Writing I

Dr. Mosheer Amer

2016
 COURSE OBJECTIVES
 To develop independent, proficient student writers through
a systematic approach to the writing process.
 To develop the basic skills of paragraph writing.
 To systematically write the stages of the writing process:
brainstorming, outlining, drafting and revising within a
communicative and purposeful framework.
 To work on writing the main parts of a paragraph and the
important elements contained therein such as unity,
coherence, tone, and audience.
 To practice writing different types of paragraphs.
 To edit paragraphs for correct sentence structures,
punctuation, spelling, clarity, word choice, tone and layout.
 COURSE ASSESSMENT
Course grades will be determined roughly according to the
following distribution:
 
Final Exam -------------------------------- 50 %
Midterm Exam --------------------------- 25 %
Assignments ------------------------------- 10%
Portfolio ------------------------------------ 10 %
Quiz ----------------------------------------- 5%

Check all materials on my university webpage:

http://site.iugaza.edu.ps/mamer/
 What is a Sentence?
A sentence is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb and
expresses a complete thought. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a
period.

I live in Gaza.

Subject
Verb
Exercise 1: Which of the following is a sentence?
1. Ali is a student.
2. graduated in May 2005
3. His friends are not in his class.
4. is going shopping this weekend
5. After school at around 2p.m.
6. Don’t be late
7. Who’s there?
8. The man bought
9. When I finish my education
10. Wait for me!
Exercise 2: Which of the following is a sentence (S) or not a sentence (NS)?
1. ____ is very cold today.
2. ____ My new friend from Canada.
3. ____ He speaks three languages fluently.
4. ____ Mohammed wants to start his own business.
5. ____ The children hungry.
6. ____ They don’t want.
7. ____ Go to bed.
8. ____ Enjoys many sports, especially basketball.
9. ____ The man in the red shirt.
10. ____ While we were going to the market.
11. ____ They didn’t like.
 Exercise 3: Correct the sentence problem in the following:

1. Some food spicy.

2. Corn my favourite vegetable.
3. Is very bright in the afternoon.
4. takes a nap for two or three hours.
5. eats rice.
6. There flowers in the market.
7. For example, the increase in the cost of
living.
8. Having no money and being lonely in the
city.
9. Because some students have part-time jobs
10. Some people are polite. My neighbour,
for example.
11. We all ran inside. Because it was very
cold.
12. As I was listening to the radio.
 Exercise 5: Write one sentence for each of the following topics:

1. Facebook
2. First day at University
3. Healthy food
4. University education
5. Job interview
 Larry's Bad Habit
My friend Larry has a bad habit. He never on time
to anything. Arrives ten minutes late everywhere. Larry
always an excuse, “I missed the bus." "My alarm clock
didn't ring." " My watch stopped." "My mother
telephoned me just as I was leaving." uses each excuse at
least twice a week. I know them all. Whenever Larry
rushes in-ten minutes late, of course-and starts to say,
"Sorry I'm late, but I ... "or "Sorry I'm late, but my ... " or
"Sorry I'm late, but my mother ... ," I can finish the
sentence for him. Larry's bad habit not a problem for me
any longer. If the movie at 7:00, I tell Larry it starts at
6:45. Then he early!
 My Neighbors
a young couple from India lives next door to me
the husband's name is Ajay the wife's name is Anjuli
everyone calls her Anju they have a young son and are
expecting their second child in a few weeks they hope
to have a girl this time both Ajay and Anju have good
jobs he is an executive in a computer company she is
a computer programmer and works in our local
hospital Anju is a wonderful cook she cooks mostly
Indian food they sometimes invite neighbors on
weekends for a potluck meal' we all bring something
to share it is fun to live next door to Ajay and Anju
 My first job as a sales assistant in a
clothing shop. wasn’t a difficult job, and it
wasn’t a really interesting job. Every
weekend, had to open the store at 10:00a.m. I
couldn’t late. I helped customers find clothes
and kept the store neat and clean. I used the
cash register and handled credit cards, so I to
be very careful. These things all taught me
responsibility. Now work in a research centre.
I don’t with clothing anymore, but I still that
important skill I learned in my first job.
 I had a scary experience when was a young
boy. One evening while my parents eating
dinner, I was playing barefoot in the yard with
my toys.
While I was sitting on the grass. felt something
cold and smooth slide over my feet. I stayed
perfectly still, but I looked down my feet. Then I
a snake slowly slithering over my toes.
I terrible and afraid, so my heart beat very fast.
After the snake away, I screamed to my parents
for help, and they captured the snake and took it
away. The experience frightened me, and I never
outside barefoot again.
See Textbook Page 16
 The Simple Sentence
A simple sentence is a sentence that has one subject-verb pair
I live in Gaza.

Subject
Verb

Every sentence should have at least one subject and one

verb combination
 Basic Elements of Every Sentence
 Mariam travels to Amsterdam every year in
the summer.

SUBJECT VERB

This is a simple sentence. It contains one

subject Marian and one verb travels.
 Simple Sentence

Mariam and Tom Travel

Compound Subject

and
 Simple Sentence

Marian and Tom travel to Amsterdam and

visit relatives.

travel and visit

Mariam and Tom
relatives

Compound Subject Compound Verb

& &
 Consider the following Simple Sentences:

1. The car stopped.

2. We were happy to see him
3. Sami and Chris were late.
4. Sami and I were late.
5. Huda ate pancake and drank coffee.
6. I played computer games and watched TV.
7. Huda and Sami ate pancake and drank coffee.
8. Chris and I played football and watched TV.
 My Grandfather
My grandfather is old in years but young in spirit.
Every day, he swims a mile and works in his garden. He
and my grandmother have four children and ten
grandchildren. My grandfather loves parties and invites
our entire family to his house for a big dinner on his
birthday. All twenty of us eat and tell stories half the night.
He never gets tired and is always the last to go to bed. On
his last birthday, my brothers and I gave him a present. We
put our money together and bought him a video game
system. Now he invites us to his house every weekend to
play video games with him. My grandfather will always
seem young to me.
 Connecting words using and, or
And is used to connect two or more similar things in
positive sentences:
I like Chinese and Italian food.
We have classes on Mondays, Tuesdays and
Wednesdays.
Or connects two or more similar things in negative
sentences:
I don’t like warm milk or cold coffee.
We don’t have classes on Thursdays or Fridays.
Or also connects two or more choices or alternatives:
Do you want to stay home or go out tonight?
My mother or my father will meet me at the airport.