20152016AcademicYear

Prof.DavielizVillafaeColn
FiveElementsofGoodWritingPracticeExercises
Name:
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Date:
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EvaluatingPurpose

PartI.
Readeachofthefollowingtopics.Provideapurposeandapurposestatementforeach
oneofthem.Remembertoconsiderthedifferencebetweenapurposeandapurpose
statement.

1.

Topic: HowtoPlayAmericanMahJongg
Purpose:
PurposeStatement:

2.

Topic: TheEffectsofInsufficientSleep
Purpose:
PurposeStatement:

3.

Topic: TheMostImportantInventionoftheLast50Years
Purpose:
PurposeStatement:

4.

Topic: TheWorstDayofMyLife
Purpose:
PurposeStatement:

5.

Topic: ThePositiveandNegativeAspectsofAcknowledgingHoly
WeekasaHoliday
Purpose:
PurposeStatement:

6.

Topic: TheDangersofGeneticallyModifiedFood

Purpose:

PurposeStatement:
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20152016AcademicYear
Prof.DavielizVillafaeColn
FiveElementsofGoodWritingPracticeExercises

EvaluatingAudience

PartII. Reacheachtopicanddecidewhetheritrequiresfirst,second,orthirdperson.Then,
decidewhetherthewritingshouldbeformalorinformal.Theremaybemorethanone
correctanswer.

TypeofWriting

Person

LevelofWriting

1. Aparagraphabouttheimportanceof
voting

2.Alettertoyourbestfriend

3.Adescriptionofyourbestvacation

4.Anemailtoyourcousin

5.AparagraphaboutthefirstOlympic
Games

6.AparagraphaboutyourtriptoMexico

7.Aparagraphtellinghowtobakebread

8.Aparagraphtellingwhyyouwould
makeagoodclasspresident

PartIII. Thefollowingsentenceschangepersonwithinthesentence,causingunnecessary
shifts.Rewritethesentences,changingtheincorrectpronouns.

1. Whenapersongoesshopping,youshouldalwayslookforsales.
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2. Oneshouldcarpoolifyouwanttosaveongas.
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20152016AcademicYear
Prof.DavielizVillafaeColn
FiveElementsofGoodWritingPracticeExercises

PartIII. Thefollowingsentenceschangepersonwithinthesentence,causingunnecessary
shifts.Rewritethesentences,changingtheincorrectpronouns.

3. Doctorswarnpeoplethatyoushouldwatchwhatyoueat.
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4. Jeffmademinestronesoupfordinner.Hetoldhismotherthatyoushouldwaituntilitcooled
downbeforeeatingit.
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EvaluatingClarity

PartIV.Readthefollowingparagraphandanswerthequestionsthatappearattheendinorder
toevaluateclarity.

1. Writeallthewordsthatnamespecificpeople.
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20152016AcademicYear
Prof.DavielizVillafaeColn
FiveElementsofGoodWritingPracticeExercises

PartIV.Readthefollowingparagraphandanswerthequestionsthatappearattheendinorder
toevaluateclarity.

2. Howdothepreviouswordsaddtotheclarityofthewritersmessage?
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3. Writeoneofthewordsorphrasesthatmeanstodosomethingquickly.
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4. Identifythespecificadjectivesthatwereusedtodescribethefollowingnouns:

Adjective

Noun

a.

place

b.

pace

c.

plates

d.

sinks

e.

flow

f.

jugglingact

PartV. Readthefollowingsentences.Identifythepronounsineachsentencebymakinga
circlearoundthem.Then,analyzeifthesepronounsareappropriateoriftheyshould
bechangedtomakethereference(thenounornounstheymodify)clear.Iftheyneed
tobechanged,rewritethesentencewiththesuggestedcorrection.

1. Myfavoritesnacksareblueberriesandplainricecakes.Ilikethembecauseofthecrunchy
textureand,ofcourse,thefactthattheyarealowcalorie,healthysnack.
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20152016AcademicYear
Prof.DavielizVillafaeColn
FiveElementsofGoodWritingPracticeExercises

PartV. Readthefollowingsentences.Identifythepronounsineachsentencebymakinga
circlearoundthem.Then,analyzeifthesepronounsareappropriateoriftheyshould
bechangedtomakethereference(thenounornounstheymodify)clear.Iftheyneed
tobechanged,rewritethesentencewiththesuggestedcorrection.

