or any other asset that can be converted to cash with a minimum amount of
trouble and no loss in market value.

C. Using parts of a word to help define it

Another strategy you can use to help understand a word is to examine the parts
of the word. For example, some words are made by combining two components that are
words themselves-commonplace, headache, policeman. You can often define these
compound words by defining each individual word.

17
 You can also look for a root word and any prefixes and/or suffixes. The root is
the basic part of word. A prefix can be added to the beginning of a root word and/or a
suffix can be added at the end of a root word to make other words. Prefixes and suffixes
change the meaning of the root word. A suffix can also change the way a word can be
used in a sentence and its part of speech. Nevertheless, knowing even a few word parts
can help unlock the meanings of many unknown words.

Example :
Everyone agrees that hiring an employee is a multistep process.
The college offers an excellent multicultural program for future teachers.
Before you can experience multimedia Web sites, you need to install some basic plug-
ins.

Explanation knowing that the prefix multi means many, you are better able to
understand the sentences.
Thye following table lists some common word parts and their definitions.
Word Part Definition Example Word
Annu, anni year annual
Bene good beneficial
Cardio heart cardiology
Chrono time chronograph
Inter among, between intermural
Neo new neophyte
Omni all, everywhere omnipresent

A STRATEGY FOR LEARNING UNFAMILIAR WORDS

What should you do when you are reading a passage and you come to a word
you do not know? If your instructor asked this question, you might replay, “I’d look the
word up in the dictionary.” And as you said this, you would know that in fact you do not
often take the time to check the dictionary and were only giving an answer you thought
your instructor wanted to hear and would agree with.
Actually, looking up a word in a dictionary is not the first thing to do when you
meet a word you do not know. In fact, a dictionary is your last resort-somewhere to turn
when all else fails. Instead, first try pronouncing the word aloud. Hearing the word may
help you recall its meaning. If pronouncing the word does not help, try to figure out
meaning of the word from the words around it in a sentence, paragraph, or passage that
you are reading. Very often, among these surrounding words are various clues that
enable you to reason out the meaning of the unknown word. The words around an
unknown word that contain clues to its meaning are referred to as the context. The clues
themselves are called context clues. You can use types of context clues in determining
word meanings in textbook material: definition, restatement, example/illustration,
contrast, synonym, cause and effect, modifier, and logic of the passage.
If a word’s context does not provide clues to its meaning, you might try breaking
the word into parts. Analyzing a word’s parts, which may include its prefix, root, and
suffix, also provides clues to its meaning. Finally, if word parts do not help, look the
word up in a dictionary. Regardless of whatever method you use to find a word’s
18
meaning, be sure to record its meaning in the margin of the page. Later, transfer its
meaning to a vocabulary log or computer file.

A. Using Contextual Analysis: Context Clues

There are types of context clues in determining word meanings in textbook
material: definition, restatement, example/illustration, contrast, synonym, cause and
effect, modifier, and logic of the passage.

1. Definition Clues
Many times a writer defines a word immediately following its use. The writer
may directly define a word by giving a brief definition or a synonym (a word that
has the same meaning). Such words and phrases as means, is, are, refer to, and can
be defined as, are called, often used.

Here are some examples:

 Corona refers to the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere.
 A soliloquy is a speech made by character in a play that reveals his or
her thoughts to the audience.

2. Restatement
The words and phrases such as or, in other words, that is to say also indicate
restatements. At other times, rather than formally define the word, a writer may
provide you with clues. Punctuation is often used to signal that a restatement clue to
a word’s meaning is to follow. Punctuation also separates the meaning clue from the
rest of the sentence. Three types of punctuation-commas, parentheses, and dashes-
are used in this way. In the example below, notice that the meaning clue is separated
from the rest of the sentence by punctuation.
a. Commas
Five-line rhyming poems, or limericks, are among the simplest forms of
poetry.
Equity, general principles of fairness and justice, is used in law when
existing laws do not apply or are inadequate.
b. Parentheses
Lithium (an alkali metal) is so soft it can be cut with a knife.
A leading cause of heart disease is a diet with too much cholesterol (a fatty
substance made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen).
c. Dashes
Our country’s gross national product-the total market value of its national
output of goods and services-is increasing steadily.
Ancient Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphics-pictures used to represent words.

3. Example Clues
Writers often include examples that help to explain or clarify a word. Writers
sometimes give you an advance warning or signal that they are going to present
an example or illustration. Phrases that signal an example or illustration to follow
include for example, for instance, to illustrate, such as, etc.
Suppose you do not know the meaning of the word toxic, and you find it used
in the following sentence:
19
 Toxic materials, such as arsenic, asbestos, pesticides, and lead, can cause bodily
damage.
This sentence gives four examples of toxic materials. From the examples given,
which are all poisonous substances, you could conclude that toxic means
“poisonous.”
Examples:
 Perceiving, learning, and thinking are examples of cognitive processes.
Cognitive processes, then, are mental processes.
 Legumes, such as peas and beans, produce pods.
Legumes, then, are vegetable plants that produce pods.
 Many pharmaceuticals, including morphine and penicillin, are not
readily available in some countries.
From the examples of morphine and penicillin, you know that pharmaceuticals
are drugs.

4. Contrast Clues
It is sometimes possible to determine the meaning of an unknown word
from a word or phrase in the context that has an opposite meaning. Notice, in the
following sentence, how a word opposite in meaning from the boldfaced word
provides a clue to its meaning.
One of the dinner guests succumbed to the temptation to have a second piece of
cake, but the others resisted.
Although you may not know the meaning of succumbed, you know that the
one guest who succumbed was different from the others who resisted. The word
but suggests this. Since the others resisted a second desert, you can tell that one
guest gave in and had a piece. Thus, succumbed means the opposite of resist; that
is, “to give in to.”
Most often when an opposite or contrasting meaning is given, a signal word
or phrase in the sentence indicates a change in the direction of the thought. Most
commonly used are these signal words or phrases: on the other hand, however,
although, whereas, but, nevertheless, and on the contrary.
Examples:
 Most of the graduates were elated, although a few felt sad and depressed.
(The opposite of sad and depressed is joyful).
 The old man acted morosely, whereas his grandson was very lively.
(The opposite of lively is quietly and sullenly).
 The gentleman was quite portly, but his wife was thin.
(The opposite of thin is heavy or fat).

5. Synonym Clues
A complex term may be followed by a simpler, more commonly
understood word, even though the words may not be perfect synonyms, again,
the author is attempting to give the reader an explanation or definition-in this
instance, by using a comparison. In the following example, obscure is explained
by comparison to the word unintelligible.
The lecture was so obscure that the students labeled it unintelligible.

6. Cause and Effect

The words and phrases such as because, consequently, so, due to, as a
result, indicate cause and effect relationship.
20
 Examples:
 John was energetic enough to work sixteen hours at hospital because he
had restful weekend.
 Computer is very expensive, so we cannot afford to buy it.

7. Modifier
The modifier or clause after a noun modifies the noun.
Examples:
 They have city manager, who runs all the service departments of the
government and takes charge of buying, for the city.
 An illiterate person, being unable to read or write, is often cited.
 The reading components act as stable intermediate forms, as subparts of a
larger system, with each part relatively unaffected by the other subparts.

8. Sentence/ Paragraph
The sentence or sentences that come before or after the sentence containing
an unknown word explain the word. The paragraph in which an unknown word
appears may also explain the word.

Examples:
 At six on Easter morning the bell in the church began its sonorous ring.
The full, deep, rich of the bell could be heard in the empty street as the
sun came up.
 Mr. Copra owns the drugstore where we used to go every day after
school. Although we did not mean any harm, he was certainly a
disagreeable man I do not know why he was always angry and not very
nice.

9. Logic of a Passage
One of the most ways in which context provides clues about the meaning of
an unknown word is through logic or general reasoning about the content of a
sentence or about the relationship of ideas within a sentence. Suppose that before
you read the following sentence you did not know the meaning of the word
empirical.

Some of the questions now before us are empirical issues that require
evidence directly bearing on the question.

From the way empirical is used in the sentence, you know that an empirical
issue is one that requires direct evidence, and from that information you can
infer, or reason, that empirical has something to do with proof or supporting
facts.

Exercises
1. They were conscientious workers, never stopping until they had taken care of
every detail so that everything was done correctly and precisely.
Conscientious means . . . .

21
 2. We feared that the new prime minister would be a menace to society, but she
turned out to be a great peacemaker.
Menace means . . . .
3. He jumped into the fray and enjoyed every minute of the fight.
Fray means . . . .
4. Fatty deposits on artery walls combine with calcium compounds to cause
arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
Arteriosclerosis means. . . .
5. Servers in restaurants depend on customers to leave a gratuity for their
services. Without tips, waiters could not make a living.
Gratuity means. . . .
a. money b. compliment c. recommendation
6. In searching for food, homeless people often have to scavenge in dumpsters.
Scavenge means. . . .
a. sleep b. hunt c. hide

B. Structural Analysis: Word Parts

Even if students practice and remember the strategy, context clues
sometimes are not of much help in decoding unfamiliar words (Blachowicz &
Fisher, 2000; Nagy & Stahl, 2000). For example, you probably would have trouble
guessing the meaning of the following italicized term from context clues: They put a
lien on our house. Using context clues alone would give you no idea at the entire
meaning lien.
When you are working alone, it can potentially be more helpful to use
structural analysis, also known as morphemic analysis, along with contextual
analysis to derive meaning. Introduction in morphology to learn word parts in the
form of roots and affixes can be an advantage serving to unlock numerous words
across disciplines (Baumann, Edwards, Boland, Olejnik, & Kame’enui, 2003).
Structural analysis provides a way to examine words looking for roots and
affixes as keys to unlocking word meaning. Roots (the most basic word parts) and
affixes (prefixes and suffixes) are all morphemes. These word parts have specific
meaning that, when added together, can help you determine the meaning of the word
as a whole.
Suppose that you came across the following sentence in a human anatomy textbook:

Thrichromatic plates are used frequently in the text to illustrate the position of
body organs.
The word trichromatic can be devided into three parts: its prefix, root, and
suffix.

Prefix + Root + Suffix = New word

tri + chrome + atic = trichromatic

Meaning > three + color + characteristic of = having three colors

You can see from this analysis that trichromatic means “having tree color.”
Here is another example of word that you can figure out by using prefixes, roots, and
suffixes:
22
 The parents thought the child was unteachable.
un- = not
teach = help someone to learn
-able = able to do something
unteachable = not able to be taught.

The first step in using the prefix-root-suffix method is to become familiar

with the most commonly used word parts. Before you begin to use word parts to
figure out new words, there are a few things you need to know:
 In most cases, a word is built upon at least one root.
 Words can have more than one prefix, root, or suffix.
 Words can be made up of two or more roots (geo/logy).
 Some words have two prefixes (in/sub/ordination).
 Some words have two suffixes (beauty/ful/ly).
 Words do not always have a prefix and a suffix.
 Some words have neither a prefix nor a suffix (read).
 Others have a suffix but no prefix (read/ing).
 Others have a prefix but no suffix (pre/read).
 The spelling of roots may change as they are combined with suffixes.
 Different prefixes, roots, or suffixes may have the same meaning. For
example, the prefixes bi-, di-, and duo- all mean “two”.
 Sometimes you may identify a group of letters as a prefix or root but find
that it does not carry the meaning of that prefix or root. For example, the
letters mis in the word missile are part of the root and are not the prefix mis-,
which means “wrong;bad”.

FURTHER EXPLANATION AND EXAMPLES OF CONTEXT CLUES

a. Example Clues
You are looking at an example context clue when an unfamiliar word is followed
by an example that reveals what the unknown word means.
They were conscientious workers, never stopping had taken care of every detail so that
everything was done correctly and precisely clue you to the meaning if conscientious. It
means responsible, thorough, and reliable.
Often, an example context clue is inroduced with signal words like such as, for example,
for instance, and including.

Activity 1
Select the best meaning of the word shown in italics in the following sentences.
1. Adversities, such as poverty, poor grades, and a weak family background, can be
overcome with effort
Adversities means a. Obstacles b. Pleasures c. Responsibilities

2. Andrew had a reputation for doing perilous acivities. For example, he loved to
ride a racing bike without a helmet, climb mountains without a safety rope, and
ride ina speedboat without a life preserver.
Perilous means a. Thrilling b. Dangerous c. Remarkable

23
 3. Pungent odors, including those of perfume, room deodorizers, and household
cleansers, can cause allergic reactions in some people.
Pungent means a. Mild b. Sharp c. Weak

4. An obituary generally includes the person’s age, occupation, survivors, and

funeral arrangements.
Obituary means a. Death notice b. Sermon c. Will
5. Brothers and sisters sometimes like to play a harmless prank on one another. For
example, a sister might make up the idea that their mother wants the brother to
do a messy household chore.
Prank means a. Joke b. Assignment c. Request
6. I could see by Carlos’s visage he was upset. He had an angry frown on his
face,and his eyes were wide with fury.
Visage means a. Actions b. Personality c. Apperance
7. Pachyders, such as the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, and the elephant, are
mammals that live in Afric
Pachyders means a. Sensitive b. Hostile c. Thick-skinned
8. That mole on your arm is dark color; you need to see a doctor who specializes in
dermatology.
Dermatology relates a. Heart b. Skin c. Feet
9. Servers in restaurants depend on customers to leave a gratuity for their services.
Without tips, waiters could not make a living.
Gratuity means a. Money b. Compliment c.
Recommendation
10. To avoid encountering fans, Mankind and The Rock of the World Federation
Wrestlers, agreed to a rendezvous at 12 midnight at Main Street and Broadway
Rendezvous means a. Exhibition b. Match c. Meeting
Answers
Activity I : 1. A; 2. B; 3. B; 4. A; 5. A; 6. C; 7. C; 8. B; 9. A; 10. C

b. Definition Clues

A definition context clue means that the world is formally defined in the same
sentence. Formal definitions are direct and easy to spot.
 To say that my misunderstanding your instructions caused me chagrin would be
like saying my daily appetite is satisfied by a grain of sugar. The Tenth Edition
(2000) of Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines chagrin as “distress of
mind caused by humiliation, disappointment, or failure.” replace distress with
agony and misery in that definition, and perhaps you can better imagine my feelings.
Some definition clues are less direct. For example, a difficult word might be
defined by a detailed description rather than a formal definition. Descriptive
definitions are less obvious than formal ones, but once you become aware of the
descriptive approach, you can use them to your advantage.
 The most overly aggressive people I know are also the most successful in business.
They possess great stores of energy, never hesitate to take the lead and make quick
decisions, interrupt conversation, and tell others what to do.

ACTIVITIES OF CONTEXT CLUES

24
Following are ten sentences, each of which defines the italicized word. Use the clues in
the definition sentences to fill in the answer to items 1-10 that follow.
 Polyester is generally characterized as a Wrinkle-resistant fabric.
 A skeptical thinker is one who questions beliefs or concepts.
 Phi, theta, and kappa are Greek letters meaning wisdom, aspiration, and purity.
 A street that curves and bends best describe a sinuated road.
 To feel chagrin is ti be embarrassed or annoyed.
 A paragraph has coherence when the sentences are arranged in a clear, logical
order.
 Geriatrics is the diagnosis and treatment of diseases associated with the elderly.
 A breed of powerful sled dogs developed in Alaska is the malamute.
 An ambiguous answer to a simple question is unclear because it can mean at
least two different things.
 A person who talks without changing the pitch of the voice speaks in a
monotone.
1. Your explanation of your actions is ambiguous because it ca be taken in two ways.
2. I feel asleep listening to his monotone voice.
3. We need an expert in geriatrics to explain my grandparents health.
4. A city apartment is no place for a dog as large as malamute
5. My philosophy professor was skeptical about whatever she read in newspapers.
6. I felt deep chagrin when I realized that I had forgotten my best friend’s birthday.
7. We couldn’t understand the scientist’s explanation of nanoseconds because it lacked
coherence.
8. The spot where the old country road goes up a hill and starts to sinuate has been the
site of many serious car accidents.
9. The Greek letter for wisdom is phi, for aspiration is theta, and for purity is kappa.
10. Fabric made of polyester saves ironing time.

c. Contrast Clues

With contrast clues, you use the opposite of known information to figure out the
meaning of an unknown word. Connecting words like however, yet, on the other hand,
instead of, but, while and although are used to show that meanings are opposite. Look at
this example:

Although some old people abhor change, most of them enjoy new things and
experiences.

In this sentence the word although shows that there is some opposite meaning in the two
parts of the sentence. Both parts are about old people and their attitudes to change. The
opposite meaning must be between abhor and enjoy. Abhor probably means the opposite
of enjoy. So, abhor probably means dislike.

Exercise 7: Contrast Clues

Use contrast clues to guess the meanings of the underlined words. Provide definitions in
your own words.

25
1. Many of the elderly who go to programs at Centennial House are highly stimulated.
On the other hand, old people who stay home all the time are usually bored.

To be stimulated means _______________________________________

2. Alzheimer’s disease is a common problem in old age, but many old people continue
to have healthy minds.

Alzheimer ’s disease is ________________________________________

3. While many people live in rest homes, others still live on their own or with their
families.

A rest home is _______________________________________________

4. Many old people stay home in inclement weather, yet they go out walking on nice
days.

Inclement weather is __________________________________________

5. Instead of vegetating at home, lots of old people are very active in the community.

To vegetate is ________________________________________________

d. Inference Clues
Many times you can figure out the meaning of an unknown word by using logic
and reasoning skills. For instance, look at the following sentence.
Bob is quite versatile; he is a good student, a top athlete, an excellent car
mechanic, and a gourmet cook.
You can see that Bob is successful at many different types of activities, and you
could reason that versatile means “capable of doing many things competently.
Examples:
a. An unscrupulous shop owner tried to seel as an antique a glass vase that
had been made last year.
b. After I sampled six different types of pizza, my appetite was completely
satiated.
In everyday life, everyone makes inferences. When we deal with people, ride in a
car, or watch television, we make inferences. We use the five senses-sight, sound, touch,
taste, and smell-ti figure out what’s going on. For example, when people smile sincerely,
the look on their faces implies that they’re happy or pleased. When you walk into a
kitchen or restaurant filled with delicious smells, the scent implies that the person
cooking is a execelent chef.
Here are more examples of your making inferences all the time:

26
  On your way to a class room, you wave to a friend, but she does not wave back.
You may infer that she is angry, that she is displeased with you, that her mind is
on something else, or that she did not see you.
 As you’re driving home, you come to a traffict light. On the side of the road sits
an unshaven man wearing wrinkled, dirty clothes. He holds a sign that says,
“Will work for food.” You might infer that he is homeless, has no job, and is
hungry. Or you might infer that this is a rip-off. Rather that passersby offering
him a job, the man expects people to give him a couple of dollars to buy food.
The ability to make inferences while you read is a learned skill. to make
inferences, you take hints from what’s stated and then fill in the graps. You need to
practice conciously so that you can easly understand more that what is said. Here are
question to keep in mind as you look for inferences:

 What does the author take for granted that I already know on the subject?
 What does the author take for granted about my attitudes toward the subject? Is
the author’s assumption is correct? Does the author give me rrom to have an
open mind?
 What is the tone of the material? That is, how the author say what’s said? Are the
words chosen to make the material clear or complicated? Honest or
manipulative? Respectful or superior sounding? When humor is used, is the goal
to help me understand the material or the distract me from thinking seriously
about the subject?
 Does the author demonstrate a bias toward the material and try to make me
accept the same bias?
 What unstated assumptions or conclusion does the author expect me to come to
from the reading material?

To make a correct inferences, a clear understanding of exactly what the author states
is essential. You don’t want to draw incorrect conclusions because you understood only
part of the information given. Also, to make correct inferences, you are expected to
draw on your prior knowledge. For example, if the author names a famous person
without giving any details about him or her, the authir is assuming that you know who
the person is. Without that knowledge, you’ll likely miss the message of the material.
Therefore, you’ll want is to do research about the person so that the author point clear.

Observing Inferences In Action

Much in the preceding paragraph implies that the author is using exageration and
humor to drive home a point about some people’s excessive concern with their health.
the hints include the opening storybook phrase, “Once upon a time “; the unusual,
deliberately humorous name “Snadley Klabberhorn”; and exaggerated statement that
snadley was the “halthiest man in the whole wide world.” It takes reading inferentially
to catch the message of the material. Also, if you happen to have prior knowledge about
the author, Art Hoppe, you know that he usually writes humorous satire, poking fun with
the problems and whims of human life. that’s the further clue about the spirit of the
essay.
27
 Here is an example of drwing inferences for you to observe. Both contain
paragraphs from “Correta Scott King: A woman of Courage,” by Paul Taylor. The
message concern Mrs. King’s inner strenght and courage in her devotion to her husband
and to the civil rights movement.

Shortly before Dexter was born, correta again feared for her husband’s life. he
was arrested for leading a sit-in at a lumch counter in atlanta. For this minor offense, the
judge handed down a harsh sentence of 6 months hard labor at the State Penitentiary.
Coretta was terribly upset. The penitentiary was 300 miles from the King’s home in
atlanta. Pregnat and with two small children, she could rarely make the 8-hour trip to
visit her husband. She knew how black prisioners were treated in southern jails. Martin
might be beaten or worse.

Which of this sentence can you infer from the preceding paragraph?

Corette Scott King knew that black prisioners were poorly treated in southern jails
because

a. Black prisioners complained more than white prisioners about poor food and
health care in prison.
b. The guards resented the civil rights movement and took out their anger on
black prisioners.
c. Corette Scott king had been in jail and therefore knew that black prisioners
were mistreated
d. The U.S South had a long history of mistreatment of blacks both in and out
prison

PRACTICING WITH INFERENCES

Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follow it.

Travel with Lizbeth, by Lars eighner

I find it hard to believe that everyone would have tought I had anything of much
value. my clothes, besides being worn, would not fit many other people, and this should
have been obvious to look at me. The little radio was of no appreciable value. besides
my papers, most of the bulk of what was taken was remainder of Lizbeth’s food and the
bedding, which was warm enough, but could not have been sold. Other that a few dollars
in postage, nothing could have been readily converted to cash. I was left with what I was
wearing, a football practice jersey and my most ragged pair of jeans.

1. Read the paragraph again. What happen to the author’s belongings?

a. They were destroyed in a fire.
b. They were borrowed but never returned.
c. They were stolen.

28
 d. They were thrown out.
2. Read the paragraph again. Why does the author remark, “My clothes [ ]
would not fit many other people, and this should have been obvious to look
at me”?
a. The author wants people to look at him so he can show off his unusual
appearance.
b. By saying his size is unusual, the author implies he’s hugely obese.
c. Only a fool would be interested in the author’s clothes.
d. The author is happy to be rid of his ill-fitting,ragged clothes.

e. Restatement Clues

For a restatement context clue, look for a thought that’s repeated in different
words in the same or a nearby sentence. Sometimes, the restatement enlarges or limits
the original thought. When writers repeat a thought, often taking the form of a synonym,
you need simply to think about the shared meaning of the original and the restatement.
For example, what does Fray mean in the following sentence:

 He jumped into the fray and enjoyed every minute of the fight.
Perhaps a reader would guess that fray means either “fight” or “audience” After
thinking of these two possibilities, the reader would note the words jumped into earlier
in the sentence. Those words suggest an energetic entering, rather than a passive joining.
Fight would be the correct choice.
Sometimes a restatement is set off by punctuation, which makes the reader’s job easy.
For example,

 Fatty deposits on artery walls combine with calcium compound to cause

arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). [here the restatement appears in
parentheses after the difficult word]
 The upper left part of the heart-the left atrium receives blood returning from
circulation. [here the restatement appears in dashes before the word]
Exercise
Using restatement context clues, circle the best meaning for the italicized words in the
sentences below.
1. In searching for food, homeless people often have to scavenge in dumpsters.
Scavenge means…
a. Sleep b. hunt c. hide
2. Sir Edmund Hillary and his climbing partner, Sherpa Temzing Norgay, were
famous alpinists. In fact, they were the first to reach the top of Mt.Everest in
1953.
Alpinists means…
a. Ballonists b. mountain climber c. parachutists
3. An adoit boxer-one who can dodge, jab, and avoid being knocked out-is
generally not the type of fighter a crowd wants to see.

29
 Adoit means…
a. Entertaining b. nervous c. skillful
4. Era had the audacity to break line in front of me in the school cafeteria. Then
she had the nerve to ask me to loan her a dollar to pay for her lunch.
Audacity means….
a. Impoliteness b. opportunity c. boldness
5. At first, I was dubious whether I could complete the course. After the first
mahor test, however, I was not as doubtful.
Dubious means….
a. Unsure b. discouraged c. devastated
6. The basketball players made a stimultaneous jump for the ball. This concurrent
movement resulted in a collision.
Stimultaneous means….
a. At the same time b. at different times c. at conflicting times
7. We have informed the guests about the postponement. The ceremony will not
take place until a later date.
Postponement means…
a. Cancellation b. advancement c.delay
8. I am glad you were able to alleviate Kathie’s fear of airplanes. Your suggestions
made it easier for her to fly.
Alleviate means…
a. Lessen b. increase c. free
9. George Washington Carver was a famous botanist. He developed literally
hundreds of uses for the peanut.
Botanist means one who students….
a. Animals b. plants c. fish
10. On a movie set, surrogates often stand in for the real stars while technicians
adjust the lights and camera angles.
Surrogates means….
Professionals b. amateurs c. Substitutes
f. Sentence clue
Clue Word Sentence
A Music # She plays the piano and the violin.
B Weather # There was a thunderstorm last week.
C Bird # There was a nest in the tree.
D Food # You should eat a big breakfast.
E Sport # Do you play tennis?
F Pet # Dogs are always faithful.
G Water # The lake was very warm.

Choose the best answer below!

1. Animals from the equine group, such as horses and zebras, are hoofed mammals.
Using the example clue, the word equine in this sentence means
a. bird
b. reptile
c. horse group

30
2. Vicissitudes, such as circumstances, developments, or journeys in life, can change a
person
forever.
Using the example clue, the word vicissitudes in this sentence means
a. families
b. life experiences
c. vacations
3. The army attempted to thwart the enemy with a new plan of attack. Before the
enemy
realized what was happening, their forces became confused and frustrated. The army
won
the battle and stopped the enemy's advance.

Using the example clue, the word thwart in this sentence means
a. sanction
b. allow
c. hinder
4. Thespians, such as Tom Cruise, George Lopez, and Hilary Duff, star in movies and
television shows.

Using the example clue, the word thespians in this sentence means
a. fans
b. audience members
c. actor or performer
5. In the fall, the bright foliage is a delight to see. Red, orange, and yellow leaves and
vegetation paint the world for our enjoyment.

Using the example clue, the word foliage in this sentence means
a. rocks
b. leaves
c. houses
6. Which person would most people admire?
a. a doctor
b. a thief
c. a farmer
7. People without a country” my mother think “ people ousted from their homeland
a. annoyed

31
b. led
c. removed
g. Paragraph clue
Applying the Skill to Other Disciplines:
Remind students that good readers consistently ay to figure out words by using
context clues. Suggest that students practice the strategy as they read history, social
studies, and science assignments.
Cooperative Learning:
Have students complete the page in pairs, with one student reading the paragraph
aloud and the other noting the words that either one of them does not know. Tell
students to work together to identify context clues.
Writing Process:
You may want to use this assignment as the kick-off to the on-going "Words of
Mouth" class column of the week. Subsequent themes could rotate among sports, school,
community, or adolescent issues.
Preteaching Vocabulary:
You may wish to preteach the following vocabulary: infinite. awe. lagoon.
doeumenratv. and iniested.
Assessing Prior Knowledge:
Have student, read the title and introduction. Ask each student to share with a
cknintr tub t he/she knows about sharks.
In addition to context clues to help you figure out the meaning of a word,
examine the following word parts: prefixes, roots, and suffixes.

Applying Context Clues

A. Read the essay that follows. As you read, circle any words whose meaning you
do not know. Then complete the items below.

I'm concerned about the quality of television advertisements. They've lost

their positive appeal and have degenerated into frantic spectacles. They beg for
viewers' attention with quick, loud flashes of words and actions. Critics complain
about the violence in television programs. Ifmy view is worth noting, I contend
some advertisements are worse. They assault the senses: battering your
eardrums, dizzying your eyes. Sure, I take a break when the commercials
commence. As soon as an ad begins, I head for the kitchen. It's not to get a soda
or snack that the advertisers are promoting, but to get away from the noise.

1. List words in the essay that are unfamiliar to you.

Words may include: appeal. degenerated. frantic, contend, commence.
32
 2. Write a definition for each word you listed. What clues from the context
helped you figure out the meaning of each?
Student responses might include the following: appeal—attraction (clues:
"advertisements," "positive." and "beg"): degenerated—to sink into a lower
state (clues: "lost their positive appeal"): frantic—fast. nervous, and out of
control (clues: "quick, loud flashes of words and actions').

B. Write a short essay about something you'd like to see changed. Use descriptive
words. Be sure the context for each descriptive word is strong enough so that its
meaning is clear.
Accept reasonable n:srxmses. Some students may need encouragement to ineltalt
,p ono de,cripthe

EXCERCISE 1.

DIRECTIONS : Read each of the following paragraphs. For each underlined word, use
context to determine its meaning. Write a synonym or brief definition in the space
provided.

1. In the laboratory, too, nonhuman primates have accomplished some surprising

things.
In one study, chimpanzees compared two pairs of food wells containing
chocolate chips. One pair might contain, say, five chips and three chips, the other
four chips and three chips. Allowed to choose which pair they wanted, the
chimps almost always chose the one with the higher combined total, showing
some sort of summing ability. Other chimps have learned to use numerals to
label quantities of items and simple sums. Two rhesus monkeys, named
Rosencrantz and Macduff, learned to order groups of one to four symbols
according to the number of symbols in each group (e.g., one square, two trees,
three ovals, four flowers). Later, when pre-sented with pairs of symbol groups
containing five to nine symbols, they were able to point to the group with more
symbols, without any further training. This is not exactly algebra, but it does
suggest that monkeys have a rudimentary sense of number.
—Wade Et Tavris, Psychology, p. 337
a. summing ability
b. numerals
c. order
d. rudimentary

2. Territoriality

33
 Many animals that live in groups share a home range. In winter, for example,
many birds flock together in a home range. After the spring migration to their
new habi-tats, however, most male birds undergo a Jekyll-to-Hyde
transformation and establish a territory that they vigorously defend against other
males of their species. As noted before, sticklebacks, as well as numerous other
animals, also establish territories. The essential difference between a home range
and a territory is that the territory is, by definition, defended against
encroachment by others of the same species. Male birds advertise possession of
their territories by songs and visual displays. An intruding male's song or
plumage is the releaser for territorial aggression by the resident. Resident males
will often attack a tape recorder playing another male's song or a tuftof feathers
the same color as the male's breeding plumage. The only way for a male bird to
lurk about within the territory of another is to keep quiet and out of sight.Such
"lurkers" are less likely to breed, however, because the songs and display are also
required to attract females.
In some species a territory may be occupied by two or more males and
their mates. Wolves are the classic illustration of a species that defends a group
territory. The average wolf pack is an extended family of from five to eight
Individuals with a territory of a few hundred square kilometers. An alpha male
and an alpha female lead the pack. They define the pack's territory by releasing a
pheromone during a charac-teristic raised-leg urination about every 450 meters
as they patrol Its perimeter. 10 wolves from neighboring territories these
olfactory boundary markers are, in one sense at least, nothing to sniff at. Packs of
wolves have been seen abandoning a deer chase rather than cross into another
pack's territory.
—Harris, Concepts in ZoWegy, p.117
a. transformation
b. encroachment
c. advertise
d. intruding
e. tuft
f. alpha male
g. alpha female
h. olfactory

3. Many animals communicate by chemical signals, which have the unique advan-
tage of persisting for some time after the messenger has left the area. They also
have the advantage that they will be detected only by those with receptors that
respond to the chemical, so they are less likely to attract predators. Some
chemical messages have a hormone-like ability to induce specific behavioral
responses in recipients in the same species. Such chemical messages are called
pheromones. The best-known pheromones are insect sex attractants, many of
which have been isolated and chemically analyzed. The first such pheromone to
be studied was bombykol, which is produced in minute amounts by glands near
34
 the anus of the female silk moth Bombyxmori. The glands from half a million
females had to be processed to yield 12 mg of pheromone. (One lab worker was
reportedly over-heard complaining, "The end is always in sight, but the work is
never done.") A single molecule of bombykol is enough to evoke an action
potential from the antenna of a male silk moth, and several hundred molecules
are enough to make the male fly upwind, toward the female.
—Harris, Concepts in Zoology, pp. 408-409

a. persisting
b. induce
c. pheromones
d. evoke

4. Certain personal characteristics may explain who among the extremely poor are
more likely to become homeless. These characteristics have been found to
include chronic mental problems, alcoholism, drug addiction, serious criminal
behavior, and physical health problems. Most of the extremely poor do not
become homelessbecause they live with their relatives or friends. But those who
suffer from any of the personal disabilities just mentioned are more likely to
wear out their welcome as dependentsof their parents or as recipients of aid and
money from their friends. After all, their relatives and friends are themselves
likely to be extremely poor and already living in crowded housing. We should be
careful, though, not to exaggerate the impact of personal disabilities on
homelessness. To some degree, personal disabilities may be the consequences
rather than the cause of homelessness.
—Thio, Sociology, p. 235

a. characteristics
b. disabilities
c. dependents
d. recipients
e. exaggerate
f. impact
g. consequences

Exercise 2

On your own sheet of paper, write the name of the context clue that helps to define the
underlined words.

Maggie was a precocious child to say the least. She produced brilliant watercolor
paintings by the age of three. At first, her parents were flabbergasted—utterly blown
away—by their daughter’s ability, but soon they got used to their little painter. Her
preschool teacher said that Maggie’s dexterity, or ease with which she used her hands,
was something she had never before seen in such a young child. Little Maggie never
35
gloated or took pride in her paintings; she just smiled contentedly when she finished one
and requested her parents give it to someone as a gift. Whenever people met Maggie for
the first time they often watched her paint with their mouths agape, but her parents
always kept their mouths closed and simply smiled over their “little Monet.”

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Exercise on Context clues

Select the best meaning of the word shown in Italics in following sentences.

1. Adversities, such as poverty, poor grades, and a weak family background, can be
overcome with effort.

Adversities means a. obstacles b. pleasures c.

Responsibilities

2. Andrew had a reputation for doing perilous activities. For example, he loved to
ride a racing bike without a helmet, climb mountain without safety rope, and ride
in a speedboat without a life preserver.

Perilous means a. thrilling b. dangerous c.

Remarkable

3. Pungent odors, including those a perfume, room deodorizer, and household

cleansers, can cause allergic reactions in some people.

Pungent means a. mild b. sharp c.

Weak

4. An obituary generally includes the person’s age, occupation, survivors, and

funeral arrangements.

Obituary means a. death notice b. sermon c.

Will

5. Brothers and sisters sometimes like to play a harmless prank on one another. For
example, a sister might make up the idea that their mother wants the brother to
do a messy household chore.

Prank means a. joke b. assignment c. Request

6. I could see by Carlos’s visage he was upset. He had an angry frown on his face,
and his eyes were wide with fury.

Visage means a. actions b. personality c.

Appearance

36
7. Pachyderms, such as the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, and the elephant, are
mammals that live in Africa.

Pachyderms means a. sensitive b. hostile c. thick-

skinned

8. That mole on your arm is a dark color; you need to see a doctor who specializes
in dermatology.

Dermatology relates to a. heart b. skin c. feet

9. Servers in restaurants depend on customers to leave a gratuity for their services.

Without tips, waiters couldn’t make a living.

Gratuity means a. money b. compliment c

recommendation

10. To avoid encountering fans, Mankind and The Rock of the World Federation
Wrestlers, agreed to rendezvous at 12 midnight at main Street and Broadway.

Rendezvous means a. exhibition b. match c.

Meeting

37
 LESSON 3

IDENTIFYING CORE PARTS OF SENTENCES

A. Definition of a Sentence

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought that always

contains subject and verb as its core parts. When you read, you must understand the
sentences in order to get the information that the author is telling in his writing. For
understanding the information, you need to look for the key words in a sentence. The key words
are the suject and the verb. The subject tells who or what the sentence is about. The verb tells
what the subject does.

Example:

Yoko lives in Rosebud, New Jersey.

S V

The subject of this sentence is Yoko. The sentence is about Yoko.

The verb in this sentence is lives.

The Following exercise will help you learn how to find the important parts of sentences.

A B

1. Suki is drinking a bus

2. Carol is cooking in a chair
3. Sam is driving near the door
4. Sergio is setting coffee
5. Laura is standing a book
6. Don Pablo is reading dinner

When a group words does not have subject or verb, that is not a sentence, but it is called
sentence fragment

For example:

38
  The man in the black suit.
 Ate all the roast beef.
 Running in the corridor.
 When the race was over.

B. Reading simple, complex, and compound sentences

1. Simple Sentence

A simple sentence, also called an independent clause, contains a subject and a

verb, and it expresses a complete thought. In the following simple sentences, subjects
are in yellow, and verbs are in green.  

A. Some students like to study in the mornings.

B. Juan and Arturo play football every afternoon.
C. Alicia goes to the library and studies every day.

The three examples above are all simple sentences.  Note that sentence B
contains a compound subject, and sentence C contains a compound verb.  Simple
sentences, therefore, contain a subject and verb and express a complete thought, but they
can also contain a compound subjects or verbs. 

2. Compound Sentence

A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator.

The coordinators are as follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (Helpful hint: The first
letter of each of the coordinators spells FANBOYS.) Except for very short sentences,
coordinators are always preceded by a comma. In the following compound sentences,
subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the coordinators and the commas that
precede them are in red. 

A.  I tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak English. 

B.  Alejandro played football, so Maria went shopping. 
C.  Alejandro played football, for Maria went shopping.

The above three sentences are compound sentences.  Each sentence contains two
independent clauses, and they are joined by a coordinator with a comma preceding it. 
Note how the conscious use of coordinators can change the relationship between the
clauses.  Sentences B and C, for example, are identical except for the coordinators.  In
sentence B, which action occurred first?  Obviously, "Alejandro played football" first,
and as a consequence, "Maria went shopping.  In sentence C, "Maria went shopping"
first.  In sentence C, "Alejandro played football" because, possibly, he didn't have
anything else to do, for or because "Maria went shopping."  How can the use of other
coordinators change the relationship between the two clauses?  What implications would
the use of "yet" or "but" have on the meaning of the sentence?

3. Complex sentence

A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent

clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because, since, after,
39
although, or when or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or which. In the following
complex sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the subordinators and
their commas (when required) are in red.

A. When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last page. 

B. The teacher returned the homework after she noticed the error. 
C. The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.
D. After they finished studying, Juan and Maria went to the movies. 
E. Juan and Maria went to the movies after they finished studying.

When a complex sentence begins with a subordinator such as sentences A and D,

a comma is required at the end of the dependent clause. When the independent clause
begins the sentence with subordinators in the middle as in sentences B, C, and E, no
comma is required. If a comma is placed before the subordinators in sentences B, C, and
E, it is wrong.

Note that sentences D and E are the same except sentence D begins with the
dependent clause which is followed by a comma, and sentence E begins with the
independent clause which contains no comma.  The comma after the dependent clause in
sentence D is required, and experienced listeners of English will often hear a slight
pause there.  In sentence E, however, there will be no pause when the independent
clause begins the sentence. 

C. Complex sentences / adjective clauses

Finally, sentences containing adjective clauses (or dependent clauses) are also
complex because they contain an independent clause and a dependent clause.  The
subjects, verbs, and subordinators are marked the same as in the previous sentences, and
in these sentences, the independent clauses are also underlined. 

A. The woman who called my mom sells cosmetics.

B. The book that Jonathan read is on the shelf.
C. The house which Abraham  Lincoln was born in is still standing.
D. The town where I grew up is in the United States.

Adjective Clauses are studied in this site separately, but for now it is important to
know that sentences containing adjective clauses are complex.

D. Core Parts or Key Ideas of a Sentence

The two core parts of the sentence—the subject and the verb, or the subject and
the action, must be present for a group of words to convey a complete thought. To be
considered as a sentence in written English, a group of words must fulfill three
conditions. It must (1) contain a subject, (2) contain a verb, and (3) express a complete
thought. To read and understand a sentence, you should be able to quickly identify these
three core parts. In short, simple sentences, the core parts are easy to identify, because
simple sentences often have only the core parts and a few additional descriptive words
or phrases. Read this sentence: The battleship sank. It consists of the core parts: the
subject—battleship—and the verb or action—sank. Now read this sentence: After the
40
battle, the ship sank. The core parts are still easy to identify—ship and sank. However,
in condition to conveying the basic message that the ship sank, the sentence contains one
additional piece of information—when it sank.

In each of the following examples, the core parts are underlined. Read through the
sentences, using the following steps. First, read only the underlined words and notice how
these give you the basic meaning of the sentence. Then read each sentence through
completely. This time, notice what additional information you receive.

Examples: 1.  Psychological principles can be applied by everyone. 

2.  The average American consumes six gallons of beer every
year.
3.  After her own illness, the physician was more sympathetic to
her patients’ concern and fears
4.  The books fell of the desk.
5.  The children lined up according to height.
As you read the above examples, you probably noticed the words and phrases
that were not core parts of the sentences and contained additional information that in
some ways described or further explained the chief thought in the sentences. In sentence
3, for example, the important thought is that the physician was sympathetic. The other
parts of the sentence tell when she was more sympathetic (after her own illness),
suggest why she was more sympathetic (due to her experience with illness), and tells to
whom was more sympathetic (to her own patients).
In longer, more complicated sentences the verb has an object or thing it refers to
which further completes the meaning of the sentence. For example, read this
sentence: The thief stole my car. The subject is thief and the action isstole; however,
what the thief stole is also important—my car. In reading core parts, then, it is useful to
include the complete predicate rather than just the verb itself.

1. Sentence Modifiers

Once you have identified the core parts of a sentence, the next step is to determine how
the meaning of those core parts is changed or modified by the remainder of the sentence.
These remaining parts, called modifiers, provide you with further information about one
of the core parts. Notice how each of the underlined modifiers expands, alters, or limits
the meaning of the following sentences.

After showing the film, the instructor gave a quiz

(The modifier tells when the quiz was given)
Dr. Gasset, my management instructor, assigns one chapter per week.
(The modifier indicates who Dr. Gasset is)
Everyone except engineering majors is required to take a philosophy course.

(The modifier limits by giving an exception)

2. Multiple Core Parts

41
Some sentences may have more than one subject and/or more than one verb. Read this
sentence: The bookstore and library were closed. There are two subjects—
bookstore and library. Next, consider the following sentence: The professor gave an
assignment and cancelled class. The instructor performed two actions—
gave and canceled. Here are a few more examples of sentences that contain multiple
core parts.

1.       Diet and exercise both contribute to weight loss.

2.       Quick and weight loss schemes deceive consumers and discouragethem from
trying legitimate plans.
3.       Local business and private citizens organized the scholarship fund
andsolicited donations throughout the community.

You should have noticed that sentence 1 contains two subjects, sentence 2 has
two predicates, and sentence 3 contains both two subjects and two predicates.
To read a sentence accurately, you must notice and understand the relationship of the
modifiers and the core parts. In some cases, modifiers provide relatively unimportant
additional information to which you should pay little attention. At other times, modifiers
qualify, limit, or restrict the meaning of the core parts and significantly alter their
meaning, as in the following sentence: Those parliament members, hoping for a pay
increase voted against the budge cut. Here the underlined portion is essential; you
would not fully understand the sentence unless you knew that not all parliament
members, but only those hoping for a pay increase, voted against the cut.

3. Core Parts in Simple Sentence

The two core parts of the sentence—the subject and the verb, or the subject and
the action, must be present for a group of words to convey a complete thought. To be
considered as a sentence in written English, a group of words must fulfill three
conditions. It must (1) contain a subject, (2) contain a verb, and (3) express a complete
thought. To read and understand a sentence, you should be able to quickly identify these
three core parts. In short, simple sentences, the core parts are easy to identify, because
simple sentences often have only the core parts and a few additional descriptive words
or phrases. Read this sentence: The battleship sank. It consists of the core parts: the
subject—battleship—and the verb or action—sank. Now read this sentence: After the
battle, the ship sank. The core parts are still easy to identify—ship and sank. However,
in condition to conveying the basic message that the ship sank, the sentence contains one
additional piece of information—when it sank.

In each of the following examples, the core parts are underlined. Read through the
sentences, using the following steps. First, read only the underlined words and notice how
these give you the basic meaning of the sentence. Then read each sentence through
completely. This time, notice what additional information you receive.

Examples: 1. Psychological principles(s)can be applied (v) by everyone.

2. The average American (s)consumes (v) six gallons of beer
every year.

42
 3. The physician (s)was (v) more sympathetic to her patients’
concern and fears.
4. The books (s)fell (v) of the desk.
5. The children (s)lined up (v) according to height.

As you read the above examples, you probably noticed the words and phrases
that were not core parts of the sentences and contained additional information that in
some ways described or further explained the chief thought in the sentences. In sentence
3, for example, the important thought is that the physician was sympathetic. The other
parts of the sentence tellwhen she was more sympathetic (after her own illness),
suggest why she was more sympathetic (due to her experience with illness), and tells to
whom was more sympathetic (to her own patients).

Exercise:

Identify the core part in simple sentences below!!

1. The instructor gave a quiz.

2. You must notice and understand the relationship of the modifiers and the core
parts.
3. The dog barked for a long time.
4. It is sunny today.
5. He was a good student.
6. You look like my exgirlfriend.
7. I got this book from my uncle.
8. I have many assignments this semester.
9. My mother gives me everything.
10. The book is the best seller of the year.

4. Core part complex sentence (related ideas)

Often a writer expands a sentence by adding a related but less imprtat idea. This
related idea has its own noun and verb, but it expresses an incomplete thought and
cannot stand by itself. For example, the underlined portion of the following sentence has
a noun and a verb, but it does not make sense until you read the entire sentence.

Because Hal forgot to buy the newspaper, he couldn’t check the want ads for used
cars.

In this sentence, the more important idea is that he could not check the want ads. The
first part of the sentence gives a reason that explains the second part. Here are two more
examples:
43
 After we left the party, we stopped for a pizza.

I did my math homework while I waited for the bus.

As you read sentences of this type, be sure to notice the relationship between ideas. the
idea of lesser importance usually performs one or more of the following functions:

 Describes
Example: My sister, who is eight years old, got the chicken pox.
 Expresses cause
Example: Because I was out jogging, I missed your phone call.
 States purpos or reason
Example: George skipped his English class so he could study for his psychology test.
 Describes conditions or circumstances
Example: If I pass introductory psychology, I will register for child psychology.
 Expresses time relationships
Example: While I was waiting for the bus, I reviewed my biology notes.