2. Chiliisakindofthicksoupmadewithgroundmeat.Somepeopleprepareitwithbeans.
Theylikethecombinationoftastes.
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3. Myunclecookedchicken,corn,andpotatoesfordinner.MycousinFranklikedthem,buthe
didnotlikethecorn.
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4. Oneoftheeasiestdishestoprepareishummus.Itisaverythickdipmadefrommashed
garbanzobeans.Theyaremixedwithtahinipaste.Ittastesgreat.
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20152016AcademicYear
Prof.DavielizVillafaeColn
FiveElementsofGoodWritingPracticeExercises
PartVI. Thefollowingcomparisonandcontrastparagraphcontainssixerrorswithpronoun
reference.Improvetheclarityofthesentencesbychangingtheboxedwordsor
phrasestomorespecificones.

VagueWord

BetterClarity

1. It

2.its

3.it

4.they

5.them

6.we


20152016AcademicYear
Prof.DavielizVillafaeColn
FiveElementsofGoodWritingPracticeExercises
EvaluatingUnity

PartVII.
Readthefollowingparagraphandanswerthequestionsthatappearattheendinorder
toevaluateunity.

1. Doallofthesentencesmaintainunity.Ifnot,whichsentence(s)createaunityproblem?
Explainyouranswer.
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20152016AcademicYear
Prof.DavielizVillafaeColn
FiveElementsofGoodWritingPracticeExercises
PartVIII.
Readthefollowingclassificationparagraph.Determineiftheparagraphhasunityor
not.Ifitlacksunity,writethenumberofthesentencethataffectsorsentencesthat
affectthiselementofgoodwritingandexplainyourchoice.

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20152016AcademicYear
Prof.DavielizVillafaeColn
FiveElementsofGoodWritingPracticeExercises
EvaluatingCoherence

PartIX.Thefollowingsentencesformaparagraph,buttheyarenotinthebestorder.Read
thesesentencesandnumberthemfromonetofivetoindicatethebestorder.After
identifyingtocorrectchronologicalorderforthisparagraph,answerthequestionsthat
appearbelowthesentencesbox.

Hestartshisdaybyputtingonhisblackcapeandtallblackhat.

Whenhearrives,heputsonaperformancethatincludesjokes,cardtricks,
illusions,andmagictricks.

Whenhisperformanceendsandtheaudienceishappy,Michaelreturnshome
satisfiedthathehasdonehisjobasamagicianwell.

Michaelstypicaldayatworkisfarfromordinary.

He,then,grabshismagicwandandgetsintohiscaranddrivestoadifferent
locationeachday,usuallyabirthdaypartyorotherspecialevent.

1. Whatisthetopicoftheparagraph?
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2. Whatisthepurposeoftheparagraph?
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3. Whatisthepurposestatementoftheparagraph?
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4. Statethepointofviewandthetypeofwriting.
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5. Giveexamplesofaspectsorinstancesinwhichtheparagraphshowsclarity.
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20152016AcademicYear
Prof.DavielizVillafaeColn
FiveElementsofGoodWritingPracticeExercises
PartIX.Thefollowingsentencesformaparagraph,buttheyarenotinthebestorder.Read
thesesentencesandnumberthemfromonetofivetoindicatethebestorder.After
identifyingtocorrectchronologicalorderforthisparagraph,answerthequestionsthat
appearbelowthesentencesbox.

6. Isthereunity?Ifnot,explainyouranswer.
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7. Istherecoherence?Considerallofthecomponentsinvolvedincoherencetoofferaproper
answertothisquestion.Donotbehasty.
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8. Whatkeywordsdoesthewriterrepeatthroughouttheparagraph?Aretheynecessaryor
overused?Isitpossibleforsomeofthesekeywordstobenecessarywhileothersaresimply
overused?Explainyouranswer.
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20152016AcademicYear
Prof.DavielizVillafaeColn
FiveElementsofGoodWritingPracticeExercises

References
Folse,K.S.,VestriSolomon,E.,&Clabeaux,D.(2015).Greatwriting3:Fromgreatparagraphs
togreatessays(3rded.).Boston,MA:NationalGeographicLearning/CengageLearning

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