Sources :

The copy of the Comprehension: Reading for Information book (Understanding

Sentence Patterns)

5. Core Part of Compound Sentence

A.    Definition
Compound sentence is a sentence that contains at least two Independent
clauses. Actually, the sentences that could stand alone whether it
combine each other or not.
Compound sentences and compound words are an easy and fun way to add
interest to a sentence. By combining two thoughts in one sentence or
word, you can add to the information you provide in your
communication.
Construction of Compound Words
A compound word is when two words are combined to form a new word or
phrase. There are three types of compound words: closed form,
hyphenated and open form.
•    The closed form is when two words are combined to form a new word
such as bullfrog, snowball and mailbox.
•    The hyphenated form is when two words are separated by a hyphen such
as two-fold, check-in and merry-go-round.
•    The open form is when the two words remain separate but are used
together to create a two-word phrase with a specific meaning such as
attorney general, peanut butter and Boy Scouts.

44
B.    Rules
There are some rules in punctuation in order to combine two sentences or more;
a)    Coordinate conjunction
F.A.N.B.O.Y.S.
For. And. Nor. But. Or. Yet. So. These are the Coordinate conjuction
could be used. After the coordinate conjuction, use comma.
b)    Semicolon (;)
Whenever you want to combine the independent sentences, you should put
semicolon (;) between.

C.    Example
A.    Coordinate conjunction
a.    He didn’t come last night, for he fell asleep
b.    Vina and Amel wake up at 5:00 am, and they go to school at 6:30 am.
c.    Han waited for the bus, and it arrived on time.
d.    My husband was working, so I went shopping.
e.    I like chocolate ice cream, but my friend likes strawberry.
f.    They wanted to go to Italy, because they wanted to see Venice.
g.    I am on a diet yet I really want a cookie.
h.    He did not take the money, for it was not the right thing to do.

B.    Conjuctive Adverb

a.    Also
b.    Beside
c.    Therefore
d.    Hence
e.    For example
f.    However
g.    Meanwhile
h.    Then
i.    So
j.    Finally
k.    As a result
l.    Earlier
m.    That is
n.    In fact

C.    Semicolon
a.    The moon is full; the stars are out.
b.    Call me tomorrow; I will give you my answer then.
c.    I will be glad to help you; besides, I love to cook.
d.    You need to pack all the things you will need; for example, a
sleeping bag will keep you warm.
e.    I have paid all of the dues; as a result, I expect to receive all
the privileges listed in the bylaws.
f.    You have waited very patiently; finally the day has arrived.

Famous Compound Sentences

Here are a few examples of compound sentences spoken by presidents and

45
some other well-known people:
•    "A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."
(John F. Kennedy)
•    "Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to
build one." (Lyndon B. Johnson)
•    "Tell the truth, work hard, and come to dinner on time." (Gerald R. Ford)
•    "I have often wanted to drown my troubles, but I can't get my wife
to go swimming." (Jimmy Carter)
•    "Trust, but verify." (Ronald Reagan)
•    "I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always
agree with them."(George H. W. Bush)
•    "You can put wings on a pig, but you don't make it an eagle." (Bill Clinton)
•    "I used to be snow white, but I drifted." (Mae West)
•    "I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited
everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and
then I killed them and took their land." (Jon Stewart)

EXERCISES FOR KEY IDEAS OR CORE PARTS

Complex Sentences Exercise

Directions: Determine the independent clause in each sentence.

1. Although we know the benefits of exercise, most of us don't know that a brisk after-
dinner stroll can help with digestion.

a. Although we know the benefits of exercise

b. most of us don't know that a brisk after-dinner stroll

2. People need to be able to share their fears, frustrations, and joys, so it's important
for us to develop a network of people we can share our feelings with.

a. People need to be able to share their fears, frustrations, and joys,

b. So it's important for us to develop a network of people we can share our feelings
with.

3. Whereas learning about nutrition is not difficult having the discipline to make wise
food choices is often a problem.

a. Whereas learning about nutrition is not difficult

b. having the discipline to make wise food choices is often a problem

4. Even though you can't always control your time, it will help you to set priorities and
make a daily To Do list.

a. Even though you can't always control your time.

b. it will help you to set priorities and make a daily To Do list

5. Unless you are willing to let others control your time, you must learn to politely say
no to other people's requests.
46
 a. Unless you are willing to let others control your time
b. you must learn to politely say no to other people's requests

6. Change your negative inner dialogue whenever you realize you are being too hard
on yourself.

a. Change your negative inner dialogue

b. whenever you realize you are being too hard on yourself.

7. So that you feel less stress and enjoy life more, develop your sense of humor.

a. So that you feel less stress and enjoy life more

b. develop your sense of humor.

8. Sit down with a piece and create a plan for solving the problem when you find
yourself worrying over one

a. Sit down with a piece and create a plan for solving the problem
b. when you find yourself worrying over one

9. While there are many relaxation technique sitting quietly with your eyes closed and
taking a few deep breath will quickly calm you.

a. While there are many relaxation technique.

b. Sitting quietly with your eyes closed and taking a few deep breaths will quickly
calm you.

10. Cultivate a positive attitude because it enables you to energy life more.

a. Cultivate a positive attitude

b. Because it enables you to energy life more.

Direction: Identify each sentence as a compound sentence or a complex sentence.

11 . Even though email can be a valuable asset in your personal and professional life,
there are drawbacks, too.

a. compound
b. complex

12 Unwanted and unsolicited emails are called spam, and Americans receive billions
of them every year.

a. compound
b. complex

12. While spam is a distraction and a nuisance, they can also be used to spread
dangerous computer viruses.

47
a. compound
b. complex.

13. Anti-spam laws have not been very effective since more than half of all spam
comes from servers outside the U.S.

c. compound
d. complex.

14. Americans receive more than 200 billion spam emails every year, but there are
some basic steps you can take to keep your inbox spam-free.

a. compound
b complex

15. Choose a more complicated, less personal user name for your email address;
[email protected] will get less spam than [email protected].

a. Compound
b. Comple

16. Because spammer collect email addresses from personal web sites, chat rooms,
and message boards use cautions when handing out your email address.

a. Compound
b. Complex

17. Whenever you respond to spam, you confirm to the spammer that your email
address is valid a. Compound

b. Complex
19. Most email programs have a filter option that screens incoming email, so set up
your in boy to accept only email from certain addresses.

a. Compound
b. Complex

20 If you want more protection from spam, consider an anti-spam program that
identifies and eliminates spam.

a. Compound
b. Complex

48
 LESSON 4
REFERENCES

A. DEFINITION OF REFERENCE

References are words which substitute for other words or phrases. They
usually refer back to the ideas that have already been expressed; they sometimes
refer forward to the ideas yet to be stated. In the following paragraph, the
references are underlined.
The term inference is traditionally used in semantics for the relationship
which holds between a word and what it points to the real world. The reference
of the chair would therefore be a particular chair that is being identified on a
particular occasion. In Halliday and Hasan’s model of cohesion, reference is used
in a similar but more restricted way.

B. KINDS OF REFERENCE
Instead of denoting a direct relationship between word and extra
linguistic objects, reference is limited here to the relationship of identify which
holds between two linguistic expression.

Coherence Reference

When sentences, ideas, and details fit together clearly, readers can follow along
easily, and the writing is coherent. The ideas tie together smoothly and clearly. To
establish the links that readers need, you can use the methods listed here. Note that good
writers use a combination of these methods. Do not rely on and overuse any single
method – especially transitional words.
A pronoun takes the place of the noun or a noun phrase. A noun phrase is a group of
words for a person, place, thing, or idea. A pronoun generally refers back to a noun
phrase that came before it.

Repetition of a Key Term or Phrase

This helps to focus your ideas and to keep your reader on track.

Example:
The problem with contemporary art is that it is not easily understood
by most people. Contemporary art is deliberately abstract, and that
means it leaves the viewer wondering what she is looking at.

Synonyms

Synonyms are words that have essentially the same meaning, and they provide some
variety in your word choices, helping the reader to stay focused on the idea being
discussed.
Example: 

49
 Myths narrate sacred histories and explain sacred origins.
These traditional narratives are, in short, a set of beliefs that are a
very real force in the lives of the people who tell them.

Pronouns

This, that, these, those, he, she, it, they, and we are useful pronouns for referring back to
something previously mentioned. Be sure, however, that what you are referring to is
clear.

Example: 
When scientific experiments do not work out as expected, they are
often considered failures until some other scientist tries them again.
Those that work out better the second time around are the ones that
promise the most rewards. 

Coherence - Transition
In a paragraph with coherence all of the sentences hold or stick together. Like
links in a chain, they will flow from one to the next. They should not jump or suddenly
change direction. Transitions are words or phrases that connect sentences and guide the
reader through many changes indirection.

C. EXAMPLE OF REFERENCE

For example : Mrs. Thatcher has resigned. She announced her

decision this morning
The pronoun she points to Mrs. Thatcher within the textual world itself.
Reference, in the textual rather than semantic sense, occurs when the reader has to
retrieve the identity of what is being talked about by referring to another expression in
the immediate context. The resulting cohesion “lies in the continuity of reference,
whereby the same thing enters into the discourse a second time” ( Halliday and Hasan
1976:31)
Every language has certain items which have the property of reference in the
textual sense. These references have the potential for directing readers to look elsewhere
for the interpretation. The most common reference items in English and a large number
of other languages are pronouns. Third person pronouns are frequently used to refer
back (and occasionally forward) to an entity which has already been introduced (or is
about to be introduced) into the discourse. Apart from personal reference, English also
uses items such as the, this, and those to establish similar links between expression in a
text.

For Example: Mrs. Thatcher has resigned. This delighted her opponents
The reader has to go back to the previous stretch of discourse to establish what
this refers to.
50
 A. EXAMPLE OF REFERENCE IN A PARAGRAPH / ESSAY

EXAMPLE OF PARAGRAPH:
Some students read slowly but_don’t know that they do; others read
slowly and know it. Their reading problems are the same but the latter can be
helped more easily because they are already aware of their problems. Before the
former can be helped, however, they must be made aware of the problem.

1. some students
2. some students
3. read slowly
4. other than some students
5. other than some students
6. some students
7. some students
8. some students
9. some students
10. other than some students
11. other than some students
12. other than some students
13. some students
14. some students
15. some students
16. some students
Other Concept of Refer

Refer is made up of two very useful Latin roots: re- "back" and ferre "carry," and
when one thing refers to another, one meaning “carries back” to the other — there’s
some kind of connection.

Example : "The term “Spaghetti Western” refers to a kind of Western often filmed in

Italy by Italian filmmakers, in Italian." If you have a mysterious rash, your doctor might
refer you — send you — to an allergist.

a. refer to
someone/something to mention someone or somethingwhen you are speaking or 
writing
She referred to the  subject several times during her speech.
Jack  was careful not to refer to the woman by name.
b. refer to someone/something as: 
Even  as a boy he referred to his father as Steve.
c. refer back to something (=mention something again): 
I  would  liketo refer back to something I said in my introduction.
2
a. refer to something to describe something, or to be about something
51
These  notes  refer to the case of a teenage  murderer.
The  term 'groupware'  refers to software designed to be used byseveral computer  user
s at once.
3
a. refer someone to
someone/something to send someone to anotherperson or place in order to get h
elp, information, or advice
The  doctor  referred me  to  a skin specialist.
Her case  was referred to the Court of  Appeal.
4
a. refer to something FORMAL to look at a book, map etc for information
Please  refer to our catalogue for details of all  our products.

Exercises on Reference

1. "That is Ali. He is Andy’s elder brother"

What does the word “he” in the sentence refer to ?

a. Ali
b. Andi
c. Brother
d. Andy's

2. "Besides decorating the town, the statues also turn out to be helpful for people
from out of town to find places they are seeking in Boyolali"
What does the underlined word refer to?
a. people from out of town
b. place in Boyolali
c. cow statues
d. real cows

3. "The old woman said that her daughter had been died for many years and she
was buried in a cemetery about an hour drive away from here."

The underlined word refers to . .

a. cemetery.
b. the old woman.
c. she.
d. the old woman's daughter.

Looking For A Ring

There was a toolshed beside Nesreddin’s house. the shed, where he kept his
tools, had no window at all. So, it was always dark inside although it was day.
52
 One day, Nasreddin went into the toolshed to get a ladder. When he was taking
the ladder from its place, he dropped his ring. He left the ladder inside and went out of
the shed.
Outside he started looking for the ring. He could not find it even though he had
been searching for quite a long time. His friend saw him searching for something and
approached him. He asked, ‘What are you looking for, Nasreddin?’
‘I’m looking for my ring. I just dropped it.’ he answered while he continued
searching.
‘Let me help you. By the way where did you drop it?’ asked his friend,
‘Inside the shed,” he answered as he pointed to the shed.
His friend and surprised and said, ‘Why don’t you look for it inside the shed?’
‘Are you kidding? Inside the shed is very dark. I cannot see anything there. How
can I find it? It is very bright here because of the sunlight. So, I’m sure I’ll see my ring
here,’ explained Nasreddin.
What do these words stand for?
a. It line 2
b. He line 4
c. It line 5
d. I line 8

The Wolf and the Goat

A wolf saw a goat grazing at the edge of a high cliff. The wolf smacked his lips
at the thought of a fine goat dinner.
“My dear friend,” said the wolf in his sweetest voice, “aren’t you afraid you will
fall down from that cliff? Come down here and graze on this fine grass beside me on
safe, level ground.”
“No, thank you,” said the goat.
“Well then,” said the wolf, “aren’t you cold up there in the wind? You would be
warmer grazing down here beside me in this sheltered area.”
“No, thank you,” said the goat.
“But the grass tastes better down here!” said the exasperated wolf, “Why dine
alone?”
“My dear wolf,” the goat finally said, “are you quite sure that it is my dinner you
are worrying about and not your own?

4. The underline word refers to? . . . .

Read the following sentences and determine whether the underlined referent is
correct. If it is incorrect, make the correction.

1. If outside sources were used in conducting the experiment, it should be listed in

the reference section.
2. These molecules “bump” into other molecules and start them moving faster.
53
 3. Electromagnetic radiation carries energy, which can be absorbed by materials
and may result in increased temperature.
4. The sense of feel in humans is based not so much on the temperature of an object
in contact with the skin as on the rate of energy flow between the object and the
skin. These explains why metal generally feels cold-it is a good thermal
conductor, so they absorbs energy quickly from the skin.
5. The temperature of the black sock will rise faster in the presence of visible
radiation from the sun, due to its high radiative absorption.

Read the following sentences. Circle the key or important noun or phrase and
underline the referent- the noun or pronoun used to refer to it.

1. Theories tend to be broad, unifying explanations while hypotheses are more

limited in scope. Both can be tentative or well confirmed.
2. One way of explaining an underlying process is to explain something by
reference to the working of its compound parts.
3. The fuel efficiency of a vehicle is determined in part by size and weight. This is
because acceleration is directly proportional to force but inversely proportional
to mass.
4. The prediction must enable u to reject the explanation if it is wrong and to
confirm it if it is correct. To accomplish this, any experiment must satisfy two
criteria.
5. Any experiment must satisfy two criteria. First, it must rule out factors that could
account for predictive failure even if the explanation is correct. Second, it must
rule out factors that could explain predictive success even if the explanation is
wrong.

LESSON 5

UNDERSTANDING PARAGRAPH

A. Elements of a paragraph

Paragraph is a group of sentences that fit together to support and explain one
main idea. A paragraph contained three essential elements:
54
 1. The topic, one thing a paragraph is about, is the unifying factor and every
sentence and idea contained in the paragraph is related to the topic
2. The main idea, what the author wants to communicate about the topic, is the
central or most important though in paragraph. Every other sentences and
idea in the paragraph is related to the main idea. The sentence that expresses
this idea called the topic sentence.
3. Details are the proof, support, explanation, reason, or examples that explain
the paragraph main idea.
In order to understand a paragraph, a reader must be able to identify the topic,
main idea, and details easily. In the following paragraph, each of these parts is
identified.

Topic
As societies become industrialized, the distribution of workers among
Topic
sentenc various economic activities tends to change in a predictable way. In the early
e stages, the population is engaged agricultural and the collection of raw materials
Details
for food and shelter. But as technology develops, agricultural, workers are drawn
into manufacturing and construction.

B. Identifying Paragraph Topics

A paragraph is a group of sentences about the same subject. The subject is called
topic. Readers need to understand the paragraph topic in order to understand the
paragraph. To identify the topic, you should ask “What’s this paragraph about?”. As you
practice identifying the topic, remember :

 A topic is usually expressed as a word or a phrase; it is not expressed as a

sentence.
 A topic should not be too specific, nor too general.
Example:
The internet make it easier for people to communicate. Past generation used to
write letters to each other and wait for weeks to receive the reply. Today,
communication is almost instant. Go online, type in the e-mail address, and send your
message. It will be a matter of seconds, not weeks, before your message arrives. If you
have the popular instant messaging offered by most ISPs (Internet Service Providers),
you can communicate in a matter of seconds with several friends at the same time. E-
mail is also cheap way to communicate , especially if you want to chat with someone
who is living in a different country. There is no doubt that the internet makes
communication easier, quicker, and cheaper.
The topic of this paragraph is Adventages of the Internet

C. Understanding Main Ideas

55
 The mind idea of paragraph tells you what the author wants you to know about
the topic. The main idea is usually directly stated by the writer in one or more sentences
within the paragraph. The sentence that stated this main idea is called topic sentence.
Topic sentence tells what the paragraph is about.
To find the main idea of paragraph, first decide what the topic of the paragraph
is. Then ask yourself these questions: What is the main idea-what is the author trying to
say about the topic?
Example:
The Federal Trade Commission has become increasingly interested in false and
misleading packaging. Complaints have been filed against many food packagers because
they make boxes unnecessarily large to give a false impression of quantity. Cosmetics
manufacturers have been accused of using false bottoms in packaging to make a small
amount of their product appear to be much more.
In the paragraph the topic is false and misleading packaging. The main idea is
that The Federal Trade Commission has become increasingly interested in false and
misleading packaging.

D. Where to Find the Topic Sentence

Although the topic sentence of paragraph can be located anywhere in the
paragraph, there are several positions where it is most likely to be found. Each type of
paragraph has been diagrammed to help you visualized how it is structured.

First Sentence
The most common position of the topic sentence is in first
the paragraph. In this type of paragraph, the author states the
Topic main idea at the beginning of the paragraph.
Sentence Example:
Detail The good listener, in order to achieve the purpose of
Detail acquiring information, is careful to follow specific steps to
achieve accurate understanding. First, whenever possible, the
Detail
good listener prepares in advance for the speech or lecture he or
she is going to attend. He or she studies the topic to be
discussed and finds out about the speaker and his or her beliefs.
Second, on arriving at the place where the speech is to be given,
he or she chooses a seat where seeing, hearing, and remaining
alert are easy. Finally, when the speech is over, an effective
listener review what was said and reacts to and evaluates the
ideas expressed.
Last Sentence
The second most common position of the topic sentence is
last in the paragraph. In this type of paragraph, the author leads
or builds up to the main idea and then states it in a sentence at
the very end

Example
Whenever possible, the good listener prepares in advance
for the speech or lecture he or she is going to attend. He or she
Detail
Detail 56
Detail
Topic
sentence
 studies the topic to be discussed and finds out about the speaker
and his or her beliefs. On arriving at the place where the speech
is to be given, he or she chooses a seat where seeing, hearing,
and remaining alert are easy. And when the speech is over, he or
she review what was said and reacts to and evaluates the ideas
expressed. Thus, an effective listener, in order to achieve the
purpose of acquiring information, takes specific steps to achieve
accurate understanding.

Middle of the Paragraph

Another common position of the topic sentence is in
the middle of the paragraph. In this case, the author
builds up to the main idea, states it in the middle of
the paragraph, and then goes on with further
elaboration and detail.
Detail Example
Detail Whenever possible, the good listener prepares in advance
Topic for the speech or lecture he or she is going to attend. He or she
studies the topic to be discussed and finds out about the speaker
Sentence
and his or her beliefs. An effective listener, then, takes specific
Detail steps to achieve accurate understanding of the lecture.
Detail Furthermore, on arriving at the place where the speech is to be
given, he or she chooses a seat where it is easy to see, hear, and
remain alert. Finally, when the speech is over, an effective
listener review what was said and reacts to and evaluates the
ideas expressed.
Detail

First and Last Sentence

Sometimes an author uses two sentences to state the main

idea twice in one paragraph. Usually, in this type of paragraph,
the writer states the main idea at the beginning of the paragraph,
then explains or support the idea, and finally restates the main
idea at the very.

Example
The good listener, in order to achieve the purpose of
Topic acquiring information, is careful to follow specific steps to
Sentence achieve accurate understanding. First, whenever possible, the
Detail good listener prepares in advance for the speech or lecture he or
Detail she is going to attend. He or she studies the topic to be
Detail discussed and finds out about the speaker and his or her beliefs.
Second, on arriving at the place where the speech is to be given,
he or she chooses a seat where seeing, hearing, and remaining
alert are easy. Finally, when the speech is over, he or she

57
Detail
Detail
Detail
Topic
sentence
 reviews what was said an reacts to and evaluates the ideas
expressed. Effective listening is an active process in which a
listener deliberately takes certain actions to ensure that accurate
communication has occurred.

E. Recognizing Details

The details in the paragraph are facts, and ideas that prove, explain, support or
give examples of the main idea of the paragraph. Once the topic and main idea have
been identified, recognizing the supporting details is relatively simple matter. The more
difficult job is selecting the few key supporting details, or most important details that
clearly support the main idea.
In the following paragraph, the topic sentence is underline twice; the key primary
supporting details are underline once.

The large-scale and more technologically sophisticated a society, the weaker its
ties of marriage, for several reasons. First, in large-scale societies, like Western society,
individuals continually meet new people of the opposite sex. Second, people are likely
to live longer in technologically advanced societies and longevity sometimes leads to
marital discontent. Third, many of the functions of marriage in large-scale,
technologically sophisticated societies are fulfilled by other institutions. A marriage
person’s economic support, for example, does not depend on cooperation with a spouse
when both spouses earn paychecks outside their joint household and can continue to do
so even if they part.
Major Detail and Minor Detail
As noted previously, you locate the supporting details in a paragraph by doing
these steps: first, determine the topic and main idea, then ask yourself question, “what
additional information does the author provide to help me understand the main idea
completely?” the detail consist of the specific information that answers that question.
All detail support the main idea, but some detail are more important than others.
The detail that directly support or explain the main idea are reffered to as major detail or
primary details. The reader can’t fully understand the main idea without them. In
contrast, minor detail or secondary details indirectly support the main idea because they
support or explain other details.

Example:

In the early stages of learning a sport, it is wise not to engage in competition.

Beginners who compete are likely to focus on winning rather than on learning the sport
properly. Moreover, even thought the person might win games at first, he sacrifices the
chance to improve his skills for the future. For example, a beginning tennis player who
is competing might avoid using a newly learned backhand shot in favor of sure thing
forehand.
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 Stated Main Idea

In the early stages of learning a sport, it is wise not to engage in

competition.

Major Detail Major Detail

Beginners who compete are Moreover, even thought the person

likely to focus on winning might win games at first, he
rather than on learning the sacrifices the chance to improve
sport properly. his skills for the future.

Minor Detail

For example, a beginning tennis player

who is competing might avoid using a
newly learned backhand shot in favor of
sure thing forehand.

F. Understanding Implied Main Ideas

Like defining a word through contex, to infer a main idea, you combine what the
autor says with your own knowledge. Inferring a main idea is not a wild guess. It is
reasonable conclusion based on the information you are given.
The following is a basic strategy for identifying an implied main idea.

 identify the topic. Answer the question, “who or what is the author writing
about?”
 identify the controlling thought. Answer the question, “ what does the author
want me to know about the topic?”.
 Combine the topic and controlling thought into a main idea statement.

Example:
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the newest name applied o a
complex disorder that has long puzzled professionals. Today it is believed that it is the
most common behavioral disorder in U.S. youngsters. Some experts say it afflicts some
3.5 million youngsters, or up to 5 percent of those under age 18. It is two to three times
more likely to be diagnosed in boys than in girls.

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In this paragraph, the topic is Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Implied
main idea is Today it is believed that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is
the most common behavioral disorder in U.S. youngsters.

G. Transition

Transition are the linking words or phrases used to lead the reader from one idea
to another. If you get in the habit of recognizing transition, you will see that they often
guide you through a paragraph, helping you to read it more easlily.
Not all paragraph contain such obvious transition, and not all transitions serve as
such clear markers of major details. Transitions may be use to alert you to what will
come next in the paragraph. If you see the phrase for instance at the beginning of the
sentence, then you know that the example will follow. When you see the phrase on the
other hand, you can predict that a different, opposing idea will follow.
Type of transitions and the Examples
Time-sequence : first, later, next, finally
Example : for example, for instance, to illustrate, such as
Enumeration : first, second, third, last, another, next
Continuation : also, in adition, and, further, another
Contrast : on the other hand, in contrast, however
Comparison : like, likewise, similarly
Cause-effect : because, thus, therefore, since, consequently

A paragraph can be defined as a group of related sentences about a single topic.

This chapter focuses on knowledge and comprehension of paragraph structure. It will
also help you write paragraphs effectively. Once you know how a paragraph is
structured, you will be able to apply your knowledge to paragraph writing. A paragraph
contains three essential elements:

 The topic, one thing a paragraph is about, is the unifying factor, and every
sentence and idea contained in the paragraph is related to the topic.
 The main idea, what the author wants to communicate about the topic, is the
central or most important thought in the paragraph. Every other sentence and
idea in the paragraph is related to the main idea. The sentence that expresses this
idea is called the topic sentence.
 Details are the proof, support, explanation, reasons, or examples that explain the
paragraph’s main idea.

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  Transisitions. They are words that relate sentences in a paragraph. These words
will become the signal words for the reader to understand the meaning given by
the writer.

Each of the following examples contains a group of sentences, but only one is a
paragraph. Only that one has the three essential elements. Identify the paragraph.

Cats frequently become aggressive when provoked. Some plants require more light than
others as a result of coloration of their foliage. Some buildings, because of poor
construction, waste a tremendous amount of energy.

Some plants require more light than others as a result of coloration of their foliage. Some
plants will live a long time without watering. Plants are being used as decorator items in
stores and office buildings.

Some plants require more light others as a result of coloration of their foliage. Plants with
shades of white, yellow, or pink in their leaves need more light than plants with completely
green foliage. For example, a Swedish ivy plant with completely green leaves requires
less light per day than a variegated Swedish ivy that contains shades of white, yellow,
and green in its leaves.

In the first example, the sentences were unrelated; each sentence was about a
different thing, and there was no connection among them.
In the second example, each sentence was about plants-the common topic;
however, the sentences together did not prove, explain, or support any particular idea
about plants.
In the third example, each sentence was about plants, and all sentences were
about one main idea: that some plants need more light than others because of the
coloration of their leaves. Thus, the third example is a paragraph; it has a topic-plants; a
main idea-that plants require varying degrees of light due to coloration; and supporting
details-the example of the Swedish ivy. The first sentence functions as a topic sentence.
In order to understand a paragraph, a reader must be able to identify the topic,
main idea, and details easily. In the following paragraph, each of these parts is
identified.
As societies become industrialized, the distribution of workers among various
economic activities tends to change in a predictable way. In the early stages, the
population is engaged in agriculture and the collection of raw materials for food and
shelter. But as technology develops, agricultural workers are drawn into
manufacturing and construction.

FURTHER EXPLANATION OF PARAGRAPH AND EXERCISES

A. TOPIC OF PARAGRAPH
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

What is Topic?
The topic is the one thing a paragraph is about.Every sentence in a paragraph in
some way discusses or explains the topic. Think the topic as the subject of the entire
paragraph. If you had to choosea title for a paragraph, the one or two words you would
choose are the topic.
To find the topic of a paragraph, ask yourself: What is the one thing the author is
discussing throughout the paragraph?
 
Now, read the following paragraph with this question in mind:
           
Discrimination doesn’t go away: it just aims to whatever group appears to be out
of fashion at any moment. One expert feels that age is the major factor in employment
discriminationtoday;although studies have shown older workers may be more reliable
than young workers and just as productive. The age Discrimination inemployment Act
gives protection to the worker between forty and sixty-five. If you’re in this age range,
your employer must prove that you have performed unsatisfactorily before he can
legally fire you. This act also prohibits age discrimination in hiring, wages, and benefits.
To report age discrimination, call your local officeof the wageand Hours Division of the
U.S. Labor Department, or the Human Relations Commission in your state. If local
offices are unable to help, try the national Equal Employment Opportunity commission,
Washington, D.C. 20460.
 In this example, the topic of the paragraph is “Discriminaton” because the
author is discussing descrimination throughout the paragraph.Why Discrimination is the
topic? It because of the word discussion is used several times, and Often the repeated
use of a word can serve as a clue to the topic.
Finding Topic Exercise

Directions: Read each paragraph. Then select the most appropriate topic.

1. Although Benedict Arnold, an American Major General during the

Revolutionary War, served his country heroically in several early battles, he is
now known as a villain whose name is a synonym for "traitor." Why did an
outstanding officer who fought bravely for independence turn his back on
America in 1780 and plot to sell the fort at West Point to the British? Several
factors led Arnold to commit treason. First of all, the ambitious Arnold became
bitter about several setbacks to his career. He was passed over for important
promotions, and he alienated several of his superiors with his jealous rivalry. He
had a huge ego and craved recognition and public admiration, and he believed
the Continental Congress had betrayed him by denying him the official honors he
had earned. Arnold was also devoted to his own financial self-interest. He tried
to increase his income through legal and illegal means, including inappropriate
use of his position to engage in trade. Therefore, when the British promised him
$20,000 along with rewards of rank and honor in exchange for West Point,
which was under his command, he managed to convince himself that America

62
 would be better off under English rule and switched his loyalty in exchange for
his own personal gain.

Topic:

2. increasingly prevalent food allergies in children are beginning to create tension

in schools. The number of allergies to foods such as peanuts, dairy products,
soy, wheat, corn, fish, and shellfish have been increasing over the last decade.
Up to about 3 percent of children are now experiencing life-threatening
reactions to such foods; some must be rushed to the hospital if they so much as
touch an allergen. As a result, their parents are doing everything they can to
prevent exposure of these children to the problem foods. They carefully check
labels on food packages, they pack special lunches for their kids to take to
school, and they try to keep them away from places that serve foods that cause
allergic reactions. But some parents want to go even further: they want their
children’s classmates to be prohibited from exposing their allergic child to
problem foods. They have consequently persuaded some schools to impose
limitations on what kids can bring in their lunchboxes. Any food or snack that is
not acceptable is confiscated. Many parents of non-allergic children, however,
are objecting to what they believe are ridiculously unfair precautions.

Topic:
a. Controversy over the handling of children’s food allergies
b. The increase in food allergies among elementary school children
c. Life-threatening reactions to food allergies

3. Although funeral customs in England and America are similar in many respects,
they also differ significantly in other ways. In both countries, preparation of the
body occurs at a funeral home, a funeral service is usually held in a church or
chapel, and burial occurs in a cemetery. However, the custom of embalming is
not the same. In the United States, treating a corpse with preservatives is
routine. In England, though, that procedure is rare. Other pre-funeral customs
differ, too. In America, it is customary for mourners to go to the funeral home a
day or two before the actual burial for a "wake," a ritual during which people
pay their respects to the deceased and to his or her family members. At the
wake, the body is laid out in a coffin, and mourners go look at it. In England,
however, there is no pre-funeral wake. The funeral director places the body in a
chapel, and people can go see it if they like. But they usually don’t. Finally, the
actual funeral service differs slightly. The services in both countries typically
involve hymns and prayers, but those in England last only about fifteen minutes.
American funeral services are usually much longer.
Topic:

a. Funeral customs in England

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 b. Funeral customs in America
c. Differences between English and American funeral customs

4. For thirty years, scientists have been researching the four mysterious moons in
orbit around the planet Jupiter. The data they’ve collected suggests some
fascinating possibilities about these bodies. Of the four moons, Io is the hottest,
containing about eight active volcanoes that erupt constantly. Because its
conditions resemble those on Earth before the continents formed, scientists hope
that it can offer insights into the origin of our own planet. In comparison to Io,
Europa, which is a little smaller than Earth’s Moon, is icy and drab. However,
there is evidence that Europa may contain wet, watery slush, a condition that
may support life. Ganymede, the third moon, seems to contain water, too, and it
may even have a thin atmosphere of oxygen due to the breakdown of water vapor
by sunlight. Therefore, it, too, may be capable of supporting life. One final
moon, Callisto, is the least active of the four. It has been geologically dead since
its birth, but, unlike other bodies where volcanoes, erosion and shifting land
masses constantly change the surface, Callisto has not erased the craters caused
by the impacts of space "junk." Because it has preserved an ancient record of
bombardment by meteors, scientists believe it may reveal secrets of the solar
system’s 4 billion-year history.

Topic:

a. The possibility of life on Jupiter

b. The characteristics of Jupiter’s moons
c. The discovery of Jupiter’s moons

5. What makes a person’s personality unique? According to Steven Reiss, author of

Who Am I?: The 16 Basic Desires That Motivate Our Action and Define Our
Personality, each individual’s desires determine who he is and what he does.
Specifically, Reiss claims that humans experience sixteen distinct desires. They
are power, independence, curiosity, acceptance, order, saving, honor, idealism,
social contact, family, status, vengeance, romance, eating, physical exercise, and
tranquility. The amounts of each desire in an individual determine what kind of
person he or she will be. A workaholic, for example, is often a person whose
desires for power and status outrank most of the other desires. Conversely, a
bright child who performs poorly in school may possess little curiosity, the
desire to learn new things.

Topic:

a. Becoming a workaholic
b. The origins of personality
c. Personality and the lust for power
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Further exercises on Topic

Read the following paragraphs and then find their topics.

1. A hockery player rushing up ice travels at more than twenty-five miles per hour;
a slap shot hurls a frozen rubber disc toward a goalie at one hundred miles per
hour. Everything that happens in hockery-passing stickhandling, checking,
shooting-happens fast. (Greenfield, “The iceman arriveth)

Topic:

2. Acadia National Park in Maine offers visitors a variety of wonderful scenery.

For example, it includes a rugged coastal region of great natural beauty with the
highest land on the eastern seaboard. It also includes most of Mount Desert
Island, parts of Isle au Hunt, and a number of other islets, as well as the tip of the
Schoodic Peninsula. Wave-eroded granite cliffs characterize the coast. The
inland portion of the park is forested with spruce and fir, and contains lakes and
mountains carved by glacial actions. (McGrath and McGrath, “Travel
Treasuress”)

Topic:

3. At least 25 percent of the people in the United States suffer from stress overload
at work. According to a 1995 Gallup poll, 37 percent of American workers report
daily job stress, while 75 percent reported significant stress at least once weekly.
A study by the National Center of Health Statistics revealed that more than half
of forty thousand workers surveyed reported experiencing moderate to severe job
stress in the previous two weeks. A 1998 Gallup poll strongly suggested that
stress continues to mount for American workers, as fully 80 percent reported
being significantly stressed at work. (Abascal, Bruto, and Brucato, Stress Master)

Topic:

4. Death comes early in poor societies, where families lack adequate food, safe
water, secure housing, and access to medical care. Organization combating child
proverty estimate that at least 100 million city children in poor countries beg,
steal, sell sex or work for drug gangs to provide income for their families. Such a
life almost always means dropping out of school and puts children at high risk of
disease and violence. (Macions, Sociology)

Topic:

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5. The loss of a job, a serious illness, a family breakup, or other family
circumstances can lead to financial problems in the family. If money problems
are serious or long-lasting, a family may be unable to afford such neccessities as
adequate food, health care, and a place to live. A growing number of families in
the United States today have become homeless dueto financial crises. (Pruitt,
Crumpler, and Prothrow-Stith, Health Skills for wellness)

Topic:

6. When you set a purpose for reading, you focus your attention on the specific
parts of the assignment you need to understand. Without setting goals you are
saying that everything in the assignment is of equal value and that you want to
learn it all in complete detail. Although this total-mastery approach may be
necessary in a few reading assignments each term, most times it will just lead to
frustration and information overload. Setting a purpose each time you read can
make you more effective and efficient. (McGrath, Understanding Diverse
Viewpoints)
.
7. People’s acceptance of a product may be largely determined by its packaging. In
one study the very same coffee taken from a yellow can was described as weak,
from a dark brown can as too strong, from a red can as rich, and from a blue can
as mild. Even your acceptance of a person may depend on the colors worn.
Consider, for example, the comments of one color expert: “if you have to pick
the wardrobe for your defense lawyer heading into court and choose anything but
blue, you deserve to lose the case…..” Black is so powerful it could work against
the lawyer with the jury. Brown lacks sufficient authority. Green would probably
elicit a negative response.

Topic :

8. The constellation [group of stars] that the Greeks named Orion, the hunter, was
seen by the ancient Chinese as a supreme warrior called Shen. Hindus in ancient
India also saw a warrior, called Skanda, who rode a peacock. The three stars of
Orion’s belt were seen as three fisherman in a canoe by Aborigines of northern
Australia. as seen from southern California, these three stars climb almost
straight up into the sky as they rise in the east, which may explain why the
Chemehuevi Indians of the California desert saw them as a line of three
surefooted mountain sheep.

Topic :

9. Initially, many computers entered homes as children’s games. But the trend
spread fast, from simple games to more sophisticated ones. Soon they became a
favorite pastime both for children and young adults. This group of people

66
 showed an almost natural ability to adapt to computers; software developers saw
the opportunity for the market and developed increasingly challenging games as
well as educational programs. Many parents were then tempted to buy computers
for home use and this, in turn, led to a situation where people of all ages and
backgrounds saw the benefit of computers not only for young people but also for
adults who used them for personal and business purposes.

Topic :

10. Gold, a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics. First of all,
gold has a lustrous beauty that is resistant to corrosion. Therefore, it is suitable
for jewelry, coins, and ornamental purposes. Gold never needs to be polished and
will remains as untarnished today as the day it was made 25 centuries ago.
Another important characteristics of gold is its usefulness to industry and
science. For many years, it has been used in hundreds of industrials applications,
such as photography and dentistry. the most recent use of gold is in astronauts
suits. Astronauts wear gold-plated heat shields for protection when they go
outside spaceships in space. in conclusion, gold is treasured not only for its
beauty but also for its utility.

Topic :

11. Colors create biological reactions in our bodies. These reactions, in turn, can
change our behavior. In one study, prisoners were put in a pink room, and they
underwent a drastic and measurable decrease in muscle strength and hostility
within 2.7 seconds. In another study, athletes needing short bursts of energy were
exposed to red light. Their muscle strength increased by 13.5 percent, and
electrical activity in their arm muscles increased by 5.8 percent. Athletes needing
more endurance for longer performances responded best when exposed to blue
light. Other studies have shown that the color green is calming. After London’s
Black friars Bridge was painted green, the number of suicides decreased by 34
percent. these and other studies clearly demonstrate that color affects not only
our moods but our behavior as well.

Topic :

Further Exercises on Topic

Directions: After reading each of the following paragraphss, choose the letter of the
choice that best represents the topic of the paragraph.

67
1. Some plants require more light than others as a result of the colors of
their leaves. Plants with shades of white, yellow, or pink in their
leaves need more light than plants with completely green foliage. For
example, a Swedish ivy plant with completely green leaves requires
less light per day than a variegated Swedish ivy that contains shades
of white, yellow, and green in its leaves.
a. How plants grow
b. Plants and light
c. Light
d. Green foliage

2. Mental ilness is usually diagnosed from abnormal behavior. A woman

is asked the time of day, and she begins to rub her arms and recite tha
Apostles’ Creed. A man is so convinced that someone is “out to get
him” that he refuses to leave his apartment. Unusual behaviors like
these are taken as evidence that the mental apparatus is not working
quite right, and mental illness is the resulting diagnosis.
a. Psychology
b. Mental health
c. Mental ilness
d. Evidence

3. Discrimination doesn’t go away : it just aims at whatever group

appears to be out of fashion at any given moment. One expert feels
that age is the major factor in employment didcrimination today,
altough studies have shown older workers may be more reliable than
young workers and just as productive. The age discrimination in
employment act gives protection to the worker between forty and
sixty-five. If you’re in this age range, your employer must prove that
you have performed unsatisfactorily before he can legally fire you.
This act also prohibits age discrimination in hiring, wages, and
benefits.
a. Age discrimination
b. Older workers
c. Employment
d. Protection of workers

4. Magazines are a means of communication halfway between

newspapers and books. Until the 1940s most consumer (general)
magazines offered both fiction and nonfiction articles as well as
poetry and short humor selections. With television providing so much
entertainment for the American home, many magazines discovered a
strong demand for nonfiction articles, their almost exclusive content
today.
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 a. Communication
b. Nonfiction articles
c. Newspapers and books
d. Magazines

5. Slavery has taken a number of different forms. War captives and their
descendants formed a class of slave in some societied; in others,
slaves were owned and could be bought and sold. The rights granted
to a slave varied, too. In ancient Greece, a slave could marry a free
person, but in the southern United States before the Civil War, slaves
were not allowed even to marry each other because they were not
permitted to engage in legal contracts. Still, slaves in the South often
lived together as husband and wife throughout their adult lives,
forming families that remained tightly knit until they were separated
at the auction block.
a. Rights of slaves
b. Slavery in Greece
c. Forms of slavery
d. Slavery in the southern United States

Quiz

1. When speaking to the telephone be sure to speak clearly, enunciating carefully. It

is also a good practice to speak just a bit slower than if you were talking with
someone face to face. When responding to an answering machine or voice mail,
be brief but to the point. Give your name, telephone number, and a brief
explanation of why you called. State what time would be the best return your
call. It is also helpful to give your phone number a second time as a conclusion
to your massage.

What is the topic?

a. Telephone manners.
b. Public speaking.
c. Telemarketing.
d. Customer service.

B. THE TOPIC SENTENCE

Every good paragraph has atopic sentence ,which clearlystates the topic and the
controlling idea of the paragraph.

A topic sentnce is th most important in a paragraph. It briefly indicats what th

paragraph is going to disscuss. For this reason,the topic sentence is hlpful guid to both
the writer and reader. The writer can see what information to include (and what
information to exclude). The reader can se what the paragraph is going to be about and

69
is therefore better preapred to undrstand it. Or example, in the model paragraph on gold,
the topic sntenc alerts the reader to look for twoocharacteristics.
Here are three important points to remember about a topic sentence.
1. A topic sntece is complete sntence; tht is, it contains at last one subject and one
verb. The following are not complete sentence because they do not have verbs.
Driving on freeways.
How to register for collegge classes.
The rise of indie films.
2. A topic sentence cointains both a topic and a contolling idea. It names the topic
and then limits the topic to a specific area to be discussed in the space of a single
paragraph.
Topic controlling idea
Driving on freways reuires skill and alertness.
Topic contolling idea.
Registering for college classes can be a frustrating experience for new stunts.
Topic contolling idea
The rise of indie flims is due to sveral factors.

Position of topic sentences

The topic sentences is usually (but not always) the firts sentence in a paragraph.
Exprienced wrtiters sometimes put topic sentenc in other locations, but the best
spot is usually right at the beginning. Readers who are usd to th English way of
writing want to know what they will read about as soon as they begin reading.

Example :

Synonyms
Synonyms words that have th same basic meaning ,do not always have the
same motional meaning. For example,th word stingy and frugal both mean
“careful with money.” Howver .calling someone stingy is an insult, but calling
somon frugal is a compliment. Similarity, a prson wants to be slendr but not
skinny,aggressive but not pushy. Therefore, you should be careful in choosing
words bcause many so-called synonyms are not really synonymoust at all.

 Sometimes a topic sentences comees at the middle.

Example :

Whenever possible,good listeners prepare in advance for the speech or

lecturer they plan to attend. They study the topic to be discussed and find out
70
 about the speaker and his or her beliefs. Effective listeners, then ,take specific
steps to achive accurate understanding of the lecture. Furthemore , when they
arrive at the place where the speech is to be given, they choose a seat whwre it is
easy to see, hear ,and remain alert. Finally ,when th speech is over ,effective
listeners review what was said and evaluate the ideas that were expressed.

 A topic sentence come at the end. In this case, the paragraph often begin
with a series of examples. Others paragraphs may begin with a series of
facts, and the topic sentence at the end is the conclusion from this case.

Example :
Medical Miracles to Come

By the year 2009, a vaccine against the common cold will have been
developed. By the same year,the firts human will have been successfully cloned.
By the year 2014 ,parents will be able to create designer children. Genetic
therapy will be able to manipulae genes for abilities,intelligence, and
hair,eye,and skin color. By 2020,most diseases will have been wiped out.These
are just a few examples of the medical miracles that are expected in the next few
decades.

1. Topic Sentence in the beginning of a paragraph (First Sentence)

The most common position of the topic sentence is first in the paragraph. In this
type of paragraph, the author states the main idea at the beginning of the paragraph and
then elaborates on it.

1. The functions of desktop publishing software are similar to those of word

processing programs, except that some capabilities are more sophisticated. A
user can enter text using the desktop publishing program in the same way that he
or she can enter text with a word processing program. In addition, the user can
retrieve text from a file created by another program. For example, the user may
enter, edit, and save text using a word processing program and then retrieve the
saved text using the desktop publishing program.
2. The good listener, in order to achieve the purpose of acquiring information, is
careful to follow specific steps to achieve accurate understanding. First,
whenever possible, the good listener prepares in advance for the speech of
lecturer he or she is going to attend. He or she studies the topic to be discussed
and find out about the speaker and his or her beliefs. Second, on arriving at the
place where the speech is to be given, he or she chooses a seat where seeing,
71
 hearing, and remaining alert essay. Finally, when the speech is over, an effective
listener reviews what was said and reacts to and evaluates the ideas expressed.
3. The rate of cooling an object depends on how much hotter the object is than the
surrounding. The temperature change per minute of a hot apple pie will be more
if the hot is put in a cold freezer than if put on the kitchen table. Ehen the pi
cools in the freezer, the temperature difference between it and its surrounding is
greater. A warm home will leak heat to the cold outside at a greater rate when
there is a large difference in the inside and outside temperatures. Keeping the
inside of your home at a high temperature on a cold day is more costly than
keeping it at a lower temperature. If you keep the temperature difference small,
the rate of cooling will be corresponding low.
4. The pawnshop industry has been in decline in most parts of the world. In Great
Britain in 1990 there were 3,000 pawnshops; in the 1990s there are fewer than
150. In the United States, however, the pawnshop business actually grew during
the same time period, from under 2,000 to more than 7,000 today. Pawnshops in
this country currently make about 40 million loans a year with an aggregate
dollar amount over $1 billion. Most if these pawnshops are that many states have
relaxed their restriction (called usury laws) on the maximum interest rates that
can be charged. Pawnshops in these states can now legally charge the night rates
needed to stay in business. Further, the percentage of U.S. citizens classified as
low-income has risen in recent decades. These individuals cannot get loans from
mainstream financial institutions, such as banks and savings and loan
associations, and so must turn to alternatives, one of which is the pawnshop.
5. Many people assume that the law is based on the contest of citizens, that it treats
citizens equally, and that it serves the best interest of society. If we simply read
the U.S. Constitution and Statues, this assumption may indeed be justified. But
focusing on the law on the books, as William Chambliss (1969) pointed out, may
be misleading. The law on the books does indeed say that the authorities ought to
be fair and just. But are they? To understand crime, Chambliss argued, we need
to look at the law in action, Chambliss concluded that legal authorities are
actually unfair and unjust, favoring the rich and powerful over the poor and
weak.

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 Quiz
6. Dirty words are often used by teenagers in telling off-color stories and this can
be considered part of their sex education. As their bodies grow and change, both
boys and girls wonder and worry. To keep from being overwhelmed by these
fears, they turn them into jokes or dirty word stories. By telling and retelling off-
color stories, they learn that they aren’t the only ones in the group disturbed
about their future roles in courtship and marriage. Using dirty words and stories
to laugh at sexual doubts and fears may make them less frightening.
Sumber: Kathleen T. McWhorter

Answer:

1. The functions of desktop publishing software are similar to those of word

processing programs, except that some capabilities are more sophisticated.
2. The good listener, in order to achieve the purpose of acquiring information, is
careful to follow specific steps to achieve accurate understanding.
3. The rate of cooling an object depends on how much hotter the object is than the
surrounding.
4. The pawnshop industry has been in decline in most parts of the world.
5. Many people assume that the law is based on the contest of citizens, that it treats
citizens equally, and that it serves the best interest of society.
6. Dirty words are often used by teenagers in telling off-color stories and this can
be considered part of their sex education.

2. Topic Sentence somewhere in the middle of a paragraph

Detail
Detail
Topic sentence
Detail
Detail

73
 Another common position of the topic sentence is in the paragraph. In this case,
the author builds up to the main idea, states it in the middle of the paragraph, and then
goes on with further elaboration and detail.

Whenever possible, the good listener prepares in advance for the speech or
lecture he or she plans to attend. He or she studies the topic to be discussed and finds out
about the speaker and his or her beliefs. An effective listener, then, takes specific steps
to achieve accurate understanding of the lecture. Furthermore, on arriving at the place
where the speech is to be given, he or she chooses a seat where it is easy to see, hear,
and remain alert. Finally, when the speech is over, the effective listener reviews what
was said and reacts to and evaluates the ideas expressed.

Kathleen T.
McWhorter

1. Because faces are so visible and so sensitive, you pay more attention to people’s
faces than to any other nonverbal feature. The face is an efficient and high-speed
means of conveying meaning. Gestures,posture, and larger body movements
require sometime to change in response to a changing stimulus, whereas facial
expressions can change instantly, sometimes event at a rate imperceptible to the
human eye. As an instantaneous response mechanism, it is the most effective
way to provide feedback to an ongoing message. This is the process of using the
face as a regulator.

Weaver, Understanding Interpersonal Communication, p.20

Topic Sentence

2. During photosynthesis in green plants, as the energy of sunlight falls on the

green pigment in the leaves, carbon dioxide and the hydrogens of water are used
to make food, and water and oxygen are released. The relese of oxygen by those
first photosynthesizers was a critical step in the direction of life’s development.
In a sense, the production of oxygen fallsin to the “good news-bad news”
category. It’s good news for us, of course, since we need oxygen, but as oxygen
began to becomea prevalentgas in the atmosphere, it sounded the death knellfor
many of the early organisms. This is because oxygen is a disruptive gas, as
demonstrated by the process of rusting metal. So, in the early days of life on the
planet, many life forms were destroyed by the deadly and accumulating gas.

Wallace, Biology: The World of Life,

p.167

Topic Sentence
74
 3. Fast foods tend to be short on fresh fruits and vegetables, and are low in calcium,
although calcium can be obtained in shakes and milk. Pizza is a fast-food
exception. It contains grains, meat, vegetables, and cheese, which represent four
of the food groups. Pizza is often only about 25 percent fat, most of which comes
from the crust. Overall, studies have shown pizza to be highly nutritious.

“Byer and Shainberg, Living Well: Health in Your Hands,

p.289

Topic Sentence

4. You could be the greatest genius since Thomas Edison, but if no one knows
about your talent or is in a position to judge it, you’re wasting your time. Being
in the right field is important. But within that field, it’s also a good idea to
maintain ahigh degree of visibility. If you’ve got the potential to be a briliant
corporate planner, you may be wasting your time working for a small company.
You’d be better off working for a large corporation where you have the
oppurtunity to take off in many directions, learn how the different departments
work together, and thus have a larger arena to test your skills.

-Weinstein, Jobs for the 21st Century, p.118

Topic Sentence

5. When good writers use the word revision, they don’t mean the sort of minor
changes implied in the old elementary school phrase “ Copy it over in ink. “
Revision doesn’t even mean writing your paper over again. Instead, it means
reading your draft carefully in order to make effectiv changes in the existing text.
It means stepping outside the draft you’ve created; looking at its strengths and
weaknesses as if you were a reader seeing it for the first time; and deciding what
parts of the draft need to be expande, clarified, elaborated, illustrated, reworded,
restructured, modified-or just plain cut.

-Anson and Schwegler, The Longman Handbook for Writers

and Reader, p.78

Practice Finding topic sentence in the middle of paragraph :

75
1. History is always written by the victors. The basic Tudor picture of Richard as a
bloodthirsty tyrant was handed down through the standard histories of England
and the school textbooks for five centuries. There has been an obstinate
opposition, however. Beginning with Sir George Buck in the 17th century, a
series of writers and historians have insisted that Richard was not getting a fair
break, that the Tudor version was largely fabrication: far from being a monster,
Richard was a noble, upright, courageous, tenderhearted and most conscientious
king. This anti-Tudor version reached its definitive statement in the work of Sir
Clements Markham, a 19th-century eccentric who spent years of passionate
research trying to prove that crimes attributed to Richard were either outright
libels by, or the actual work of, a pack of villains, most notably including
Cardinal Morton and Henry VII.

The topic sentence : Beginning with Sir George Buck in the 17th century, a
series of writers and historians have insisted that Richard was not getting a fair
break, that the Tudor version was largely fabrication: far from being a monster,
Richard was a noble, upright, courageous, tenderhearted and most conscientious
king.

2. The alarm clock sounded for a full two minutes before Katie heard it. Even then,
she put her pillow over her head, roalled over and groaned loudly. Getting up
early in the morning was always hard for Katie. As usual, her mom had to pull
the blankets off her and make her get up for school.

The topic sentence : Getting up early in the morning was always hard for Katie.

3. When a camera flash is used in a low-light environment, the subject's eyes may
appear red in the finished photograph. What is known as "red-eye" is the result of
light from the flash reflecting off the pupils of the eyes. The phenomenon of red-
eye can be lessened by using the red-eye reduction feature found on many SLR
cameras. This feature activates a lamp which shines a small light directly into the
subject's eyes. When this happens, the diameter of the pupil is reduced, thus
tightening the opening in the iris. Since a smaller pupil means a smaller host for
the reflection, the chances of red-eye occurring are greatly reduced.

The topic sentence : The phenomenon of red-eye can be lessened by using the
red-eye reduction feature found on many SLR cameras.

4. In colonial days, huge flocks of snowy egrets inhabited the coastal wetlands and
marshes of the southeastern United Stated. In the 1800s, in fashion dictated fancy
hats a dorned with feathers, egrets and other bird were hunted for the plumage by
the late 1800s, egrets were almost extinct. In the 1886, the newly formed
National Audubon society began a press campaign to shame “feather wearers”
and the praktice. The campaign caught on, and gradually, attitudes changed; New
laws followed. Government policiec that protect animals from overharvesting are
essential to keep species from the brink of extinction. Even when cultural
standars change duo to the efforts of individual groups (such as the National
Audubon society), laws and policy measures must follow to ensure that end

76
 angered population remain protected. Since the 1800s, several important laws
have been passed to protect a wide variety of species.

The topic sentence : Government policiec that protect animals from

overharvesting are essential to keep species from the brink of extinction.

5. A living will is a legal document prepared by a patient. This document gives

intructions about the health care to be provided if the patient becomes terminally
ill or falls into a permanent coma or persistent vegetative state. A living will is a
way for the patient to make helath-care decisions before experiencing a health-
care emergency. A livng will species wether the patient wants to be kept on life-
support machines. It species wether the patient wants to be feedings or artivicial
(IV) hydration when the patient is in a coma or persistent vegetative state. It may
also contain other construction related to helath care.

The topic sentence : A living will is a way for the patient to make helath-care
decisions before experiencing a health- care emergency.
.
3. Topic sentence in the last

1. Whenever possible, the good listeners prepares in advance for the speech or
lecture he or she plans to attend. He or she studies the topic to be discussed
and finds out about the speaker and his or her beliefs. On arriving at the place
where the speech is to be given, he or she chooses a seat where seeing,
hearing, and remaining alerts are easy. And when the speech is over, he or
she reviews what was said and reacts to and evaluates the ideas expressed.
Thus, an effective listener, in order to achieve the purpose of acquiring the
information, takes specific steps to achieve accurate understanding.

2. Because faces are so visible and so sensitive, you pay more attention to
people’s faces than to any other nonverbal feature. The face is efficient and
high-speed means of conveying meaning. Gestures, posture and larger body
movements require some time to change in response to a changing stimulus,
whereas facial expressions can change instantly, sometimes even at a rate
imperceptible to the human eye. As an instantaneous response mechanism, it
is the most effective way to provide feedback to an ongoing message. This is
the process of using the face as a regulator.

3. Is there a relationship between aspect’s one personality and one’s state of

physical health? Can psychological evaluations of an individual be used to
predict physical as well as psychological disorders? Is there such a thing as a
disease prone personality? Our response is very tentative, and the data are not
all supportive, but for the moment we can say yes, there does seem to be a
positive correlation between some personality variables and physical health.
- Gerow, psychology: an introduction, p.
700
-
4. The symbols that constitute language are commonly referred to as words—
labels that we have assigned to concepts, or our mental representations.
77
 When we use the word chair as a symbol, we don’t use it to label just one
specific instance of a chair. We use the word as a symbol to represent our
concepts of chairs. As symbols, words need not stand for the real things in
the real world. We have words to describe objects or events that cannot be
perceived, such as ghost or, for the matter, mind. With language we can
communicate about owls and pussycats in teacups or a four-dimensional,
time-warped hyperspace. Words stand for cognitions, or concepts, and we
have a great number of them.
- Gerow, psychology: an introduction, p.
250
-
5. Everything moves. Even things that appear at rest move. They more relative
to the sun and stars. As you’re reading this you’re moving at about 107.000
kilometers per hour relative to the sun. And you’re moving even faster
relative to the center of our galaxy. When we discuss the motion of
something, we describe motion relative to something else. If you walk down
the aisle of moving bus, your speed relative to the floor of the bus is likely
quite different from your speed relative to the road. When we say a racing car
reaches a speed of 300 kilometers per hour, we mean relative to the track.
Unless stated otherwise, when we discuss the speed of things in our
environment we mean relative to the surface of the earth; motion is relative.
- Adapted from Hewitt, Conceptual
Physics, p. 39

Key answer:
1. Thus, an effective listener, in order to achieve the purpose of acquiring the
information, takes specific steps to achieve accurate understanding.
2. This is the process of using the face as a regulator.
3. Our response is very tentative, and the data are not all supportive, but for the
moment we can say yes, there does seem to be a positive correlation between
some personality variables and physical health
4. Words stand for cognitions, or concepts, and we have a great number of them.
5. Unless stated otherwise, when we discuss the speed of things in our environment
we mean relative to the surface of the earth; motion is relative.

Last Topic Sentence

While it is most common for topic sentences to begin the paragraph, they do not
always do so. Consider the following sign, seen in the window of a beauty salon:

Please,
No exceptions.
Unless they are booked for service,
78
No Children
In this situation, No exceptions is clearly not the topic of the sign, and No
Children clearly is. Yet the subject, No Children, is placed in the end rather than the
head position. When this idea is extended to the paragraph, the topic sentence, placed
last, serves to summarize the previous details. Paragraphs written in this way can be
diagrammed as an upright triangle, with the broad base representing the topic sentence:

Paragraphs are written in this form primarily for one of two reasons: (1) to create
suspense or (2) to bring up a controversial topic only after sufficient groundwork has
been laid. In the case of the sign in the beauty salon, the message is made gentler by
stating the only situation in which children are allowed before stating the more
controversial behest, No Children, in the final position. The act of providing convincing
data or groundwork leads the reader to the topic sentence, which then also serves as the
conclusion.
Source : Whorter, Khatlen T Mc. 2007. Collage Reafing and Study Skill. United States.
Plearson Longman

The following sample paragraph is an example of in which the topic sentence

appear in the final position:

Example 1

People do it everyday. They log on to their favorite website and browse for
hours, checking out bargains. They dump every possible wish into their shopping carts,
knowing they can cast each one aside before they finalize their purchases. On the way,
they may enter a sweepstakes in the hopes of winning a trip to Cabo San Lucas, or
maybe even a new SUV. And then, when they have decided on their purchases, they
enter private information without giving it a thought. With a keystroke, they release their
personal data into what may or may not be a secure zone. Despite what much of the
public believes, internet shopping is not safe.

Example 2

When you travel to Europe, you can visit many different countries, such as
England, Spain, Germany, and Greece. Many different languages are spoken in Europe,
and the cultures of the countries are all unique. Also, the weather in Europe varies a lot.
Countries in the north are very cold, and you can go skiing. In the south, there are
79
beautiful beaches, and these are popular places for vacation. As you can see, Europe is a
very interesting place with different kinds of people and many possibilities.
 

Example 3

Her name is Mrs. Graham, and she not only teaches music in my school, but she
is also a friend to all of her students. In class, she teaches us to love music, and she
introduces us to different songs and styles of music. She taught me to play the piano and
violin, and I am sure that I will enjoy playing these instruments for the rest of my life.
Mrs. Graham often tells interesting stories in class, and she always helps us or gives us
advice when we have problems. Mrs. Graham is more than just a music teacher, she is
like a star in the sky.

Example 4

Fast food tend to be short on fresh fruits and vegetables, and are low in calcium,
although calcium can be obtained in shakes and milk. Pizza is a fast-food exception. It
contains grains, meat, vegetables, and cheese, which represent four of the food groups.
Pizza is often only about 25 percent fat, most of which comes from the crust. Overall,
studies have shown pizza to be highly nutritious.
-Byer and Shainberg, Living Well: Health in Your Hands, p. 289

Example 5

Burger King Corporation offers both a service and a product to its customers. Its
service is the convenience it offers the consumer-the location of its restaurant and its fast
food service. Its product is the total Burger King experince, which starts from the time
you drive into the restaurant’s parking lot and ends when you drive out. It includes the
speed of service, the food you order, the price you pay, the friendliness and courtesy you
are shown, the feeling of satisfaction-in short, an experince. Burger King, then, is
marketing a positive experince, as promised by its advertising and promotional efforts
and delivered by its product.
-Fox and Wheatley, Modern Marketing, p. 142

Example 6

One important reality with which marketers must contend is that people have
selective perception. That is, we actually perceive only a very small proportion of all the
stimuli with which we are constantly bombarded. For example, most consumers are
exposed to countless advertisements every day on billboards, in magazines and
newspapers, and on television or the radio, but they actually are conscious of very few
of them. Thus, an important goal for marketers is to make sure that the advertisements
for their products are perceived by their target markets.
-Kinnear, Bernhardt, and Krentler, Principles of Marketing, p. 191

Practice 1

80
 In the United States, Australia, and Western Europe people are encourage to be
independent. Members of these cultures are taught to get ahead, to compete, to win, to
achieve their goals, to realize their unique potential, to stand out from the crowd. In
many Asian and African countries, people are taught to value an interpendent self.
Members of these cultures are taught to get along, to help others, and to not disagree or
stand out. Thus, there are significant cultural differences in the way people are taught to
view themselves.
-adapted from DeVito, Human Communication.

4. Topic sentence at First and Last Sentences

Sometimes an author uses two sentences to state the main idea or states the main idea
twice in one paragraph. Usually, in this type of paragraph, the writer states the main idea
at the beginning of the paragraph, then explain or support the idea, and finally restates
the main idea at the very end.
For example :
1. The good listener, in order to achieve the purpose of acquiring information, is
careful to follow specific steps to achieve accurate understanding. First,
whenever possible, the good listener prepares in advance for the speech or
lecture he or she is going to attend. He or she studies the topic to be discussed
and finds out abbout the speaker and his or her beliefs. Second, on arriving at the
place where the speech is to be given he or she chooses a seat where seeing,
hearing, and remaining alert are easy. Finally, when the speech is over, he or she
reviews what was said and reacts to and evaluates the ideas expressed. Effective
listening is an active process in which a listener deliberately takes certain actions
to ensure that accurate communicatiom has occured.

2. One important reality with which marketers must contend is that people have
selective perception. That is, we actually perceive only a very small proportion
of all the stimuli with which we are constantly bombarded. For example, most
consumers are exposed to countless advertisements every day on billboards, in
magazines and newspapers, and on television or the radio, but they actually are
conscious of very few of them. Thus, an important goal for marketers is to make
sure that the advertisements for their products are perceived by their target
markets.
-- Kinner, Bernhardt, and Krentler, Principles of Marketing, p. 191

3. Verbal and non verbal communications exits in a context, and that context to a
large extent determines the meaning of any verbal or nonverbal behavior. The
same words or behavior may have totally different meanings when they occur in
different contexts. For example, the greeting, “How are you?” means “Hello” to
someone you pass regularly on the street but means “Is your health improving?”
when said to a friend in the hospital. A wink to an attractive person on a bus
means something completely different from a wink that signifies a put-on a lie.
Similarly, the meaning of given signal depends on the behaviors it accompanies
or is close to in time. Pounding a fist on the table during a speech in support of a
politician means something quite different from that same gesture in response to

81
 news of a friend’s death. Divorced from the context, it is impossible to tell what
was intended just from examining the signals. Of course, even if you know the
context in detail, you still may not be able to dechiper the meaning of the verbal
or nonverbal message.

--DeVito, Human Communication, p. 110

4. Dirty words are often used by the teenagers in telling off-color stories and this
can be considered part of their sex education. As their bodies grow and change,
both boys and girls wonder and worry. To keep from being overwhelmed by
these fears, they turn them into jokes or dirty-words stories. By telling and
retelling off-color storiess, they learn that they aren’t the only ones in the group
disturbed about their future roles in courtship and marriage. Using dirty words
and stories to laugh at sexuals doubts and fears may make them less frightening.

--Brother, “What Dirty Words Really Mean” from Good Housekeeping

5. Burger King Corporation offers both a service and a product to its customer. Its
service is the convinience it offers the consumer—the location of its restaurants
and its fast food service. Its product is the total Burger King experience, which
starts from the time you drive into the restaurant’s parking lot and ends when you
drive out,. It includes the speed of service, the food you order, the price you pay,
the friendliness and courtesy you are shown, the feeling of satisfaction—in short,
an experience. Burger King, then, is marketing a positive experience, as
promised by its advertising and promotional efforts and delivered by its product.
--Fox and Wheatly, Modern Marketing, p. 142

Try to do this!

5. Because faces are so visible and so sensitive, you pay more attention to
people’s face than to any other nonverbal feature. The face is an
afficient and high-speed means of conveying meaning. Gestutes,
posture, and larger body movements require some time to change
instaltly, sometimes even at a rate impersetible to the human eye. As an
instantaneous response mechanism, it is the most effective way to
provide feedback to an ongoing message. This is the process of using the
face a regulator.

6. Many elderly peolpe have trouble getting the care and treatment they
need ror ailment. Most hospotals, designed to hendle injuries and acute
illness that are common to the young, do not have the facilities or
personnel to treat the chronic degenerative diseases of the elderly.
Many doctors are also ill-prepared to deal with such problems. As Fred
Cottrell point out, “There is a widespared feeling among the aged that
most doctors are not interested in them and are reluctant to tread
people who are as lillte likely to contribute to the future as the aged are
reputed to do.” Even with the help of Medicare, the elderly in the
United States often have a difficult time getting the heatlh care that
they need.

82
7. Body mass is made up of protoplasm, extracellular fluid, bone, and
adipose tisue (body fat). One way to determine the amount of adipose
tissue is to measure the whole-body density. After the on-land mass of
the body is determined, the underwater body mass is obtained by
submerging the person in water. Since water help support the body by
giving it buoyancy, the apparent body mass is less in water. A higher
percentage of body fat will make a person more buoyant, causing the
underwater mass to be even lower. This occurs because fat has a lower
density that the rest of the body.

8. Early biologists who studied reflexs, kineses, taxes, and fixed action
patterns assumed that these responeses are inherited, unlearned, and
common to all members of a species. The clearly depend on internal and
external factors, but untill recently, instinct and learning were
considered distict aspects of behavior. However, in some every clever
experiments, Jack Hailman of the University of Wisconsin showed that
certain stereotyped behavior patterns require subtle forms of
experience for their development. In other words, at least some of the
behavior normally called instinct is partly learned.

9. Throwing a clay pot, the age old art of making pottery on a wheel, is a
process that requires many steps. Assuming the potter does not have to
make his own clay, the first step toward the finished product is wedging
the clay. Here, the potter kneads the clay to prepare it for throwing.
Wedging cannot be rushed. A minimum of fifty turns is required to rid
the clay of air pockets and align its molecules. Once wedged and formed
into a ball, the clay is thrown onto the center of a potter's wheel. Now
the material must be centered. Centering not only takes strength but
time as well. The clay must be coerced into a perfectly symmetrical
shape, dead center on the spinning wheel. To proceed with poorly
centered clay is to court certain disaster in the form of tilting, uneven
pots, or worse, the total collapse of the piece. When correctly centered,
the clay is ready to be opened. To do this, the potter finds the center of
the clay and slowly sinks a rigid finger into the still-spinning clay. Only
now can the clay be shaped. With a steady but gentle hand, the potter
pulls up the sides of the pot until the desired height is reached. Now the
shaping is completed and the pot is ready to be dried, fired, and
glazed. Thus, even though a clay pot may appear simple to make,
fashioning one by hand is a long and sometimes tedious process.

10. The central idea can be stated at both the beginning and the end of the
paragraph. The initial topic sentence introduces the general context of
the paragraph, while the body provides the supporting or clarifying
details. However, you should exercise caution when using this
technique. Simply restating the topic sentence rarely enhances a
paragraph, and should certainly not be done in an attempt to revive a
disunified or incoherent paragraph. Ideally, the body of the paragraph
83
 should build upon the main point raised in the first topic sentence,
revealing additional insights before the paragraph’s end, so that the
readers will gain a better understanding of the central idea. Then
restating the topic sentence at the end with a new twist, or with
additional information, can add to the reader’s understanding of your
subject.

11. Between September 11, 2001, and October 29 of the same year, one
billion dollars was raised for the victims of the World Trade Center
tragedy. The Red Cross had received $452 million. The September 11 th
Fund had raised $171 million. The Salvation Army had taken in $10
million. This total is the largest amount of money ever given to help
others in the history of the world. Americans are a big-hearted people.

12. My husband and I bought our first house last November, and we love it.
It is located in west Provo near Utah Lake. Although we cannot see the
lake from our house, we do have a beautiful view of Mount Timpanogos.
Our house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a
family room, and a large kitchen and dining area. We also have a large
backyard and a small garden. We are very happy to own our own home,
and I hope that we will live there for several years.

Exercises on Topic Sentence

Read the following paragraphs and then identify their topics

1. The Texas plains have provided a unique habitat for various desert creatures.
These animals have worked together in a constant struggle to create a sturdier
stock. The most ingenious of these Darwinian attempts is the West Texas
wolverillo, a cross between a wolverine and an armadillo. There has been much
speculation over the years about the origins of this creature. Most agree that the
initial breed occurred as a result of the accidental isolation of two parent animals
by some geological upheaval. 

Topic Sentence:

2. When a camera flash is used in a low-light environment, the subject's eyes may
appear red in the finished photograph. What is known as "red-eye" is the result of
light from the flash reflecting off the pupils of the eyes. The phenomenon of red-
eye can be lessened by using the red-eye reduction feature found on many SLR
cameras. This feature activates a lamp which shines a small light directly into the
subject's eyes. When this happens, the diameter of the pupil is reduced, thus
tightening the opening in the iris. Since a smaller pupil means a smaller host for
the reflection, the chances of red-eye occurring are greatly reduced. 

Topic Sentence

84
3. The alarm clock sounded for a full two minutes before Daniel heard it. Even
than, she put her pillow over her head, rolled over and groaned loudly. Getting
up early in the morning was always hard for Daniel. As usual, her mom had to
pull the blankets off him and make him get up for school.

Topic Sentence

4. History is always written by the victors. The basic Tudor picture of Richard as a
bloodthirsty tyrant was handed down through the standard histories of England
and the school textbooks for five centuries. There has been an obstinate
opposition, however. Beginning with Sir George Buck in the 17th century, a
series of writers and historians have insisted that Richard was not getting a fair
break, that the Tudor version was largely fabrication: far from being a monster,
Richard was a noble, upright, courageous, tenderhearted and most conscientious
king. This anti-Tudor version reached its definitive statement in the work of Sir
Clements Markham, a 19th-century eccentric who spent years of passionate
research trying to prove that crimes attributed to Richard were either outright
libels by, or the actual work of, a pack of villains, most notably including
Cardinal Morton and Henry VII.

Topic Sentence

5. Many wolverillo ranchers have tried to tame the wandering nature of this
creature. Many tragedies occurred when ranchers left the plumbing underneath
their homes unprotected. An electrical fence can tantalize the creature's taste
buds as if it were metal spaghetti. Isolating the creature in cages led only to the
commercial exploitation of its unusual appearance by various circus owners. The
only humane way of corralling the creature was to form a wide continuous ditch
of corrugated iron cattle guards around the ranch.

Topic Sentence

6. In the United States, Australia, and Western Europe people are encoureged to be
indepebndent. Members of these cultures are taught to get ahead, to compete, to
win, to achieve their goals, to realize their unique potential, to stand out from the
crowd. In many Asian and African countries, people are taught to value an
inteerdependent self. Members of these cultures are taught to get along., to help
others, and to not disagree or stand out. Thus, there are significant cultural
differences in the way people are taught to view themselves.

Topic Sentence:
………………………………......................................................................
........
7. Whenever possible, the good listener prepares in advance for the speech or
lecture he or she plans to attend. He or she studies the topic to be discussed and
finds out about the speaker and his or her beliefs. On arriving at the place where
the speech is to be given, her or she chooses a seat where seeing, hearing, and
remaining alerts are easy. And when the speech is over, he or she reviews what
was said and reacts to and evaluates the ideas expressed. Thus, an effective

85
 listener, in order to achieve the purpose of acquiring information, takes specific
steps to achieve accurate understanding.

Topic Sentence:
……………………………………………………………………………
…......
8. During photosynthesis in green plants, as the energy of sunlight falls on the
green pigment in the leaves, carbon dioxide and the hydrogen’s of water are used
to make food, and water and oxygen are released. The release of oxygen by those
first photo synthesizers was a critical step in the direction of life’s development.
In a sense, the production of oxygen falls into the “good news-bad news”
category. It’s good news for us, of course, since we need oxygen, but as oxygen
began to become a prevalent gas in the atmosphere, it sounded the death knell for
many of the early organisms. This is because oxygen is a disruptive gas, as
demonstrated by the process of rusting metal. So, in the early days of life on the
planet, many life forms were destroyed by the deadly and accumulating gas.

Topic Sentence:
……………………………………………………………………………
……..
9. Because faces are so visible and so sensitive, you pay more attention to people’s
faces than to any other nonverbal feature. The face is an efficient and high-speed
means of conveying meaning. Gestures, posture and larger body movements
require some time to change in response to a changing stimulus, whereas facial
expressions can change instantly, sometimes even at a rate imperceptible to the
human eye. As an instantaneous response mechanism, it is the most effective
way to provide feedback to an ongoing message. This is the process of using the
face as a regular.

Topic Sentence:
………………………………………………………………………………
……..
10. One important really with marketers must contend is that people having selective
perception. That is, we actually perceive only a very small proportion of all the
stimuli which we are constantly bombarded. For example, most consumers are
exposed to countless advertisement every day on billboards, in magazines and
newspapers, and on television or the radio, but they actually are conscious of
very few of them. Thus, an important goal for marketers is to make sure that the
advertisements for their product are perceived by their target markets.

Topic Sentence:
………………………………………………………………………………
……
11. People do it everyday. They log on to their favorite website and browse for
hours, checking out bargains. They dump every possible wish into their shopping
carts, knowing they can cast each one aside before they finalize their purchases.
On the way, they may enter a sweepstakes in the hopes of winning a trip to Cabo
San Lucas, or maybe even a new SUV. And then, when they have decided on
their purchases, they enter private information without giving it a thought. With a

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 keystroke, they release their personal data into what may or may not be a secure
zone. Despite what much of the public believes, internet shopping is not safe.

Topic Sentence: ……….

…………………………………………………………………….........

C. RECOGNIZING SUPPORTING DETAILS

Supporting details are those facts and ideas that prove or explain the main idea of
a paragraph. While all the details in a paragraph do support the main idea, not all details
are equally important. As you read, try to identify and pay attention to the most
important details. Pay less attention to details of lesser importance. The key detail
directly explain the main idea. Other details may provide additional information, offer
an example, or further explain one of the key details.

There are two categories of supporting details, major and minor. Major
supporting details provide the basic, necessary information for the reader to understand
the topic of the paragraph or text. These can be viewed as the essential outline of the
topic that the reader can focus on to fully understand the main idea if he does not want to
delve deeper into the specific details. There are usually at least two or three of these per
paragraph.

Minor supporting details are more specific and offer superfluous information that
the reader does not need to know. This information can be overlooked if the reader is not
interested in such specific details. Minor supporting details reinforce key points that
come up within the major supporting details and dig deeper into the topic.

Figure A shows how details relate to the main idea and how details range in
degree of importance. In the diagram, more important details are placed toward the left;
less important details are closer to the right.

Figure A Figure B

MAIN IDEA Skin has several functions.

Detail Protective covering

Detail
17 percent of body weight
Detail
Protects organs
Detail

Detail Regulated body functions

Detail
Temperature
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Detail
Water loss
Detail
Temperature
Receiver
Touch
Read the following paragraph and study Figure B.

The skin of the human body has several functions. First, it serves as a protective
covering. In doing so, it accounts for 17 percent of the body weight. Skin also protects the
organs within the body from damage or harm. The skin serves as a regulator of body functions.
It controls body temperature and water loss. Finally, the skin serves as a receiver. It is sensitive
to touch and temperature.

From this diagram you can see that the details that state the three functions of skin are
the key details. Other details, such as “protect the organs,” provide further information
and are at a lower level of importance. Read the following paragraph and try to pick out
the more important details.

Many cultures have different rules for men and women engaging in conflict. Asian
cultures are more strongly prohibitive of women’s conflict strategies. Asian women are expected
to be exceptionally polite; this is even more important when women are in conflict with men and
when the conflict is public. In the United States, there is a verbalized equality; men and women
have equal rights when it comes to permissible conflict strategies. In reality, there are many who
expect women to be more polite, to pursue conflict in a nonargumentative way, while men are
expected to argue forcefully and logically.

This paragraph could be diagrammed as follows (key details only):

Many cultures have different rules for men and women engaging in conflict.

Rules in Asian cultures

Rules in the United States

88
Underline only the most important details in each of the following paragraphs.

Paragraph

Physical dependence is what was formerly called addiction. It is characterized by

tolerance and withdrawal. Tolerance means that more and more of the drug must be taken to
achieve the same effect, as use continues. Withdrawal means that if use is discontinued, the
person experiences unpleasant symptoms. When I quit smoking cigarettes, for example, I went
through about five days or irritability, depression, and restlessness. Withdrawal from heroin and
other narcotics is much more painful, involving violent cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, and other
symptoms that continue for at least two or three days. With some drugs, especially barbiturates,
cold-turkey (sudden and total) quitting can result in death, so severe is the withdrawal.

-Geiwitz, Psychology, p. 512

MAJOR DETAILS
Major details have essential information that explains the main idea. Major
details provide the basic, necessary information for the reader to understand the topic of
the paragraph or text. These can be viewed as the essential outline of the topic that the
reader can focus on to fully understand the main idea if he does not want to delve deeper
into the specific details. There are usually at least two or three of these per paragraph.
Major details:

 are examples, reasons, statistics, and studies that help make the main idea clear and
convincing.
 Are PRIMARILY in charge of supporting the main idea
 Answer readers’ questions about the topic sentence/main idea.
 Must be included in reading notes.
 Are often introduced in the paragraph with transition words (e.g., for example, for
instance, first, second, in addition, finally, similarly, therefore, etc.)

Example:
Paragaraph 1
There are many factors that contribute to student success in college.   The first
factor for success is having a goal in mind before establishing a course of study.   The
goal may be as general as wanting to better educate oneself for the future.   A more
specific goal would be to earn a teaching credential.   A second factor related to student
success is self-motivation and commitment.   A student who wants to succeed and works
toward that desire will find success easily as a college student.   A third factor linked to
student success is using college services.   Most beginning college students fail to realize
how important it can be to see a counselor or consult with a librarian or financial aid
officer.   

Major Details: - First factor (goal)

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                            - Second factor (self-motivation/commitment)

                             - Third factor (college services)

Paragraph 2

On April 14, 1865 in Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., President Abraham

Lincoln was seated in a theater box with his wife, Mary, Major Henry Rathbone, and
Rathbone's fiancee.   At approximately 10:00 p.m., John Wilkes Booth, ascended the
staircase leading to the President's theater box.    As Booth approached the box, he
presented a "card" to the President's personal attendant, who was seated in the chair
closest to the door of the box.   After a brief exchange with the attendant, Booth entered
the box and closed the door behind him.   The play was in progress as Booth drew his
pistol and fired a small leaden ball into the back of Lincoln's head at the precise moment
the audience erupted in loud laughter.   As Booth jumped from the box to the stage
below, he shouted, "Sic Semper Tyrannis" which means, "Thus Always to Tyrants."  

Major Details: -Lincoln and his wife were at the theater with Major Henry Rathbone
and his fiancee.

-Booth entered the theater box from the staircase.

-Booth shot the President with a pistol in the back of the head.

-Booth escaped the box by jumping to the stage below.

Paragraph 3
There are three main benefits from exercise:  weight loss, muscle tone, and
cardiovascular improvement. First of all, a moderate exercise program such as bicycling,
walking, jogging or aerobics for thirty minutes four days a week will result in weight
loss for the average person. An increase in acitivity means the body will burn more
calories, resulting in weight loss. Second, moderate exercise helps develop and tone
muscles in the arms, legs, back, neck and shoulders. The body uses these muscles to
exercise, and the activity helps the muscles become stronger. The heart, the most
important muscle in the body, gets stronger with exercise, which makes the heart work
more efficiently. This brings about the third benefit -- cardiovascular improvement.
Exercise causes the heart to pump blood throughout the body more efficiently. The lungs
deliver more oxygen to the cells, and breathing is easier. All of these benefits are the
result of exercise, so start an exercise program today!
Major details: - first of all, weight loss
- second, muscle tone
- third, cardiovascular improvement

MINOR DETAILS

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 Most information in print has various levels of importance, and it is up to the
reader to recognize what the author feels is most important and what is merely added to
clarify those points. For a minute, consider the concept of major and minor
importance.   If you are a sports fan, you understand the idea of major and minor league
baseball teams.   If you are interested in health, you can probably name many major
diseases as well as minor illnesses.    If you are a student, you may select classes for
your major degree while taking courses to complete a minor degree.   All of these
divisions are valuable, but major categories are more important and thus receive more
attention and focus.     

     When reading information from textbooks or any source, a good reader knows how
to locate major details from minor details.    Authors present details to express their
points more clearly, but students need to learn how to differentiate between major and
minor details.    Read the following paragraph to determine the major and minor details.

“There are many factors that contribute to student success in college.   The first factor
for success is having a goal in mind before establishing a course of study.    The goal
may be as general as wanting to better educate oneself for the future.   A more specific
goal would be to earn a teaching credential.   A second factor related to student success
is self-motivation and commitment.   A student who wants to succeed and works toward
that desire will find success easily as a college student.    A third factor linked to student
success is using college services.   Most beginning college students fail to realize how
important it can be to see a counselor or consult with a librarian or financial aid
officer.”

     Now see if you were able to determine the key elements of this paragraph including
the major and minor details.

1.   Topic-               Student Success

2.   Main Idea-        There are many factors that contribute to student success in college.

3.   Major Details-  First factor (goal)

                                  Second factor (self-motivation/commitment)

                                   Third factor (college services)

4.   Minor Details- Earning a teaching credential

                                  Desire to succeed

                                  Seeing a counselor, librarian, or financial aid officer

     As a college reader, you will begin to see that authors use signal or transition words
to let you know when a major detail is being presented.   In this paragraph, the author
uses the signal words first, second, and third to indicate the major details.   The author
also adds minor details after each major detail to clarify the factors for student success.

Try another paragraph and see how you do locating major and minor details.
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          On April 14, 1865 in Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., President Abraham Lincoln was
seated in a theater box with his wife, Mary, Major Henry Rathbone, and Rathbone's fiancee.   At
approximately 10:00 p.m., John Wilkes Booth, ascended the staircase leading to the President's
theater box.    As Booth approached the box, he presented a "card" to the President's personal
attendant, who was seated in the chair closest to the door of the box.   After a brief exchange with
the attendant, Booth entered the box and closed the door behind him.   The play was in progress as
Booth drew his pistol and fired a small leaden ball into the back of Lincoln's head at the precise
moment the audience erupted in loud laughter.   As Booth jumped from the box to the stage below,
he shouted, "Sic Semper Tyrannis" which means, "Thus Always to Tyrants."  

Adapted from The Escape & Capture of John Wilkes Booth by Edward Steers, Jr. and
Joan L. Chaconas, Marker Tours, 1983.

1.   Topic-                President Lincoln's Assassination

2.   Main Idea-         President Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theater
on April 14, 1865.

3.   Major Details-   Lincoln and his wife were at the theater with Major Henry
Rathbone and his fiancee.

                                   Booth entered the theater box from the staircase.

                                   Booth shot the President with a pistol in the back of the head.

                                   Booth escaped the box by jumping to the stage below.

4.   Minor Details-  Booth presented a card to the President's personal attendant.

                                  Booth exchanged words with the attendant.

                                  After jumping to the stage, Booth yelled, "Sic Semper Tyrannis."

     As you can see, the details in this example are not as clearly marked with signal
words because the author chose to present the points in a narrative style.   The author did
not use signal words like first, second, and third because he chose to present the major
and minor points in a sequential order.  

Text Highlighting Hint

     When highlighting a college text, students should remember to only highlight the
main ideas and major details that the author is presenting.   Minor details should not be
highlighted because they are only added to enhance the meaning of major details.   Most
students tend to overmark their texts and ultimately do not have time to review all that
they marked before exams.   It is much more efficient to just mark the main ideas and
major details, thus making a review of the highlighted material easier before test time.

92
Read the following paragraph, and underline the main idea and major details. Then,
answer the questions that follow.

“When Emeril Lagasse graduated from high school in Fall River, Massachusetts,he was
offered a full music scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music as a
percussionist. Instead, he decided to become a professional chef and enrolled at
Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. While he was in college,
Emeril worked in restaurants. He also studied culinary arts in Paris and Lyon, France.
After working in many restaurants, he was offered the job as executive chef at
Commander’s Palace, a famous restaurant in New Orleans. After achieving success
there, he left to open his own restaurant, Emeril’s, in New Orleans. A few years later, he
began hosting his own TV show, cooking with his own special spice blends that now sell
in supermarkets. Emeril has published eight best-seller cookbooks and has opened 10
Emeril’s restaurants around the country. Each restaurant has a different style of
cuisine, but all of them feature his special blends of bold
spices, which he adds with a “Bam!” Emeril has made a successful career as a
professional chef and restauranteur. “

1. What is the topic?

a.Emeril’s restaurants
b.Emeril Lagasse
c.becoming a professional chef
d.Emeril’s cooking

2. What is the topic sentence of this paragraph?

a.When Emeril Lagasse graduated from high school in Fall River, Massachusetts, he
was offered a full music scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music as
apercussionist.
b.Instead, he decided to become a professional chef and enrolled at Johnson and Wales
University in Providence, Rhode Island.
c.Emeril has made a successful career as a professional chef and restaurateur.
d.Each restaurant has a different style of cuisine, but all of them feature his
special blends of bold spices, which he adds with a “Bam!”

3. Which of the following is not a major detail?

a. Instead, he decided to become a professional chef and enrolled at

Johnson and Wales University in Providence.
b. After working in many restaurants, he was offered the job as executive
chef at Commander’s Palace, a famous restaurant in New Orleans.
c. Emeril has published eight best-seller cookbooks and has opened 10
Emeril’s restaurants around the country.
d. Each restaurant has a different style of cuisine, but all of them feature his
special blends of bold spices, which he adds with a “Bam!”

4. Which minor detail tells more about the sentence, “Instead, he decided

to become a professional chef and enrolled at Johnson and Wales

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University in Providence, Rhode Island”?
a.While he was in college, Emeril worked in restaurants.
b.After working in many restaurants, he was offered the job as executive
chef at Commander’s Palace, a famous restaurant in New Orleans.
c.A few years later he hosted his own TV show, cooking with his own
special spice blends that now sell in supermarkets.
d.Emeril has made a successful career as a professional chef and restaurateur.

5. Identify the best meaning for the underlined word in the following sentence:
“Emeril has made a successful career as a professional chef and
restauranteur.”

a.someone who goes to restaurants

b.a restaurant owner
c.a chef
d.an investor

Practice
Cross out or circle the detail that does NOT support the topic sentence.

1.Topic sentence: The hospitality industry is an exciting and challenging field in which
to work.
a. Some hotels feature luxurious working environments.
b. Managers often work 10 hours a day.
c. Many travelers enjoy vacation cruises.
d. Large hotel and airline companies offer employees free travel and
discounts.

2.Topic sentence: The most famous railway transportation system in Europe is the TVG
train system in France.
a. The TVG serves more than 150 cities in France and Europe.
b. The United States does not have a national unified rail system.
c. The trains in the TVG travel at about 186 mph.
d. The ride on the TVG is amazingly smooth.

3. Topic sentence: The rental car business is a large part of the travel industry in the
United States.
a. Some agencies charge more than others for daily rentals.
b. More than 5,000 car rental companies operate in the United States.
c. About 75 percent of the car rental business is situated around airports.
d. The top four rental agencies maintain about 625,000 rental cars.

4. Topic sentence: Air travel has become an important factor in the tourism industry.
a. Many airlines offer vacation packages that include hotel and rental cars.
b. During any time of the day, about 4,500 airplanes are flying over the United States.
c. Jet aircraft have made it possible to visit places that were not accessible before.
d. Low airfares help to boost hotel occupancy and increase tourism.

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5. Topic sentence: Cruise ships have become a popular vacation choice.
a. Many ships feature nonstop entertainment for their passengers.
b. Some ships offer casinos and live entertainment.
c. The Diamond Princess is longer than two football fields and carries up to 2,670
passengers.
d. The market for cruise ship vacations has increased dramatically in
recent years.

In the following example, the topic is highlighted, the topic sentence is underlined, and
the major details are numbered and italicized.

¹ The hospitality industry is one that is open for business 365 days a year. For this
reason, it depends heavily on shift work. ² The industry is also dependent upon good
customer service that will encourage guests to come back again and again. ³ Another
characteristic of the hospitality industry is the perishability of its products, for instance,
hotel rooms. Rooms that are vacant for the night are a financial loss to the hotel owner.
These are some of the characteristics of the hospitality industry that make it a
challenging industry in which to work.

Here is another way to see the information in this paragraph:

To p i c : The hospitality industry
Topic sentence: These are some of the characteristics of the hospitality industry that
make it a challenging industry in which to work.
Major supporting details:
• The hospitality industry is one that is open for business 365 days a year.
• The industry is also dependent upon good customer service that will encourage guests
to come back again and again.
• Another characteristic of the hospitality industry is the perishability of its products, for
instance, hotel rooms.

As mentioned earlier, you can make sure that a sentence is a major supporting
detail
by asking yourself, “Does this sentence tell me more about the main idea or topic
sentence?” If it does, then it is a major detail. Another way to find the major details of a
paragraph is to turn the main idea into a question. The answers to the question will be
the major details.
For example:
Main idea: There are many benefits to getting regular exercise. (What are the benefits of
getting regular exercise?)
Main Idea: The events that led to the American Revolution can be traced back to more
than a decade before it began. (What are the events that led to the American
Revolution?)
Authors also use minor details to tell us more information about the major
details. Notice in the earlier example how the first major detail is followed by a minor
detail, which explains the first major detail:
Major detail: The hospitality industry is one that is open for business 365 days a year.
Minor detail: For this reason, it depends heavily on shift work.
Major detail: Another characteristic of the hospitality industry is the perishability of its
products, for instance, hotel rooms.
Minor detail: Rooms that are vacant for the night are a financial loss to the hotel owner.
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 MAIN IDEA

MAJOR DETAIL
“Supports The Main Idea”

MINOR DETAIL
“Supports The Major detail”

Exercises on Major and Minor Details

Idenfity the major and minor details in the following paragraphs

1. The total number of insect species is greater than the total of all other species
combined. About a million insect species are known today, and researchers estimate
that at least twice this many exist (mostly in tropical forests) but have not yet been
discovered. Insects have been prominent on land for the last 400 million years.
They have been much less successful in aquatic environments; there are only about
20,000 species in freshwater habitats and far fewer in the sea.

2. What about Miami do I want to talk about today?  I am going to say that Miami is a
wonderful place to visit. This sentence is my main idea. It is what about the topic
(Miami) I am talking about. Now I have to support my main idea with Major
Supporting Details, so I must think of reasons why Miami is a wonderful place to
visit. I can say for example, that Miami has great beaches, exciting sporting events,
terrific weather. These are just 3 major details that support my main idea. If I want
to make my passage more detailed then I must add Minor Supporting Details that
will support my Major Supporting Details. For example, Miami has great beaches;
you can go to South Beach, which is a fun, young exciting beach. You will see
people playing volleyball on the beach and always having a party. If you are with
young children, you will want to go to Hollywood Beach, as it is set up for kids
with an amazing boardwalk and places for them to ride bicycles.

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3. Julia’s birthday was finally here; she was about to turn three, and the wait for her
birthday party was over at last. Julia was a perfect hostess as she announced that it
was time for the party games. Bean bag toss was first, and then it was the treasure
hunt. The children scurried about the house following personalized treasure maps in
search of their loot, and satisfaction filled their faces as they discovered each item.
Next, it was time for cake. Julia’s eyes sparkled as brightly as the candles that were
sunk into the chocolate fudge icing. Finally, it was time to tackle the pile of
presents. Julia, dwarfed by the mountain of gifts that she sat at the foot of, opened
each gift with passion. Julia sang the same enthusiastic “ooh” and “thank you” for
each. At last, the guests departed, and the rush of the day sank with the setting sun.
Exhausted and elated, Julia snuggled into her bed with three new stuffed animals
and an assortment of plastic figurines. She fell into slumber with a sweet smile on
her face and a feeling of love in her heart.

4. There are many factors that contribute to student success in college. The first factor
for success is having a goal in mind before establishing a course of study. The goal
may be as general as wanting to better educate oneself for the future. A more
specific goal would be to earn a teaching credential. A second factor related to
student success is self-motivation and commitment. A student who wants to
succeed and works toward that desire will find success easily as a college student. A
third factor linked to student success is using college services. Most beginning
college students fail to realize how important it can be to see a counsellor or consult
with a librarian or financial aid officer

5. There are three kinds of book owners. The first has all the standard sets and best-
sellers--unread, untouched. (This deluded individual owns wood-pulp and ink, not
books.) The second has a great many books--a few of them read through, most of
them dipped into, but all of them as clean and shiny as the day they were bought.
(This person would probably like to make books his own, but is restrained by a
false respect for their physical appearance.) The third has a few books or many--
every one of them dog-eared and dilapidated, shaken and loosened by continual use,
marked and scribbled in front to back. (This man owns books).

D. RECOGNIZING TRANSITIONS AND CONNECTIVES

Transitions or connective words are linking words or phrases used to lead the
reader from one idea to another. If you get in the habit of recognizing transitions, you
will see that they often guide you through a paragraph, helping you to read it more
easily.
Transitions are words that writers can use to show relationships within and
betweensentences. Transition words or phrases help bring ideas together and are a way
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of gaining coherence. In other words, two sentences become a sentence, using transitions
words or phrases that link sentences and paragraphs together smoothly so that there are
no abrupt jumps or breaks between ideas.

Here aresome examplesof using transitions:

 Chris is on the basketball team this semester at Indiana School for the Deaf. In
addition, he is on the soccer team.
 First of all, pour a half-cup of milk in the bowl; second, add two eggs; and third,
stir the mixture.
 I admire I. King Jordan because he is the first deaf president of Gallaudet.
Besides that, I admire him because he is a great long distance runner.
Furthermore, he is a dedicated family man.
 Crystal likes camping in the mountains. Also, Crystal is an experienced hiker.
 There were a lot of problems discussed at the meeting. Finally, after a few hours,
we were able to prioritize the problems in the order we want to solve the
problems.
 Many parents and students have been complaining about the program. For
example, scores on the end-of-grade tests have gone down from last year;
teachers are not very motivated; and everyone is frustrated. To sum up, some
improvements in the middle school program need to be made.
 To conclude, I want to wish you all a very happy holiday season.
 I am not able to go to the beach with you. Nevertheless, thanks for asking me.
 The idea of attending the play at Gallaudet is nice. However, the Theoretical
Issues in Sign Language Research conference is scheduled at the same time.
 Although Steven was extremely tired, he washed the dishes.
 Amber, Sharon, and Megan went to Busch Gardens for the day. In spite of the
cold weather, they enjoyed themselves.
 Finally, I will get to see Rick Schroder. He has not been acting much since he
was a teenager.
 I was too tired; therefore I decided not to go to the state fair last night.
 Naturally Steven is not going to agree with that plan. In fact, he thinks that the
idea of setting up a business selling scarves on K Street would surely fail.
 The weather is supposed to be drizzly and chilly today; as a result, the Deaf
Festival will be cancelled.
In the following paragraph, notice how the underlined transitions lead you from
one important detail to the next.

Common transition

Types of Transition Examples What They Tell the Reader

Time or Sequence first, later, next, finally The author is arranging

they ideas in the order in
which they happened.

Example for example, for instance, to An example will follow.

illustrate, such as

Enumeration First, second, third, last, The author is marking or

98
 next, another. identifying each major
point (sometimes these may
be used to suggest order of
importance).

Continuation Also, in addition, and, The author is continuing

further, another. with the same idea and is
going to provide additional
information.

Contrast On the other hand, in The author is switching to a

contrast, however, but. different, opposite, or
contrasting idea than
previously discussed.

Comparison Like, likewise, similarly. The writer will show how

the previous idea is similar
to what follows.

Cause and Effect Because, thus, therefore, The writer will show a
since, consequently, as a connection between two or
result. more things, how one thing
caused another, or how
something happened as a
result of something else.

Examples:

1. Time or Sequence:
First, I think that she is studying hard.Second, I believe that she is a
bright student. Finally, I know that she has great potential. 
2. Example:
He often eats strange foods. For instance, he once ate cow brains. 
3. Enumeration:
First, heat the teapot. Second, put in one teaspoonful of tea to the cup. At
last, pour the boilling water to the cup.
4. Continuation:
You must complete this essay by 5 p.m. In addition, you must do the
exercises on page 47.
5. Contrast:
Women usually enjoy shopping. In contrast, men often dislike it.
6. Comparison:
Math was hard for me in high school. Likewise, it is hard in college.
7. Cause and Effect:
Tina lost her keys. Consequently, she could not drive home.
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Connecting ideas
1) Connecting ideas with AND

Connecting items within a sentence No comma : When the connects

a. No comma : I saw a cat and a only two words (phrases).
mouse. Commas : when the connects
b. Commas : I saw a cat, a three or more items within a
mouse, and a gecko. sentences.

Connecting two sentences Commas : when the connects

c. Commas : I saw a cat, and two complete sentences.
you saw a mouse.

d. Period : I saw a cat. You Without and, two complete sentences

saw a mouse. are separatted by a period.

2) Connecting ideas with BUT&OR

a. I went to bed but couldn’t Commas are used with a series of three
sleep. or more items.
b. Is a lemon sweet or sour?
c. Did you order coffee, tea, or
milk?

d. I dropped the vase, but it didn’t A comma is usually used when but or
break. or combines two complete sentences
e. Do we have class on Monday, into one sentence.
or is Monday a holiday?

3) Connecting ideas with SO

a. The room was dark, so I turned So is preceded by a comma. It

on a light. connects the ideas in two independent
clauses. So express results.

b. Compare : the room was dark, But often express an unexpected

but I didn’t turn on a light. result.

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 4) Connecting ideas with BECAUSE

a. He drank water because he was Because expresses a cause; it

thirsty. gives a reason.

5) Connecting ideas with EVEN THOUGH / ALTHOUGH

a. Even though I was hungry, I Even though and although introduce an

didn’t eat. adverb clause and also expresses an
I didn’t eat even though I expected or opposite result
was hungry.
b. Althought I was hungry, I
didn’t eat.
I didn’t eat although I was
hungry.

Example of Transition or connective on a paragraph

Why I Left the Farm

The reasons I did not want to stay on my family farm were the difficulty of
farm work and my desire to learn to program computers.

First of all, I left the farm because life there was extremely hard and frustrating
due to lack of water and poor soil. There was no irrigation to water the crops that we
planted, so we prayed for rain every year. Periodically, there was a drought. As a result
of the drought, there was not even enough water for the cattle to drink, and we had to let
the crops die. In addition, the soil was poor in nutrients, and we did not have the money
to buy fertilizers to improve it. There were, however, some years when we had a good
crop of fruit and corn, but then we had another obstacle to face. Since we did not have a
truck to transport our produce, we had to sell it to people in our village who cuold
transport it to the market town. They would pay us very little because they knew we had
no choice but to sell our goods to them.

Second, I left the farm because I knew that I would not have any possibility of
getting an advanced education if I remained there. The farm was far from any major city.
I attended high school in the nearest town, but there was no college in the area. When I
was in my fresh man year in high school, a counselor came to our class and asked what
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we wanted to do after we graduated. Even though I had never seen a computer, I raised
my hand and said that I wanted to learn how to be a programmer. I had little idea about
what programmers actually do, but I thought programming would be very exciting and
important job. But at the time, studying computer science seemed to be little more than a
dream because I knew my father could not provide me with more education. But three
years later I graduated from school at the top of my class. This led to my receiving a
scoolarship that paid my way through two years of technical training, and eventually I
got a good job.

From the time I was about ten , I realized that I did not to spend my life toiling
on a hot, dusty fun. I felt sad to leave my parents to do the work on the farm alone, but
now I am able to send them some money to help them out.

TRANSITION EXERCISES

A. Choose the right transition for each sentence from the box below !

for instance however therefore also in

contrast
similarly consequently in fact then this time
1. Joanna loves to dance; , she’s not able to sing well.
2. Mr. Johnson was on vacation at that time; , his mother was there.
3. Elephant is the biggest animal on land; , blue whale is the biggest
animal in the ocean.
4. My grandmother got a car accident last week; , she has to
hospitalize at least for a week.
5. You have to chop the onion; , cook them about 2-3 minutes.
6. I don’t really like source fruits; , oranges and peaneaple are the
most I don’t like.
7. Jean always wakes up late in the morning; , she never comes on time at
school.
8. Bats are the only mammal that can fly; , they fly with a pair of thin skin.
9. John used to wear boots anytime; , he wants to change his old habit.
10. Helena is a diligent student; , her sister, Lili, is a lazy girl.

B. Read the paragraphs below and fill the blanks with the suitable transitions !

1. Electricity is a kind of energy that has been used in humans’ life mostly because
almost all of humans’ aspects in life need electricity to operate. 1,

humans use some main sources in producing the electricity for fullfilling their
needs about this kind of energy. Coal, oil, wind, solar and nuclear power are the
examples of sources in producing the electricity. . 2, the use of one of

those fuels, the nuclear power, has made a controversy in the society. The
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 nuclear power is controversial because it has dangerous disadvantages that will
affect humans and environments. 3, although it has dangerous
disadvantages, it also gives satisfying advantages to humans and environment.
4, humans cannot regret to use the nuclear power. 5,

there are many countries in the world that have already used the nuclear power as
their main source for producing the energy of electricity. 6, the United

States and Japan are the countries which have been using the nuclear power for
many years. Indeed, the nuclear power gives us the advantages and also the
disadvantages at the same time.

2. Writing is the skill that I did not understand perfectly before. . 1,

when I realized paragraph writing was one of the compulsory courses that I
should take in the second semester, I had no confidence in facing this course.
2, although I had no confidence in this course, I still had to attend

the class. . 3, I also had to follow every material which was explained

by the lecturers seriously. As the time flew, my seriousness in following the

lesson showed me the result gradually, and finally I enjoyed this course.

3. Long time ago there were only two creatures that ruled the world. They are the
‘Diavolos’ and ‘Theos’. Diavolos are the demons who ruled the Dark Land, and
Theos are the gods who ruled the Holy Land. Both Diavolos and Theos never
agreed about something in case. 1, the Creator made a giant wall to

separate them. . 2 , the Diavolos were so greedy. They wanted to

take over the Holy land, so they broke the wall and went to the Holy Land. The
Theos were outnumbered by the Diavolos, so the Diavolos could defeat the
Theos easily. 3, there were only nine of them were left. Seeing this the

Creator was angry and cursed the Diavolos. The creator threw them away to a
new place which had different dimension with their world before, and their new
place named ‘Fotia’.

4. Nuclear power is also a friendly fuel for our enviroment because by using the
nuclear power, we can reduce the pollution in the air which is caused by the
greenhouse gases. This could happen because the nuclear power does not
produce the greenhouse gases from its emissions as it is reported by the CEF.
1, using nuclear power as the main source for producing the

energy of electricity is better than using the coal or oil enviromentally.

2, in 1998, the CEF’s document reported that the using of nuclear power

had reduced the air pollution percentage by a half in the areas that had already
used the nuclear power. 3, Naomi Oreskes, a professor of the history

of science and an affiliated professor of earth and planetary sciences at Harvard

University, said, ” Promoting the use of nuclear power as a way to deal with
climate change overstates the promises of the technology and understates the

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 risks.” She shared her opinion on New York Times’s (NYT) website. .
4, this reason become a rational reason for humans to start using the nuclear

power.

5. Although nuclear power does not produce the greenhouse gases emissions, its
waste is still hazardous. According to the CEF, these waste is hazardous because
they also carry the radiation, so it means that it is not only the nuclear itself has
the radiation, but the waste also has. 1, the New York Times also
reported that this waste will contaminate the water and the sands, and they will
emit the radiation from ten to hundreds of years. 2, this waste,
actually, will take about 10,000 years to be back to its original forms, New York
Times added. . 3, these wastes, dangerously, also can be used to make the

nuclear weapons, so it is becoming a hot target for mililants and terrorists.

4, nuclear’s waste is really dangerous and must be monitored well, and

this waste also has to put on a place that is located far away from crowded.

ERROR ANALYSIS

Each of the sentences below has an error on them. Therefore, find the error and
correct it into the appropriate one !

1. A bird was humming happily on a tree, however, a man shot it, and it fell down
to the ground.
2. Lilo has been waiting for the lecturer for seven hours, and she hasn’t had lunch;
however, her stomach felt so sick.
3. Platypus is a mammals that hatch an egg. In fact it is the only animal that do it.
4. There are so many kinds of pasta in the world for instance spaghetti and fettucine
are two kinds of pasta.
5. A mermaid has been known since the 1800s; therefore, there are many kinds of
stories have appeared in the world.
6. Dolphin use more the capacity of its brain higher than human. Probably. they
couldn’t maximize it.
7. Being healthy is not easy indeed we only have to eat healthy food and do
exercises gradually.
8. A fairy is known as a beautiful creature that live in the wood; and, they also have
magical power.

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 LESSON 6
UNDERSTANDING IMPLIED MAIN IDEA

Occasionally, a writer does not directly state the main idea of a given paragraph
in a topic sentence. Instead, he or she leaves it up to the reader to infer, or reason out,
what the main idea of the paragraph. This type of paragraph is called unstated main
idea. This type of paragraph contains only details or specifics that are related to a given
topic and substantiate an unstated main idea.

Remembering the difference between general and specific ideas.

Main idea of a paragraph is not only its most important point but also main idea.
Specific details back up or support the main idea. Like main ideas that are started
directly, implied main ideas are usually larger, more important, and more general than
the details.
How to find implied main ideas in paragraphs
The details when taken together will all point to a general and more important idea. You
might want to think of such a paragraph as the pieces of a puzzle. You must put together
the pieces or details to determine. Readers must put together the pieces or details to
determine the meaning of the paragraph as a whole.
Use the following steps as a guide to find implied main ideas:

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1. Find the topic.
The topic is the general subject of the entire paragraph. Ask yourself: “What is the
one thing the author is discussing throughout the paragraph?”
2. Figure out what is the most important idea the writer wants you to know about
that topic. Look at each detail and decide what larger idea is being explained.
3. Express this main idea in your own words. Make sure that the main idea is a
reasonable one. Ask yourself: “Does it apply to all of the details in the paragraph?”

Example:
Some advertisers rely on star power. Commercials may use celebrities,
for example, to encourage consumers to purchase a product. Other commercials
may use an “everyone’s buying it” approach, arguing that thousands of
consumers could not possibly be wrong in the choice, so the product must be
worthwhile. Still other commercials may use visual appeal to catch the
consumers’ interest and persuade them to make purchases.
The general topic in the paragraph is commercials. More specifically, the
paragraph is about the various persuasive devices used in commercials. Three details are
given: (1) star power, (2) everyone’s-buying-it approach, and (3) visual appeal. Each of
the three details is a different persuasive device. The main point the writer is trying to
make, then, is that commercials use a variety of persuasive devices to appeal to
consumers. You can figure out this writer’s main idea even though no single sentence
states this directly.

Suppose a group of plumbers in a community decide to set standard prices for

repair services and agree to quote the same price for the same job. Is this ethical?
Suppose a group of automobile dealers agree to abide strictly by the used car blue book
prices on trade-ins. Is this ethical? Two meat supply houses serving a large university
submit identical bid each month for the meat contract. Is this ethical?

This paragraph describes three specific instances in which there was agreement
to fix prices. Clearly, the main idea of the author is whether price collusion is ethical,
but that main idea is not directly stated in a sentence anywhere within the passage.
Although most paragraphs do have a topic sentence, some do not. This type of
paragraph contains only details or specifics that point the main idea. The main idea,
then, is implied but not directly stated. This is a process of adding up the details and
deciding what they mean together or what the main idea they all support or explain.
Here is another sample paragraph:

Severe punishment may generate such anxiety in children that they do not learn
the lesson the punishment was designed to teach. Moreover, as a reaction to
punishment that they regard as unfair, children may avoid punitive parents, who
therefore will have fewer opportunities to teach and guide the child. In addition,
parents who use physical punishment provide aggressive models. A child who is
regularly, slapped, spanked, shaken, or shouted at may learn to use these form of
aggression in interaction with peers.

106
 The topic of this paragraph is punishment. The author’s main point is that punishment
has negative effects. You can figure out this writer’s main idea even though no single
sentence states this directly.

An unstated main idea or implied main idea is a main idea statement created by the
reader when an author does not directly state his or her main point in one sentence within a
reading. An unstated main idea is an inference. To find implied main ideas, you need to use all
the skill outlined in the previous chapters: identifying topic and author’s purpose, and using
steps to figure out the author’s most important point about the topic.

Quick Step to Finding the Unstated Main Idea

The steps for figuring out an unstated main idea are very similar to those for finding an explicitly
stated main idea , with one additional step.

1. What is the topic?

2. What is the author’s purpose?
3. What is the author’s most important point about the topic?
4. Write the main idea with your own words.

Unstated main ideas can be made with one of three methods:

 Topic + Existing Sentence

 Sentence + Sentence
 General statement based on supporting details

Example for Unstated Main Idea:

1. How is Behavioral Genetics Studied?

Traditional research strategies in behavioral genetics include studies of twins and
adoptees, techniques designed to sort biological from environmental influences. More
recently, investagors have added the search for pieces of DNA associated with particular
behaviors, an approach that has been most productive to date in identifying potential
locations for genes associated with major mental illnesses such as schizophernia and
bipolar disorder. Yet even here there have been no major breakthroughs, no clearly
identified genes that geneticists can tie to disease. The search for genes associated with
characteristics such as sexual preference and basic personality traits has been even more
frustrating.
by Joseph
McInerney
2. What is DNA Testing?
After the DNA is cut, the pieces are placed at one end of a gelatin slab. Drawn through
with an electric current, the small pieces of DNA in gelatin move more quickly than the
larger pieces, arranging the cut DNA pieces into ascending order. Once the DNA pieces
are organized, the gelatin is replicated for further records.
--“DNA Testing”http://www.healthtree.com/articles/genetic-testing ©2011
Tree.com, Inc.

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 After the explanation of what the unstated main idea is, we can understand that
unstated main idea is the main idea which is not stated in the paragraph. We must focus
to search it among the details that provide.

Exercise

DIRECTION : In following paragraphs the main idea is not directly stated. Read each
paragraph, identify the topic, and write it in the space provided.

1. Traffic is directed by color. Pilot instrument panels, landing strips, road and
water crossings are regulated by many colored lights and signs. Factories use
colors to distinguish between thoroughfares and work areas. Danger zones are
painted in special colors. Lubrication points and removable parts are accentuated
by color. Pipes for transporting water, steam, oil, chemicals, and compressed air ,
are designated by different colors. Electrical wires and resistances are color
coded.
Main Idea :
___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
____
_________________________________________________________________
____
2. In 1920 there was one divorce for every seven marriages in the United States.
Fifty years later the rate had climbed to one divorce for every three marriages,
and today there is almost one divorce for every two marriages. The divorce rate
in the United State is now highest of any major industralizied nation, while
Canada is in a rather distant second place.
Main Idea :
___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
____
_________________________________________________________________
____
3. Severe punishment may generate such anxiety in children that they do not learn
the lesson the punishment was designed to teach. Moreover, as a reaction to
punishment that they regard as unfair, children may avoid punitive parents, who
therefore will have fewer opportunities to teach and guide the child. In addition,
parents who use physical punishment provide aggresive models. A child who is
regularly slapped, spanked, shaken, or shouted at may learn to use these forms of
aggression in interaction with peers.
Main Idea :
___________________________________________________________

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 _________________________________________________________________
____
_________________________________________________________________
____

4. When President Lincoln was shot, the word was communicated by telegraph to
most parts of the United States, but because we had no links to England, it was
five days before London heard of the event. When President Reagan was shot,
journalist Henry Fairlie, working at his typewriter within a block of the shooting,
got word of it by telephone from his editor at the Spectator in London, who had
seen a rerun of the assassination attempt on television shortly after it occured.
Main Idea :
___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
____

_____________________________________________________________________

Examples of Unstated Main Ideas

1.
When President Lincoln was shot, the word was communicated by telegraph to most
parts of the United States, but because we had no links to England, it was five days
before London heard of the event. When the President Reagan was shot, journalists
Henry fairly, working at his typewriter within a block of the shooting, got word of it by
telephone from his editor at the Spectacular in London, who had seen a rerun of the
assassination attempt on television shortly after it occurred
—Nasbisbitt, Megatrends, p. 23

Topic: Communication of information

Main idea: Communication links between countries need to be built

2.
The perceived richness or quality of the material in clothing, bleeding, or upholstery is
linked to its “fell,” whether rough or smooth, flexible or inflexible. A smooth fabric such
as silk is equated with luxury, although denim is considered practical and durable.
Fabrics that are composed of scarce materials or that require a high degree of processing
to achieve their smoothness or fines tend to be more expensive and thus are seen as
being higher class. Similarly, lighter, more delicate textures are assumed to be feminine.
Roughness is often positively valued for men, and smoothness is sought by women.

—Solomo, Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being, 4th Ed., pp. 49-50

109
Topic: The fell of fabrics

Main idea: The feel of a fabric influences ho consumers regard its quality

3.
A study by the market research department of the New York Times found that when
choosing
between two similar food or beverage products, 81 percent of consumers would choose
one they cloud both smell and see over one they could only see. Samuel Adams beer
was one of the first non perfume products to be advertised with a scent strip hat smelled
of hips. And Rolls Royce distributed ad scented with the smell of leather. However, a
note of caution: This technique adds at least 10 percent to the cost of producing an ad, so
marketers will need to watch their dollars and scents. and scents.

—Solomo, Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being, 4th Ed., p. 48

Topic: The use of smells in advertising

Main idea: Advertisers are beginning to use scent s part of their advertisement

4.
Your e-mail address will eventually become available to a lot of people you don’t know.
Some of these people may contact you with unsolicited information or with queries that
you are not qualified to answer. If you are in a work situation in which it is appropriate
to forward a query to someone else, then you have a legitimate right to pass mail on
without further comment. Exercise your good judgment in these situations. Perhaps you
will choose to reply to a message that interests you even if it might have been
misdirected. But if you find yourself pressed for time and you discover yourself talking
to perfect strangers about things that you aren’t being paid to discuss, you need to get
serious and ignore more of your mail. At the very least, forward legitimate queries to
other people if you aren’t the appropriate respondent.
—Lehnert, Internet 101: A Beginner’s Guide to the Internet and World wide Web, p. 95

Topic: Responding to an e-mail

Main idea: It is not always necessary to respond to e-mail messages

Identify the topic and main idea of this paragraph.

In 1970 the federal government passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse, Prevention and
Control Act (also known as the Controlled Substance Act). That act did not contain a
rigid penalty system but rather established only upper bounds for the fines and prison
terms to be imposed for offenses. In 1984 that act was ended in order to impose fixed
penalties, particularly for dealers.
For anyone caught with more than 1 kilogram of heroin, 50 grams of cocaine base, or
1,000
kilograms of marijuana, the applicable penalty was raised to imprisonment from 10
years to life plus a fine of $4 million. A variety of other prison penalties and fines were

110
outlined in that amendment. Another amendment passed in 1988 included ted eth
penalty for “drug kingpins.”
—Miller, Economics Today, 8th Ed., p. 513

Topic: Tightening of drug laws

Main idea: Drug laws have become increasingly more strict

Exercise on Impled or Unstated Main Ideas

Direction

In the following paragraphs the main idea is not directly stated. Read each
paragraph, identify the topic, and write it in the space provided. Then write a sentence
that expresses the main idea of the passage.

1. Traffic is directed by color. Pilot instrument panels, landing strips, and road and
water crossings are regulated by many colored lights and signs. Factories use
colors to distinguish between thoroughfares and work areas. Danger zones are
painted in special colors. Lubrication points and removable parts are accentuated
by color. Pipes for transporting water, steam, oil, chemicals and compressed air
are designated by different colors. Electrical wires and resistances are color
coded.

_Gerritson, Theory and Practice of Color, p.9

Topic : ___________________________________________________

Implied main idea : ___________________________________________________

2. Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin found last summer that trees under attack by
insects or animals will release an unidentified chemical into the air as a distress
signal. Upon receiving the signal, nearby trees step up their production of tannin
– a poison in the leaves that gives insects indigestion. The team learned, too, that
production of the poison is in proportion to duration and intensity of the attack.

_ “Trees Talk to One Another,” Science Digest, p.

47

Topic : ____________________________________________________

Implied main idea : ____________________________________________________

3. When President Lincoln was shot, the word was communicated by telegraph to
most parts of the United States, but because we had no links to England, it was
five days before London heard of the event. when president Reagan was shot,
journalist Henry Fairlie, working at his typewriter within a block of the shooting,

111
 got word of it by telephone from his editor at the Spectator in London, who had
seen a rerun of the assassination attempt on television shortly after it occurred.

_Naisbitt, Megatrends, p.
23

Topic : ____________________________________________________

Implied main idea : ____________________________________________________

4. A study by the market research department of the New York Times found that
when choosing between two similar food or beverage products 81 percent of
consumers would choose one they could both smell and see over one they could
only see. Samuel Adams beer was one of the first non – perfume products to be
advertised with a scent strip that smelled of hops, and Rolls Royce distributed
ads scented with the smell of leather. However, a note of caution: This technique
adds at least 10 percent to the cost of producing an ad, so marketers will need to
watch their dollars and scents.

_Solomon, Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being, 4th Ed.,

p.48

Topic : ____________________________________________________

Implied main idea : ____________________________________________________

In this paragraph the main idea is not directly stated. Read the paragraph; identify the
topic and main idea.

In 1920 there was one divorce for every seven marriages in the United States.
Fifty years later the rate had climbed to one divorce for every three marriages, and today
there is almost one divorce for every two marriages. The divorce rate in the United
States is now the highest of any major industrialized nation, while Canada is in a rather
distant second place.

_Coleman and Cressey, Social Problems, p.

130

Topic : ____________________________________________________

Implied main idea : ____________________________________________________

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 LESSON 7

READING SELECTIONS

1. Sleeping Beauty

Long ago there lived a King and Queen who said every day, “If only we had a
child!” But for a long time they had none.
One day, as the Queen was bathing in a spring and dreaming of a child, a frog
crept out of the water and said to her, “Your wish shall be fulfilled. Before a year has
passed you shall bring a daughter into the world.”
And since frogs are such magical creatures, it was no surprise that before a year
had passed the Queen had a baby girl. The child was so beautiful and sweet that the
King could not contain himself for joy. He prepared a great feast and invited all his
friends, family and neighbors. He invited the fairies, too, in order that they might be
kind and good to the child. There were thirteen of them in his kingdom, but as the King
only had twelve golden plates for them to eat from, one of the fairies had to be left out.
None of the guests was saddened by this as the thirteenth fairy was known to be cruel
and spiteful.
An amazing feast was held and when it came to an end, each of the fairies
presented the child with a magic gift. One fairy gave her virtue, another beauty, a third
riches and so on — with everything in the world that anyone could wish for.

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 After eleven of the fairies had presented their gifts, the thirteenth suddenly
appeared. She was angry and wanted to show her spite for not having been invited to the
feast. Without hesitation she called out in a loud voice,
“When she is fifteen years old, the Princess shall prick herself with a spindle and
shall fall down dead!”
Then without another word, she turned and left the hall.
The guests were horrified and the Queen fell to the floor sobbing, but the twelfth
fairy, whose wish was still not spoken, quietly stepped forward. Her magic could not
remove the curse, but she could soften it so she said,
“Nay, your daughter shall not die, but instead shall fall into a deep sleep that will
last one hundred years.”
Over the years, the promises of the fairies came true — one by one. The Princess
grew to be beautiful, modest, kind and clever. Everyone who saw her could not help but
love her.
The King and Queen were determined to prevent the curse placed on the Princess
by the spiteful fairy and sent out a command that all the spindles in the whole kingdom
should be destroyed. No one in the kingdom was allowed to tell the Princess of the curse
that had been placed upon her for they did not want her to worry or be sad.
On the morning of her fifteenth birthday, the Princess awoke early — excited to
be another year older. She was up so early in the morning, that she realized everyone
else still slept. The Princess roamed through the halls trying to keep herself occupied
until the rest of the castle awoke. She wandered about the whole place, looking at rooms
and halls as she pleased and at last she came to an old tower. She climbed the narrow,
winding staircase and reached a little door. A rusty key was sticking in the lock and
when she turned it, the door flew open.
In a little room sat an old woman with a spindle, busily spinning her flax. The
old woman was so deaf that she had never heard the King’s command that all spindles
should be destroyed.
“Good morning, Granny,” said the Princess, “what are you doing?”
“I am spinning,” said the old woman.
“What is the thing that whirls round so merrily?” asked the Princess and she took
the spindle and tried to spin too.
But she had scarcely touched the spindle when it pricked her finger. At that
moment she fell upon the bed which was standing near and lay still in a deep sleep.
The King, Queen and servants had all started their morning routines and right in
the midst of them fell asleep too. The horses fell asleep in the stable, the dogs in the
yard, the doves on the roof and the flies on the wall. Even the fire in the hearth grew still
and went to sleep. The kitchen maid, who sat with a chicken before her, ready to pluck
its feathers, fell asleep. The cook was in the midst of scolding the kitchen boy for a mess
he’d made but they both fell fast asleep. The wind died down and on the trees in front of
the castle not a leaf stirred.
Round the castle a hedge of brier roses began to grow up. Every year it grew
higher until at last nothing could be seen of the sleeping castle.
There was a legend in the land about the lovely Sleeping Beauty, as the King’s
daughter was called, and from time to time Princes came and tried to force their way
through the hedge and into the castle. But they found it impossible for the thorns, as
though they were alive, grabbed at them and would not let them through.
After many years a Prince came again to the country and heard an old man tell
the tale of the castle which stood behind the brier hedge and the beautiful Princess who
had slept within for a hundred years. He heard also that many Princes had tried to make
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it through the brier hedge but none had succeeded and many had been caught in it and
died.
Then the young Prince said, “I am not afraid. I must go and see this Sleeping
Beauty.”
The good old man did all in his power to persuade him not to go, but the Prince
would not listen.
Now the hundred years were just ended. When the Prince approached the brier
hedge it was covered with beautiful large roses. The shrubs made way for him of their
own accord and let him pass unharmed.
In the courtyard, the Prince saw the horses and dogs lying asleep. On the roof sat
the sleeping doves with their heads tucked under their wings. When he went into the
house, the flies were asleep on the walls and the servants asleep in the halls. Near the
throne lay the King and Queen, sleeping peacefully beside each other. In the kitchen the
cook, the kitchen boy and the kitchen maid all slept with their heads resting on the table.
The Prince went on farther. All was so still that he could hear his own breathing.
At last he reached the tower and opened the door into the little room where the Princess
was asleep. There she lay, looking so beautiful that he could not take his eyes off her. He
bent down and gave her a kiss. As he touched her, Sleeping Beauty opened her eyes and
smiled up at him.
Throughout the castle, everyone and everything woke up and looked at each
other with astonished eyes. Within the month, the Prince and Sleeping Beauty were
married and lived happily all their lives.

Vocabulary
Fulfill -> what is the synonym of this word?
Feast -> what is the synonym of this word?
Sadden -> what is the antonym of this word?
Hesitation -> make your own sentence using this word!

Questions: Answers the question below. Check whether they are true (T) or false (F).
1.When the Queen was bathing in the spring, a frog came. (T) (F)
2.The eleventh fairy is the one who curses Sleeping Beauty. (T) (F)
3.Sleeping Beauty will fall into a deep sleep for one hundred years. (T) (F)
4.There are twelve fairy in the story. (T) (F)
5.An old man is the one who wakes the Sleeping Beauty. (T) (F)

2. Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy. It is the capital of region Veneto. Together with
Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area. Venice has been
known as the “Queen of the Adriatic”, “City of Water”, “City of Bridges”, and “The
City of Light”. The city stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian
Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy.
Venice is world-famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 117 islands
formed by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built
are connected by about 400 bridges. In the old center, the canals serve the function of
roads, and every form of transport is on water or on foot.
You can ride gondola there. It is the classical Venetian boat which nowadays is
mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies. Now, most
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Venetians travel by motorised waterbuses (“vaporetti”) which ply regular routes along
the major canals and between the city’s islands. The city also has many private boats.
The only gondolas still in common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger
ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges.
You can see the amusing city’s landmarks such as Piazza San Marco, Palazzo
Contarini del Bovolo, Saint Mark’s Cathedral or villas of the Veneto. The villas of the
Veneto, rural residences for nobles during the Republic, are one of the most interesting
aspects of Venetian countryside.
They are surrounded by elegant gardens, suitable for fashionable parties of high
society. The city is also well known for its beautiful and romantic view, especially at
night.

Vocabulary:
1.Stretch -> What is the synonym of this word?
2.Canal -> What is the synonym of this word
3.Archipelago -> make your own sentence using this word!
Questions: Match the questions in column A with the answers in column B!

Column A
1.Venice is a city in…
2.Vaporetti is…
3.The Villas of the Veneto is…
4.The city is also known for…
5.Venice has been known as the…

Column B
1.Venetian travel by motorized waterbuses
2.One of the most interesting aspects of Venetian countryside
3.Northern Italy
4.Queen of the Adriatic
5.Its beautiful and romantic view, especially at night.

3. Types of Diabetes

1) There are two types of diabetes, insulin-dependent and non-insulindependent.

Between 90–95% of the estimated 13–14 million people in the United States with
diabetes have non-insulin-dependent, or Type II, diabetes. Because this form of diabetes
usually begins in adults over the age of 40 and is most common after the age of 55, it
used to be called adult-onset diabetes. Its symptoms often develop gradually and are
hard to identify at first; therefore, nearly half of all people with diabetes do not know
they have it. For instance, someone who has developed Type II diabetes may feel tired
or ill without knowing why. This can be particularly dangerous because untreated
diabetes can cause damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. While
the causes, short-term effects, and treatments of the two types of diabetes differ, both
types can cause the same longterm health problems.
(2) Most importantly, both types affect the body’s ability to use digested food for
energy. Diabetes does not interfere with digestion, but it does prevent the body from
using an important product of digestion, glucose (commonly known as sugar), for
energy. After a meal, the normal digestive system breaks some food down into glucose.
The blood carries the glucose or sugar throughout the body, causing blood glucose levels
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to rise. In response to this rise, the hormone insulin is released into the bloodstream and
signals the body tissues to metabolize or burn the glucose for fuel, which causes blood
glucose levels to return to normal. The glucose that the body does not use right away is
stored in the liver, muscle, or fat.
(3) In both types of diabetes, however, this normal process malfunctions. A
gland called the pancreas, found just behind the stomach, makes insulin. In people with
insulin-dependent diabetes, the pancreas does not produce insulin at all. This condition
usually begins in childhood and is known as Type I (formerly called juvenile-onset)
diabetes. These patients must have daily insulin injections to survive. People with non-
insulin-dependent diabetes usually produce some insulin in their pancreas, but their
bodies’ tissues do not respond well to the insulin signal and, therefore, do not metabolize
the glucose properly, a condition known as insulin resistance.
(4) Insulin resistance is an important factor in non-insulindependent diabetes,
and scientists are searching for the causes of insulin resistance. They have identified two
possibilities. The first is that there could be a defect in the insulin receptors on cells.
Like an appliance that needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet, insulin has to bind to
a receptor in order to function. Several things can go wrong with receptors. For example,
there may not be enough receptors to which insulin may bind, or a defect in the
receptors may prevent insulin from binding. The second possible cause of insulin
resistance is that, although insulin may bind to the receptors, the cells do not read the
signal to metabolize the glucose. Scientists continue to study these cells to see why this
might happen.
(5) There’s no cure for diabetes yet. However, there are ways to alleviate its
symptoms. In 1986, a National Institute of Health panel of experts recommended that
the best treatment for non-insulindependent diabetes is a diet that helps one maintain a
normal weight and pays particular attention to a proper balance of the different food
groups. Many experts, including those in the American Diabetes Association,
recommend that 50–60% of daily calories come from carbohydrates, 12–20% from
protein, and no more than 30% from fat. Foods that are rich in carbohydrates, like
breads, cereals, fruits, and vegetables, break down into glucose during digestion, causing
blood glucose to rise. Additionally, studies have shown that cooked foods raise blood
glucose higher than raw, unpeeled foods. A doctor or nutritionist should always be
consulted for more of this kind of information and for help in planning a diet to offset
the effects of this form of diabetes.

1. According to the passage, what may be the most dangerous aspect of Type II
diabetes?
a. Insulin shots are needed daily for treatment of Type II diabetes.
b. Type II diabetes may go undetected and, therefore, untreated.
c. In Type II diabetes, the pancreas does not produce insulin.
d. Type II diabetes interferes with digestion.

2. Which of the following are the same for Type I and Type II diabetes?
a. treatments
b. long-term health risks
c. short-term effects
d. causes

3. According to the passage, one place in which excess glucose is stored is the
a. stomach.
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b. insulin receptors.
c. pancreas.
d. liver.

4. A diet dominated by which of the following is recommended for non-insulin-

dependent diabetics?
a. protein
b. fat
c. carbohydrates
d. raw foods

5. Which of the following is the main function of insulin?

a. It signals tissues to metabolize sugar.
b. It breaks down food into glucose.
c. It carries glucose throughout the body.
d. It binds to receptors.

6. Which of the following statements best summarizes the main theme of the passage?
a. Type I and Type II diabetes are best treated by maintaining a high-protein diet.
b. Type II diabetes is a distinct condition that can be managed by maintaining a healthy
diet.
c. Type I diabetes is an insidious condition most harmful when the patient is not taking
daily insulin injections.
d. Adults who suspect they may have Type II diabetes should immediately adopt a high-
carbohydrate diet.

7. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage as a possible problem with insulin
receptors in insulin-resistant individuals?
a. Overeating causes the receptors to function improperly.
b. There may be an overabundance of receptors present.
c. A defect causes the receptors to bind with glucose.
d. A defect hinders the receptors from binding with insulin.

8. According to the passage, in normal individuals, which of the following processes

occur immediately after the digestive system converts some food into glucose?
a. The glucose is metabolized by body tissues.
b. Insulin is released into the bloodstream.
c. Blood sugar levels rise.
d. The pancreas manufactures increased amounts of insulin.

9. Based on the information in the passage, which of the following best describes people
with Type I diabetes?
a. They do not need to be treated with injections of insulin.
b. They comprise the majority of people with diabetes.
c. Their pancreases do not produce insulin.
d. They are usually diagnosed as adults.

10. What is the closest meaning of the underlined word offset in the final sentence of the
passage?
a. counteract
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b. cure
c. soothe
d. erase

4. The Immune System

(1) The immune system is equal in complexity to the combined intricacies of the
brain and nervous system. The success of the immune system in defending the body
relies on a dynamic regulatory communications network consisting of millions and
millions of cells. Organized into sets and subsets, these cells pass information back and
forth like clouds of bees swarming around a hive. The result is a sensitive system of
checks and balances that produces an immune response that is prompt, appropriate,
effective, and self-limiting.
(2) At the heart of the immune system is the ability to distinguish between self
and non-self. When immune defenders encounter cells or organisms carrying foreign or
non-self molecules, the immune troops move quickly to eliminate the intruders.
Virtually every body cell carries distinctive molecules that identify it as self. The body’s
immune defenses do not normally attack tissues that carry a self-marker. Rather,
immune cells and other body cells coexist peaceably in a state known as self-tolerance.
When a normally functioning immune system attacks a non-self molecule, the system
has the ability to remember the specifics of the foreign body. Upon subsequent
encounters with the same species of molecules, the immune system reacts accordingly.
With the possible exception of antibodies passed during lactation, this so-called immune
system memory is not inherited. Despite the occurrence of a virus in your family, your
immune system must learn from experience with the many millions of distinctive non-
self molecules in the sea of microbes in which we live. Learning entails producing the
appropriate molecules and cells to match up with and counteract each non-self invader.
(3) Any substance capable of triggering an immune response is called an antigen.
Antigens are not to be confused with allergens, which are most often harmless
substances (such as ragweed pollen or cat hair) that provoke the immune system to set
off the inappropriate and harmful response known as allergy. An antigen can be a virus,
a bacterium, a fungus, a parasite, or even a portion or product of one of these organisms.
Tissues or cells from another individual (except an identical twin, whose cells carry
identical self-markers) also act as antigens; because the immune system recognizes
transplanted tissues as foreign, it rejects them. The body will even reject nourishing
proteins unless they are first broken down by the digestive system into their primary,
non-antigenic building blocks. An antigen announces its foreignness by means of
intricate and characteristic shapes called epitopes, which protrude from its surface. Most
antigens, even the simplest microbes, carry several different kinds of epitopes on their
surface; some may even carry several hundred. Some epitopes will be more effective
than others at stimulating an immune response. Only in abnormal situations does the
immune system wrongly identify self as non-self and execute a misdirected immune
attack. The result can be a so-called autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or
systemic lupus erythematosis. The painful side effects of these diseases are caused by a
person’s immune system actually attacking itself.

1. What is the analogy used to describe the communications network among the cells in
the immune system?

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a. the immune system’s memory
b. immune troops eliminating intruders
c. bees swarming around a hive
d. a sea of microbes

2. The immune cells and other cells in the body coexist peaceably in
a state known as
a. equilibrium.
b. self-tolerance.
c. harmony.
d. tolerance.

3. What is the specific term for the substance capable of triggering an inappropriate or
harmful immune response to a harmless substance such as ragweed pollen?
a. antigen
b. microbe
c. allergen
d. autoimmune disease

4. How do the cells in the immune system recognize an antigen as foreign or non-self?
a. through an allergic response
b. through blood type
c. through fine hairs protruding from the antigen surface
d. through characteristic shapes on the antigen surface

5. After you have had the chicken pox, your immune system will be able to do all of the
following except
a. prevent your offspring from infection by the chicken pox virus.
b. distinguish between your body cells and that of the chicken pox virus.
c. remember previous experiences with the chicken pox virus.
d. match up and counteract non-self molecules in the form of the chicken pox virus.

6. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of this passage?
a. An antigen is any substance that triggers an immune response.
b. The basic function of the immune system is to distinguish between self and non-self.
c. One of the immune system’s primary functions is the allergic response.
d. The human body presents an opportune habitat for microbes.

6. Why would tissue transplanted from father to daughter have a greater risk of being
detected as foreign than a tissue transplanted between identical twins?
a. The age of the twins’ tissue would be the same and, therefore, less likely to be
rejected.
b. The identical twin’s tissue would carry the same self-markers and would, therefore,
be less likely to be rejected.
c. The difference in the sex of the father and daughter would cause the tissue to be
rejected by the daughter’s immune system.
d. The twins’ immune systems would remember the same encounters with childhood
illnesses.

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7. What is the meaning of the underlined word intricacies as it is used in the first
sentence of the passage?
a. elaborate interconnections
b. confusion of pathways
c. inherent perplexity
d. comprehensive coverage

5. The Worst and Longest Economic Crisis

(1) The worst and longest economic crisis in the modern industrial world, the
Great Depression in the United States had devastating consequences for American
society. At its lowest depth (1932–33), more than 16 million people were unemployed,
more than 5,000 banks had closed, and over 85,000 businesses had failed. Millions of
Americans lost their jobs, their savings, and even their homes. The homeless built
shacks for temporary shelter—these emerging shantytowns were nicknamed
Hoovervilles; a bitter homage to President Herbert Hoover, who refused to give
government assistance to the jobless. The effects of the Depression—severe
unemployment rates and a sharp drop in the production and sales of goods—could also
be felt abroad, where many European nations still struggled to recover from World War
I.
(2) Although the stock market crash of 1929 marked the onset of the depression,
it was not the cause of it: Deep, underlying fissures already existed in the economy of
the Roaring Twenties. For example, the tariff and war-debt policies after World War I
contributed to the instability of the banking system. American banks made loans to
European countries following World War I. However, the United States kept high tariffs
on goods imported from other nations. These policies worked against one another. If
other countries could not sell goods in the United States, they could not make enough
money to pay back their loans or to buy American goods.
(3) And while the United States seemed to be enjoying a prosperous period in the
1920s, the wealth was not evenly distributed. Businesses made gains in productivity, but
only one segment of the population—the wealthy—reaped large profits. Workers
received only a small share of the wealth they helped produce. At the same time,
Americans spent more than they earned. Advertising encouraged Americans to buy cars,
radios, and household appliances instead of saving or purchasing only what they could
afford. Easy credit policies allowed consumers to borrow money and accumulate debt.
Investors also wildly speculated on the stock market, often borrowing money on credit
to buy shares of a company. Stocks increased beyond their worth, but investors were
willing to pay inflated prices because they believed stocks would continue to rise. This
bubble burst in the fall of 1929, when investors lost confidence that stock prices would
keep rising. As investors sold off stocks, the market spiraled downward. The stock
market crash affected the economy in the same way that a stressful event can affect the
human body, lowering its resistance to infection.
(4) The ensuing depression led to the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1932. Roosevelt introduced relief measures that would revive the economy and bring
needed relief to Americans suffering the effects of the depression. In his 100 days in
office, Roosevelt and Congress passed major legislation that saved banks from closing
and regained public confidence. These measures, called the New Deal, included the
Agricultural Adjustment Act, which paid farmers to slow their production in order to

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stabilize food prices; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insured bank
deposits if banks failed; and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulated
the stock market. Although the New Deal offered relief, it did not end the Depression.
The economy sagged until the nation entered World War II. However, the New Deal
changed the relationship between government and American citizens, by expanding the
role of the central government in regulating the economy and creating social assistance
programs.

1. The author’s main point about the Great Depression is that a. government policies had
nothing to do with it.
b. the government immediately stepped in with assistance for the jobless and homeless.
c. underlying problems in the economy preceded it.
d. the New Deal policies introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt ended it.

2 This passage is best described as

a. an account of the causes and effects of a major event.
b. a statement supporting the value of federal social policies.
c. a condemnation of outdated beliefs.
d. a polite response to controversial issues.

3. The author cites the emergence of Hoovervilles in paragraph 1 as an example of

a. federally sponsored housing programs.
b. the resilience of Americans who lost their jobs, savings, and homes.
c. the government’s unwillingness to assist citizens in desperate circumstances.
d. the effectiveness of the Hoover administration in dealing with the crisis.

4. The term policies, as it is used in paragraph 2, most nearly means

a. theories.
b. practices.
c. laws.
d. examples.

5. The passage suggests that the 1920s was a decade that extolled the value of
a. thrift.
b. prudence.
c. balance.
d. extravagance.

6. The example of the human body as a metaphor for the economy, which is found at the
end of paragraph 3, suggests that
a. a stressful event like the stock market crash of 1929 probably made a lot of people
sick.
b. the crash weakened the economy’s ability to withstand other pressures.
c. the crash was an untreatable disease.
d. a single event caused the collapse of the economy.

7. The content in the last paragraph of the passage would most likely support which of
the following statements?
a. The New Deal policies were not radical enough in challenging capitalism.
b. The economic policies of the New Deal brought about a complete business recovery.
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c. The Agricultural Adjustment Act paid farmers to produce surplus crops.
d. The federal government became more involved in caring for needy members of
society.

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